The crypts at St Michan's are, quite possibly, my favorite part of my time spent in Dublin. We went to the museums, the parks, the restaurants, and the pubs. We saw Temple Bar, the scenic bridges, and even the Book of Kells. Still, St Michan's was awesome. It's a normal church with current services. Upon entering, I was underwhelmed. We paid admission and wandered the pews for a bit, not expecting much. First of all, the tour guide for the crypts is stellar. Loved this guy. He is hilarious and sarcastic and provides the right amount of creepiness in his stories. The crypts themselves are unbelievable. The "mummies" are amazing , with an incredible level of natural preservation. Don't forget to take a wander around in the cemetery out back, too. It is beautifully historic. read more

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An absolutely amazing hidden gem! Beautiful, stunning church & a wonderful tour/guide (about 1/2 hr) filled with history. We went to three other churches this day and this was our favorite. Sometimes bigger isn't better. Go now! You will not be disappointed. read more

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Unfortunately we were unable to take the tour while we were in Dublin, showed up and they had a sign that they were closed and no tours were available, hopefully on our next visit to Dublin we can get in for a tour read more

Believe it or not, I came to this small church near the Jameson Whiskey distillery because of a YouTube video I saw in which two talkative Dublin women walked into a tunnel to see mummified corpses. It was kinda creepy but curious enough for me to take a personal look. It turns out to be part of a crypt tour for which the church charges a paltry € 4. A cheeky divinity school student named Rory appears to enjoy the gallows humor of the situation as he took a small group of us down into what appears to be a couple of storm basements. It is unusually cool down there thanks to the thick limestone walls which act like Tupperware by providing a vacuum-seal for the remains. Creepy, huh... No photography is allowed inside, but believe me, the memories will linger. Through iron bars, you can see coffins lying in a random fashion, some bursting at the seams with an arm or leg sticking up. The main attraction is an open chamber with what is dearly called the Big Four. Here the casket lids are off and the bodies exposed showing taut, leathery skin covered in dust. Three of the bodies lie in a row across the front with a woman on the right, a man with a hand and both feet cut off in the center, and a nun on the left. The coffin along the rear wall is that of a 6-1/2 foot man popularly assumed to be a soldier returned from the Crusades. His body has been cut in half in order for it to fit the coffin. One of his hands has been lifted slightly in the air. Rory asks for volunteers to rub the crusader's hand. When no one spoke up, I threw caution to the wind and did it. It was probably like rubbing Joan Rivers' face. It didn't feel human, just petrified stone polished by all the tourists before me. There is another room that holds the coffins of the Sheare brothers who were executed by the British following the Rising of 1798 and then discovered centuries later to have been hanged, drawn and quartered. Good times. The tour barely takes 15 minutes if that, and you can walk into the church where the organ is believed to be the one Handel used to compose the Messiah. Hmmm, sounds like Paul Ryan-style malarkey to me. read more

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"What time is the next tour of the crypts?" "Don't worry about that. Just head into the church and he'll find you.." "ARE YOU HERE TO SEE THE MUMMIES?!!! FOLLOW MEEEEEE..." The exact first three sentences that were uttered on my first trip back to St Michans since primary school. Needless to say, I was rather excited. How often to you actually get to see real life mummies in the eh.. flesh?! Ok it is rather morbid. The thoughts of these bodies hundreds of years old preserved so well, and on show, but you know what, the guide does it all justice. It's dramatic, it's dark, it's eery but it's respectful. And it's extremely entertaining. I won't say much about it, but for a fiver, I can't think of a better way to spend your time or money. Bring visitors who are in Dublin for the first time, or bring people who have lived here all their lives. I guarantee they will all love it. read more

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This place is pretty creepy. To me at least. I took one of the tours which costs 4 euro well it could have changed since then so call ahead. Even though it was creepy it was well worth it, the tour guide was great. The grounds are lovely and free to roam around but if you want to have a look at the crypts then you have to pay the small fee. In the crypts are the mummified bodies. One of a nun and another of someone who fought in rebellion amongst others. Just the idea of a mummified corpse does not fill me with happy thoughts but I'm glad I did the tour all the same. read more

