Ireland’s EPIC retains leading attraction in Europe title

The museum beat off competition from attractions such as Rome's Colosseum, England’s Buckingham Palace and France’s Eiffel Tower to become the first establishment to win the Leading Tourist Attraction award back-to-back.

The World Travel Awards, now in their 27th year, are the industry’s ‘Oscars’ and held on national, regional and global levels, with a Grand Final to be staged in Moscow later this year.

The award, voted for by the public, reflects the five-star glowing reviews that EPIC has received on TripAdvisor since opening in 2016.  

As a fully digital museum EPIC features a slick, interactive and visually entertaining presentation on how, where and why the Irish emigrated. Not a typical museum, the experience is spread over 20 interactive galleries and is a celebration of what it truly means to be Irish.

Going beyond ‘Oirish’ stereotypes the museum reveals the influence of Irish emigrants over 1,500 years and the far-reaching impact that the 10 million men and women who left Ireland behind have had in everything from politics, to poetry, science, sport, music, art, culture, politics, food and fashion.

The strong link between the United States and Ireland is well represented, with an impressive array of Irish-American luminaries featured. They include US Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, singer John MacCormack, dancers Gene Kelly and Michael Flatley, actors John Wayne and Grace Kelly, and the film director John Ford among many more.

EPIC is located in the beautiful vaults of the 1820 Custom House Quarter building in Dublin’s Docklands, the original departure point for many Irish emigrants when they left their homeland during the Great Famine of the 1800s. Nearby, there are haunting Famine memorial sculptures as well as the Jeanie Johnston tall ship to explore, both representing that tragic chapter of Irish history.

The museum also houses a state-of-the-art genealogy centre, which offers consultations with experts, access to Irish family history records and information to help anyone explore their Irish ancestry.

EPIC has dedicated the award to Irish people everywhere, particularly those who have been working to help others in their communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The museum hopes its achievement will lift spirits within the industry as well as fly the flag for Ireland and demonstrate the quality of the country’s diverse and unique collection of tourist experiences.

www.ireland.com