Madame Tussaud Lives In The Foyer (National Wax Museum)

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	National Wax Museum
Date:	04/02/02 (282 review reads)
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~ ~ Most of you will either have visited or heard of the famous London wax museum, Madame Tussauds, which has hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, and is renowned the world over.
I love it myself, and the “mad cabbies” family visited it on their last trip to London last year, and were highly impressed. (Also with the neighbouring Planetarium)
But I bet not so many of you are aware that here in Dublin we also have our very own “miniature” Madame Tussaud’s, in the form of the National Wax Museum.
It’s at Granby Row, just off the top end of Parnell Square (West), which is itself within spitting distance of the main thoroughfare of O’Connell Street.

~ ~ Before this Museum opened in 1983, on the site of an old cinema, there hadn’t been a waxworks in Dublin since 1916, when the last one was razed to the ground in a highly spectacular fire.
It was a brave move to open a waxworks during this period in the 1980’s. I wasn’t too long in Dublin at the time, and the Irish economy was in the depths of a long recession, with fewer tourists in a month than we now get in a weekend!
But it caught on straight away with the Irish public, and especially with the children, and has maintained its popularity right down through the last two decades to the present day.

~ ~ Based very much on its more illustrious big sister “Madame Tussauds” in London, the very first waxwork that you will see when you enter the foyer is, in fact, of the famous Frenchwoman herself, who was responsible for starting the whole craze for wax effigies of famous people during the Reign of Terror at the time of the French Revolution in the late 18th Century.
She must have been a truly formidable lady, as she worked on her famous heads fresh from the guillotine!
Look very closely at the man reading his daily newspaper (the Irish Times) who is also stationed in the lobby, by the way. I
don’t want to spoil the surprise for you, but let’s just say he is not all that he seems!

~ ~ All the present day wax figures are made on the premises by a resident sculptor. Live Irish personalities have a facemask made, and others are made from photographs and other records. Each head takes approximately three months to perfect, and if you are a serious artist, you can make enquiries at the Museum to obtain permission to see the actual workroom.
The Museum itself is split into various sections.
The main section is, naturally enough, dedicated to the historical and cultural heritage of the country.
Here you will see life size waxworks of all the famous Irish people right back through history to the present day. You have James Connolly, (strangely enough a Scot’s Presbyterian) who was such an inspiration in the foundation of the Irish republic, and paid the ultimate price when the British shot him for treason at Kilmainham Jail during the 1916 Rising. All the other 1916 heroes are here as well, including Eamonn DeValera, the first leader of the Irish Free State, and his companion, and later dreaded enemy during the Civil war of the 1920’s, Michael Collins.
All the “Taoisigh” (Irish Prime Ministers) are here too, as well as all the famous Irish writers such as W.B. Yeats and James Joyce.
There is also a very popular and highly attractive depiction of the Lord’s “Last Supper”, which was based on the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.
All the displays are interactive, and a potted history of each figure can be had by the simple touch of a button.

~ ~ Another section features international figures of renown, and although not so large as Tussaud’s in London, all the major good and bad guys of history are here, including the arch-villain of the 20th Century himself, Adolf Hitler.
The kiddies aren’t forgotten either, and two sections in particular app
eal to them immensely. The first is the “Children’s World of Fairytale and Fantasy”. This has all the old favourites, such as Snowwhite and her Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Red Riding Hood (and the big, bad wolf), a hall full of nasty goblins, some fantastic “bits” of a dismembered giant from Jack and the Beanstalk, and crazy mirrors that distort the image into all sorts of impossible shapes. The kids can hunt for Aladdin’s Magic Lamp, and, off course, the genie that it contains, who may or may not grant them a wish depending on his humour. (and whether or not he has a hangover from too much Guinness!)
Best of all (and the most fun!) are a series of “secret tunnels” that lead “somewhere”. (if you dare!)

~ ~ The second most popular exhibit with the kids (and everybody else) is the Chamber of Horrors. Here you are met with some fairly dramatic sound effects, including rattling chains and horrific screams. There is yet another secret tunnel, which the young ones are sure to explore. But be warned, it is not for the squeamish, nor for those who suffer from claustrophobia, as it is a very tight squeeze in places.
If this doesn’t take your fancy, there is a separate entrance here that leads instead into the hall of Megastars. All the big names are here, including Ireland’s very own super band U2, the Beatles, Madonna, and the King of rock and roll himself, the late, great Elvis Presley.

~ ~ Certainly worth a visit if you’re looking for a way to amuse the kids (and yourself) if you ever find yourself here in Dublin.

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National Wax Museum
Granby Row, Parnell Square Dublin 1.
Tel: 01-872-6340. From the UK (353-1-872-6340)

Opening Hours: Open Daily: 10.AM to 5.30PM. Sunday: 12 Noon to 5.30 PM.
Admission: Adults €4.40 Students: €3.15 Children: €2.50

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