St. Michans Church - Churches Near Me - Dublin, D

This was my favorite touristy thing to do in Dublin. I hate looking like a tourist (lost with a map and the whole bit) but when taking this short tour you're hidden from view! If you're in the Temple Bar area you can go by foot, just make your way to Church Street and cross the river. It will be on your left hand side. The price is pretty cheap a few Euro I think, but well worth it. Start by entering the church gift shop and purchasing a ticket. The ticket will get you a tour of the crypt and a self guided tour of the church. Also when the tour is finished be sure to check out the graveyard behind the church, it's pretty nifty. Go ahead into the church after purchasing your ticket and the tour guide will come find you. Check out the organ, it's massive and incredible. I didn't do too well in the church. It had a musty smell and a lot of energy that started to give me a headache. But we didn't have to wait long. I don't know how many tour guides there are but ours was very funny and animated! Loved it! I wish I could recall his name. The crypt is underground (obviously) so don't wear heels. The steps down are quite steep. The guide will go over, who is buried here and why. You get to see several crypts but only 1 has the 4 bodies. All the crypts are interesting, but of course the mummies are the best. He even lets you touch the finger of the supposed Crusader (one too the far back in the photo). Which was awesome! Call me morbid but touching a several hundred year old mummy was one of the highlights of our entire trip!! It's a must when visiting Dublin, but be aware you can't take photos of the inside of the crypts. read more

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A great off-the-path activity when you have visitors over... I'll never stop being creeped out by the crypts. Fair warning, the opening hours are limited but they're available online as well as on the answering-machine message on the phone. Check before you go to avoid disappointment! First, tour the Jameson distillery to shore up your courage with gleaming liquid gold. Then hobble over the cobbles less than a block to this unassuming-looking church where you'll pay a pittance for the crypt tour. Waiting for your guide, have a meander around the sanctuary, where you'll see a wonderfully decorated organ on which it's said Handel practised The Messiah. When the guide comes to collect you, steel yourself... My guest and I were the only ones on this tour. Guide was clearly rather tired of giving the same old spiel and had just come back from giving a tour, but dutifully grabbed his ciggie and his cuppa, escorted us underground and went through the paces. I'd been on the tour before, but my guest hadn't, so he kept all the twists and turns for her suspense. The language and accompanying gestures are easy to follow for anyone whose English isn't very strong, and the crypts themselves are something you'll never see this intimately anywhere else. Just you, the tourguide, and four ancient leathery corpses. On quiet days with small groups, the guide will "give in" and tell you this isn't usually allowed, but go on and "shake the hand" (touch the finger) of one of the mummies, for luck. Don't think about it too hard. Speaking objectively, it's a very cool tour, letting you see other parts of history. You hear about the Wolfe Tone brothers' failed rebellion, the origin of the "cruel and unusual punishment" amendment to the US Constitution, and what used to happen when a person was too tall for a prefab coffin. You see what happens when coffins are stacked too high. And the preservation on the "mummies" really is extraordinary! Make sure you check out their toenails. This is obligatory. read more

A unique look at Ireland's history. The tour guide was well informed and very entertaining. I would recommend this 30-40 minute tour to anyone visiting Dublin. read more

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This is a great little church with a very cool crypt tour. I'm a graveyard fan, and could spend hours squinting at the old markers in the burial grounds around the church, and going down into the crypts was a special shivery thrill. Chilly drafts raising the hairs on the back of your neck...stacks of dusty coffins receding into the shadows...was that a spider that just crawled across your hand or something more sinister? Bottom line: worth the 4 bones! read more

I actually think the crypts here are the coolest thing to see in Dublin. But not everyone thinks touching an 800-year-old mummy is as cool as I do. I happen to love people who are good at what they do and this tour guide is appropriately dramatic, campy, and full of facts and random information that you aren't sure you should believe (but you should). It's creepy and highly entertaining (and historic) at the same time. If you can plan your trip well enough to make it here during the few hours that they're open to the public, make it happen! read more

