by Morgan.

Morgan is on our teaching staff and regularly accompanies students on our Tour, Social and Activity Programme.

So how do you give a group of kids an idea of what life was like in Dublin hundreds of years ago in a way that is both entertaining and historically accurate? Bring them to Dublinia and The Viking World, of course. This fantastic and recently renovated heritage centre in the heart of medieval Dublin guides those eager young minds through the colourful history of this city from the arrival of the Vikings in 841 to its falling into the hands of Strongbow and his Normans in 1170 and culminating in the dramatic closure of the monasteries under Henry VIII in the sixteenth century.

What can students expect to see and learn there?

Well, The Viking World introduces visitors to the raiding, trading, art, domestic and maritime lifestyles of these infamous Scandinavian peoples and their great influence on Dublin and Ireland. When they settled here, they called their town Dyflinn or the “black pool” as it was situated by a deep, dark lake, the site of which is in the grounds of Dublin castle.

In Dublinia, they will have the opportunity to vividly experience life in the old city by wandering through a busy medieval market and a rich merchant's house, trying on those heavy suits of armour and playing the games of the time. They can also get a bird's eye view of the whole city with a highly-detailed scale model.

Visitors may also climb up St. Michael's Tower from which they will find a wonderful view of medieval Dublin spreading out below them.