Dead Zoo
Nigel Monaghan is the curator of the much loved 'Dead Zoo' in Dublin, (The Natural History Museum). Here he tells us some stories from his time working there, and the stories behind two of his favourite animals - the giant deer, and the polar bear - and the ways in which both met their end and came to be in the Museum.
More about Merion Square
The Natural History Museum is affectionately known as 'The Dead Zoo' by Dubliners. Opened in 1857, it's a classic victorian museum, and is often called 'a museum of a museum' as it preserves the old museum style so well. It houses over 10,000 exhibits, with a wide array of oddities. The current entrance used to be the back door, which helps explain why some of the animals seem to face the wrong way (logistically it was impossible to turn the giant whales around to face the entrance).