One of the most unique places I visited during my trip to Dublin, and definitely a place I would recommend for anyone interested in these sorts of things. It was on my must-see list before we even arrived in Dublin, but we didn't make it there until our last day. It's on the opposite side of the river from Temple Bar. The church to me, maybe because it was the last day of my vacation and I had been to some amazing churches (Westminster Abbey-amazing), was just eh. The crypts that St Michans is so famous for are well worth it. First, it's important to note there that when you walk down the steps to the crypt they are the original steps. They are steep and uneven, and the ceiling is low. If you have trouble with stairs already, this is not the place for you. Once down in the cold dark crypt the guide begins to describe all about it and answer any questions you might have. As others have noted, you even get to 'shake' the hand of the famous Viking mummy for good luck!! (By shake they mean, stroke his leathery mummified middle finger! If you dare...!) Perhaps one of the only disappoints is that there is no photography, but it is understandable. 1) Let's have some respect for the dead. People are actually still laid to rest in the crypts! And they can be if they belong to the families who own them. 2) To preserve the exposed mummies. You get to walk through both crypts and look into each of the gated rooms. The mummies you see are the ones whose coffins had deteriorated over time and fallen apart. Pay close attention to detail as you walk through! read more

This place has mummies. REAL LIFE Mummies ! I live in the city and it is one of the best tourist attractions we have in my humble opinion. Unique, affordable, steeped in history. read more

Probably one of my favorite visits of the trip. A small church near the Jameson Distillery that houses a crazy crypt with mummies. It is so awesome. The tour guide takes you down into the crypt telling stories of the people housed there. When you get to the end, he removes the barrier in of the rooms and lets you walk in and touch one of the mummies. There is no way that would happen in the US. So interesting. Definitely go! read more

St Michan's Church is famous for its crypt that apparently inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. Visiting the crypt, it's not hard to see why. The contents of it will give anyone the heebie jeebies. Dead bodies are displayed in open leather coffins. Some even contain a thick layer of stretched skin. If you lean in close, you can see some eerie details such as hair and finger and toenails. Others bodies in the crypt did not fare so well and all you have left are detached limbs that dangle from boxes. Scary stuff! St Michan's used to let you shake hands with the mummy but some awful folks abused that priviledge so the bodies are now behind lock and key. This is an unforgettable outing that is definitely worth the 3 Euro admission fee. read more

The church itself was not as interesting to me as the crypts. After waiting in the cold church and admiring the beautiful ceiling, we were escorted by an older gentleman down old stone steps under the church. I noticed the dry subterranean air that supposedly helps to preserve the bodies. I'm not one to get creeped out easily so the chills that crept up my spine were a bit disconcerting to me. As I listened to the tour guide, I noticed a human lower jaw bone behind me and couldn't turn my back to it. After his small spiel, we were allowed to enter one of the crypts and touch the hand of one of them. It felt like petrified wood. One couple abandoned the tour in apparent uneasiness. Somehow, this all felt a little wrong - were we upsetting the peace of these spirits? But then I rationalized that I wouldn't mind visitors to caress my hand once I passed on. Excuse? I'm sticking to it. We met another couple in Dublin that had a younger tour guide that spoke much more about the history of the crypts. The reason for my four stars is that our tour guide gave us minimal info... I wanted more. read more

Built in 1685 on the site of the oldest church on the north side of Dublin, this church holds one of the coolest and weirdest tourist attractions in Dublin. Due to a combination of magnesium salts in the limestone, the crypts underneath the church have no moisture in them which results in the prefect preservation of the bodies that lay in them!! There are four damaged and open coffins with four perfectly preserved human bodies in them that you can see and visit! And if you are really sick, which I am, you can rub on of the body's fingers for luck! Such a cool tourist thing to do in the city, don't miss it! read more

Very simple church with not so much to see... The interesting part is UNDER the church. The crypts are somewhat creepy and the mummies as well, add the cool factor you can actually touch one (not mandatory!). The tour itself is short, around 30 minutes and quite cheap 5EUR per adult, good value I would say. Also a few fun facts on who is buried there as the Shearer brothers for example. read more

