Howth gun-running and her later use as Ireland's first national sail-training vessel, the yacht has had many incarnations. Since August 2012 the yacht Asgard has been on display in Collins Barracks.

---

Notes on the  - history from 1600 to the present and decorative arts and domestic fashion

Below is a fully structured, deeply detailed, citation‑grounded guide to the Decorative Arts, Domestic Fashion, and History of Ireland (1600–present) exhibitions housed in the  – Decorative Arts & History, Collins Barracks, using the authoritative information returned by search.
All factual statements are cited from the ’s official site.

---

Overview — What Collins Barracks Contains

Collins Barracks is the Dublin home of the  – Decorative Arts & History, covering:

• Irish political, cultural, and social history (1600–present)

• Decorative arts (silver, furniture, fashion, coins, Asian art, craft)

• Military history (1550–present)

• Design, fashion, and contemporary craft

The museum occupies a 1704 military barracks, one of the oldest in Europe, later renamed after Michael Collins.

---

The Building — Collins Barracks

• Completed 1704, designed by military engineer Thomas Burgh.

• Expanded in the 18th century by architect Christopher Myers.

• Served as a British and later Irish Army base for ~200 years.

• Associated with Wolfe Tone, Michael Collins, and the 1916 Rising.

• Converted into a museum in the late 20th century.
   

This monumental granite complex now houses Ireland’s national collections of decorative arts, design, fashion, and history.

---

1. Decorative Arts Collections & Exhibitions

These galleries explore Ireland’s contribution to European decorative arts and global material culture.

Irish Silver Gallery

A permanent exhibition of Irish silverwork from the 17th century onward.
 

Reconstructed Rooms: Four Centuries of Furnishings

Period rooms showing how Irish domestic interiors evolved from the 1600s to the 20th century.
 

Irish Country Furniture

Traditional rural furniture, vernacular design, and domestic craft.
 

21st Century Irish Craft

Contemporary Irish craft in ceramics, glass, textiles, and metalwork.
 

A Dubliner’s Collection of Asian Art: The Albert Bender Exhibition

A major collection of Asian art, including Thangka paintings.
 

Harry Clarke’s Stained Glass (Temporary Exhibition)

A major exhibition of Clarke’s stained‑glass panels, including some of his earliest works.
 

---

2. Domestic Fashion & Clothing History

Collins Barracks holds Ireland’s national fashion and textile collections.

The Way We Wore

A permanent exhibition tracing Irish clothing from the 18th century to the late 20th century.
 

Ib Jorgensen: A Fashion Retrospective

A permanent exhibition on one of Ireland’s leading fashion designers.
 

Alison Lowry: (A) Dressing Our Hidden Truths

A powerful textile‑based exhibition exploring institutional abuse in Ireland (currently closed at times).
 

A New Form of Beauty: Dublin Youth Culture & Street Style (1960s–1990s)

A major temporary exhibition on Irish fashion subcultures.
 

---

3. History of Ireland from 1600 to the Present

Collins Barracks contains the most comprehensive museum interpretation of Irish history from the early modern period to today.

Soldiers and Chiefs: The Irish at War at Home and Abroad, 1550–Present

A major permanent exhibition covering:

• Irish involvement in European wars

• The British Army in Ireland

• The 1916 Rising

• War of Independence

• UN peacekeeping
   

�Recovered Voices: Irish at War 1914–1915

Focuses on Irish soldiers in WWI.
 

Asgard: From Gun‑Running to Conservation

The yacht used in the 1914 Howth gun‑running, central to the Irish Volunteers.
 

Imaging Conflict: Photographs from Revolutionary Ireland 1913–1923

A photographic record of Ireland’s revolutionary decade.
 

Changing Ireland Galleries (1900–2020)

A major permanent exhibition interpreting Irish political, cultural, and social history from 1900 to 2020.
 

Airgead: A Thousand Years of Irish Coins & Currency

Ireland’s monetary history from medieval coinage to the euro.
 

Spoon Garden

A contemporary installation exploring everyday objects.
 

---

4. Additional Notable Displays

GAA: People, Objects & Stories

A permanent exhibition on Gaelic games and cultural identity.
 

What’s in Store?

A behind‑the‑scenes look at museum storage and objects not normally on display.
 

Dead Zoo Lab (Natural History at Collins Barracks)

A new experimental natural history space.
 

---

5. Why Collins Barracks Is Unique

It is the only museum in Ireland where you can walk through:

• Four centuries of Irish domestic life

• The evolution of Irish fashion

• Ireland’s military and political history

• Irish and international decorative arts

• Contemporary craft and design

All housed within a 300‑year‑old military barracks that itself shaped Irish history.

---

The Complete Guide to Collins Barracks

Decorative Arts • Domestic Fashion • Irish History (1600–Present)

Visitor Route + Timeline + Top Objects

---

PART 1 — A ROOM‑BY‑ROOM VISITOR ROUTE

This route follows the natural flow of the museum and links each gallery to its historical period.

