National Museum of Ireland – Natural History
Ireland's national collection of meteorites, including the Brasky mass of the great Limerick fall of 1813.
Key facts
- Where
- Dublin, Ireland
- Kind
- Museum
- Visiting
- Public galleries
The National Museum of Ireland began collecting meteorites in the early 1800s and now holds several hundred meteorites and tektites. Its holdings cover the Irish record unusually completely: of the eight meteorites known from the island of Ireland, it holds real pieces or replicas of most.
The best known is the Brasky mass of the Limerick meteorite, the largest stone from the shower of 10 September 1813, the biggest fall in Irish history. The museum also has the Mooresfort stone that fell in Tipperary in 1810, a piece of Leighlinbridge, which fell in County Carlow in 1999, and plaster replicas of Dundrum and Crumlin, whose originals are in Trinity College Dublin and London.
The collection also includes meteorites from the Moon and Mars, a slice of the Esquel pallasite, a piece of Moon rock collected on Apollo 17, and detectors from an Irish cosmic-ray experiment that flew to the Moon and back on Apollo 16 and 17.
Highlights
- Limerick the Brasky mass H5
- Mooresfort fell 1810 H5
- Leighlinbridge Ireland's most recent fall L6
- Esquel pallasite slice Pallasite, PMG
See every meteorite recorded in the UK and Ireland on the Britain and Ireland page.
Related pages
Opening times, what is on display and access to research collections change over time, so check with the institution before you visit.