"Tiny Charley's Angels" (2011)
Dublin is an interesting, if not slightly magical place. You can see everything from a street buskers to death masks. It’s a city that has a surprise around every turn. Set outside Jervis Center (near Smithfield), is just such a surprise; The National Leprechaun Museum. Yes, you read that right. Granted, it’s a bit more oriented towards storytelling than it is actual leprechauns, but it’s still a brilliant little tour. My travel buddy Kristen and I were sent there by our friendly Dubliner, Gavin. He even gave us instructions to say hi to Mark, the museum’s manager.
After hearing about the Leprechaun Museum from Gavin over a few drinks at the pub, we made our way there first thing the next day. It’s tucked into an unassuming building where, were it not for the flags alerting its presence, one would hardly notice is was there. We walked up to the tiny counter nestled close to the front door and bought our tickets. Then, we asked for Mark. One of the attendants asked, “Why? Who’s asking?” We replied, “Our friend Gavin sent us here, he said to tell you ‘Hi.” “Brilliant,” he exclaimed. He ushered us into the waiting area for the rest of the tour goers to gather. About 5 minutes later, Mark came round to the entry way and gave our massive tour group (it was a whole 4 people) an introduction to the museum. We went around in a circle, naming off different facts we already knew about leprechauns, but ran out of facts within about 4 rounds, so Mark eventually gave up. He then escorted us to the first part of the museum, a long dark tunnel that acts as an entryway to the land of the leprechauns. The best thing about this tunnel is that it starts with quite a wide diameter and slowly narrows over the distance of the tunnel. What results is that at the end of the tunnel, I felt huge. Think Willy Wonka in the hallway that leads to the toy piano lock.
When I had gone through and looked back, I saw the light bouncing off the sides of the tunnel and how they bowed beautifully. As I was thinking about it (read: staring at the tunnel), Mark looked at me and said, “Would make a good Charlie’s Angels shot, yeah?” Well Mark, I completely agree.
