About 14 Henrietta Street
Down in Dublin's Northside Georgian quarter, an easy walk from Drumcondra via Phibsborough, 14 Henrietta Street is a poignant museum illuminating tenement life in Ireland's capital. This restored 1740s townhouse off Parnell Street hosted 19 families at its 1913 peak, up to 100 souls in squalor. Now, it's a visceral portal to the struggles of the evicted, poor, and working class, blending oral histories with recreated rooms.
What to Expect
Tours (essential, book online) guide through furnished spaces: a 1790s landlord's drawing room with Waterford crystal, contrasting 1913 carpenter's lodging with smoky range and washtub, and 1970s bedsit amid eviction scars. Voices of residents echo via actors and recordings, tales of tuberculosis, the 1913 Lockout, Civil War destruction. Exhibits cover housing policy failures, from Wide Streets Commission to Rachmanism. The attic reveals rafters hiding during raids.
Insider Tips
Morning slots avoid crowds; audio enhances emotion. From Drumcondra, stroll Mountjoy Square's Regency ghosts. Nearby, grab scampi fries at Mooney's. €12 well spent for depth. Touch the walls, feel the history. Wheelchair accessible ground floor. This isn't dusty artefacts; it's raw Dublin DNA, echoing in today's housing debates, steps from the Luas to Croke Park cheers.