THE LITTLE MUSEUM of Dublin is set for a small move – from one St Stephen’s Green building to another, just a few metres away.

The popular Dublin museum, which tells the story of the city through a collection of artefacts and bric-a-brac, is set to move from 15 St Stephen’s Green to 14 St Stephen’s Green following years of discussions with Dublin City Council about moving to a larger home.

The expansion will allow for a new education space in the museum, while the building will also be refurbished to allow for disability access, which Dublin City Council described as a “fundamental element” of the agreement.

Speaking to The Journal.ie, deputy director of the Little Museum of Dublin, Sarah Costigan, said: “We’ve been talking about what the future looks like for the museum.”

A new building, she said, will allow the museum to better “tell the story of Dublin”. 

Costigan said there was no yet set date for the move. She also couldn’t confirm whether the museum would have to close temporarily to facilitate the move. However, she acknowledged that moving over 5,000 artefacts from one building to another would be a “substantial task”. 

A formal agreement with Dublin City Council, the museum’s primary patron, was signed off on 19 September by the assistant chief executive Richard Shakespeare.

It will see tax return management company Taxback vacate 14 St Stephen’s Green and move into the upper floors of 15 St Stephen’s Green. 

The museum has been granted a 35-year lease, with the annual rent set at €5,000. It must also provide proof to the council that it has secured the necessary funding to install disability access facilities before the move can take place.

“The prospect of making the museum universally accessible,” Costigan said, was a “huge accomplishment”. 

The Little Museum of Dublin was established in 2011 and since then has become a popular tourist destination, running exhibitions on everything from former Lord Mayor of Dublin Alfie Byrne to rock band U2.

In 2016, the museum’s director, Trevor White, told Fora that he was optimistic that the museum would be able to expand in the face of an ever-increasing number of visitors. In 2015, more than 101,000 people visited the museum.