The National Museum of Ireland’s Museum of Country Life is a great place to spend an afternoon with the family and, although the grounds would be most enjoyable in sunshine, it’s a useful haven if you happen to strike a bad spell of weather.
The old house has some rooms restored to their 19th century glory and a rolling lawn leads down to a large tree-lined lake where, by contrast, the eye is drawn to the straight lines of the large, modern museum, housing three floors of photos and exhibits from the last two centuries.
After building up a healthy appetite mooching around the museum, the courtyard Café in the old house is the place to go: a short but appealing menu offers a limited choice of wholesome dishes including home bakes such as a freshly made quiche, served with a selection from a varied salad bar.
Seats 85 (private room, 40, outdoors, 20); food served during museum opening hours, Tue-Sun, 10-5pm, L 12-2.30pm. Children welcome; toilets wheelchair accessible. air conditioning. Closed Mon and Bank Hols. MasterCard, Visa, Laser.