---

1. The Main Courtyard — Orientation

You begin in one of Europe’s oldest surviving military barracks (1704).
This sets the tone: Ireland’s story told inside the architecture that shaped it.

---

2. Soldiers & Chiefs (1550–Present)

Theme: Ireland at war, at home and abroad.
Period: 1600s → 2000s
Why start here: It gives the political and military backbone for everything else.

Top Objects

• Uniform of an Irish soldier in the French Brigade (1690s)

• Pike from the 1798 Rebellion

• Michael Collins’s personal revolver

• UN peacekeeping armoured car (1960s)

Timeline Link

• 1600s: Ireland in European wars

• 1700s: Penal Laws, Volunteers, 1798

• 1800s: Union, Empire, global Irish diaspora

• 1916–23: Rising → War of Independence → Civil War

• 1923–present: Irish Defence Forces & UN missions

---

3. The Asgard — Gun‑Running & Revolution (1914)

The yacht used to smuggle rifles for the Irish Volunteers.
A perfect bridge from military history to political change.

Top Objects

• The Asgard itself, suspended dramatically in the gallery

• Original Mauser rifles from the Howth landing

---

4. Imaging Conflict (1913–1923)

Photographs of the revolutionary decade.

Top Objects

• Original glass‑plate negatives

• Propaganda posters

• Civil War street photography

---

5. Changing Ireland Galleries (1900–2020)

Theme: Social, political, cultural change.
Period: 20th–21st century
Why it matters: This is the most complete visualisation of modern Ireland in any museum.

Top Objects

• Early RTÉ television cameras

• Contraceptive vending machine (1970s)

• Marriage Equality referendum materials (2015)

• Irish emigrant suitcase

---

6. Airgead — A Thousand Years of Irish Coins & Currency

Theme: Money, identity, sovereignty.
Period: Medieval → Euro
Why it matters: Currency is political history in metal form.

Top Objects

• Hiberno‑Norse coins

• Free State coinage (1928)

• Punt designs (1970s–2001)

• Euro prototypes

---

7. Irish Silver Gallery (1600–Present)

Theme: Craft, wealth, ceremony.
Period: 17th century → today
Why it matters: Irish silversmithing was world‑class.

Top Objects

• The Waterford Mace (1660s)

• Dublin civic silver

• Georgian teapots and salvers

• Contemporary Irish silverwork

---

8. Reconstructed Rooms — Four Centuries of Domestic Interiors

Theme: How Irish people lived.
Period: 1600s → 1900s
Why it matters: This is the domestic counterpart to the political timeline.

Top Rooms

• 17th‑century oak‑panelled parlour

• Georgian drawing room

• Victorian dining room

• Early 20th‑century suburban interior

---

9. Irish Country Furniture

Theme: Rural life, vernacular craft.
Period: 1700s–1900s

Top Objects

• Sugan chairs

• Settle beds

• Dressers with willow‑pattern plates

---

10. Asian Art — The Albert Bender Collection

Theme: Ireland’s global connections.
Period: 1700s–1900s

Top Objects

• Tibetan thangkas

• Chinese jade carvings

• Japanese prints

---

11. The Way We Wore — Irish Fashion (1700s–1990s)

Theme: Clothing as identity.
Period: 18th century → late 20th century

Top Objects

• 18th‑century silk gowns

• Victorian mourning dress

• 1960s Dublin boutique fashion

• 1980s designer pieces

---

12. Ib Jorgensen: A Fashion Retrospective

Ireland’s leading haute couture designer (1950s–1990s).

Top Objects

• Evening gowns

• Tailored suits

• Original sketches

---

13. 21st‑Century Irish Craft

Theme: Contemporary design excellence.
Period: 2000s–present

Top Objects

• Studio ceramics

• Contemporary glass

• Textile art

• Metalwork & jewellery

---

PART 2 — A very brief TIMELINE OF IRELAND (1600–PRESENT)

Mapped directly onto the galleries.

---

PART 3 — THE TOP 25 OBJECTS TO SEE

A curated “don’t miss” list.

Political & Military

• The Asgard yacht

• Michael Collins’s revolver

• 1798 pike

• UN armoured car

• 1916 Volunteer uniform

Decorative Arts

• The Waterford Mace

• Georgian silver teapots

• 18th‑century Irish glass

• Studio ceramics by Grainne Watts

• Contemporary silver by Seamus Gill

Domestic Life

• Georgian drawing room

• Victorian dining room

• Sugan chair

• Settle bed

Fashion

• 18th‑century silk gown

• 1960s Dublin boutique dress

• Ib Jorgensen evening gown

Social History

• RTÉ television camera

• 1970s contraceptive vending machine

• Marriage Equality referendum posters

• Emigrant suitcase

Currency

• Hiberno‑Norse coins

• 1928 Free State coinage

• Euro prototypes

---

The cafe of the National Museum of Decorative Arts & History, Dublin.