Yelp, you've done it again! Thanks to you I've found amazing restaurants, great attractions, and now MUMMIES! Yep, real life MUMMIES (well, not actually alive, but you know what I mean). Beneath Dublin's oldest North-side church lies the well-preserved remains in some of the creepiest crypts ever. Descending through the narrow door in the ground, down the jagged stone steps into the final resting spot for several, my eyes had to adjust to the dim light in the cold stone walkway. One smaller crypt is the home for the visible remains and the other larger crypt has several smaller chambers for the coffins of families. Fun fact: should you be able to trace your lineage back to Ireland and this church, you could even be buried in the spot with your ancestors! Our tour guide had a whole campy but lighthearted shtick going as he walked us through, complete with a deep drawl and dead pan voice and with a purposeful limp. He provided allot of the history of Dublin's north-side and the church specifically, making this one of the tours we learned the most at. Oh, and did I mention that you can TOUCH THE MUMMIES! I only touched one of the boney, fossilized fingers but my husband actually touched one of the skulls! Shiver- he's braver than I! read more

"Don't mind the skulls", said the guide as we entered the larger underground passage. "They're only there to create atmosphere". "Oh", sez I, looking leerily at the four skulls placed across the entrance to a dark-raddled dusty crypt. "So they're not real?". "They're real alright", said the guide. Welcome to the spooky Indiana Jones-style world of the crypts at St Michan's Church. It's difficult to tread the line between respect for the dead and the display of their bodies. The Michan's Church guide, Peter, does an excellent job as he uses the remains of these poor people to illustrate the life and death of Dubliners in times past. I was the only person on the tour yesterday afternoon and I basically got the privilege of a private tour with Peter. He opened the heavy iron door that leads into the underground crypt via the Church graveyard and led me down the deep stone steps into the passage beneath. Passing some still extant family crypts, I got to view the remains of four mummified bodies including one known as the Crusader Knight. Once it was permitted to touch his hand for luck but the fingers have become damaged. Apparently he wasn't a crusader anyhoo, but it makes for a good story. The second crypt is larger and has many more coffins stacked atop one another in higgledypiggledy cobwebbed piles. This crypt contains a copy of the execution order of Irish rebels the Sheares brothers, fellow travellers or Wolfe Tone, as well as their remains, and Peter will give you the bloodcurdling story of their barbaric death at the hands of the authorities after they were captured. Seriously entertaining and highly educational, all for the price of five shiny euro. Highly recommended. read more

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This was, by far, the highlight of our past two Dublin trips. Off of the beaten path and the tours don't go there, which was the beginning of the draw. Upon arrival a man walks out of the registration door, walks past the few visitors and goes around the corner. After we register and walk into the church, that same man walks into the church and dead pans, "So, you are here to see the mummies." We thought it was going to be bad, but it turned out the guide had a very humorous and dry witted style and made us laugh through the entire tour, all while educating us. The tour was amazing, the history fascinating and the tour guide the best I've ever experienced. A must do when in Dublin. read more

Located on Church St. behind the Four Courts St. Michan's is well worth a visit. The church is only opened for tours Mon to Friday and at €4 adult €3 student/child it was well worth it. The tour guide made it interesting and fun with his dramatic presentation of what was to unfold in the crypts. Not for the faint hearted. read more

This is a small, but quirky place to visit when you are in Dublin. It is quite famous and has been for quite some time, since I saw a genuine 'vintage' postcard dating from the 1900's in The Collectors' Shop in Blackrock. It is said the mummy with the missing hand was a thief. The owner of The Collectors' Shop - who is quite the expert on coins and other things numismatic - is of the opinion that a 'petty thief' is highly unlikely to have been afforded a selubrious burial in a vault. His theory is that it is a medieval or Elizabethan banker had his hand cut off as a punishment for 'clipping' the silver coins of his time, whereas a petty thief would most likely have ended up in an unmarked lime pit outside one of the city's gaols. On a side note, I shook the hand of the so-called crusader just before I did my university entrance exams in 1980 and I got into my first choice course. Was this really good luck, or just the placebo effect ? read more

Great tour with outstanding guide. Visitors with disabilities may have problem entering the crypts. read more

St. Michans Church - St. Michan's Note: I submitted hi-res files that were reduced by Yelp. This image in not indicative of the original photograph's quality. - Churches Near Me - Dublin, D

This is by far the best thing we saw in Dublin. The church itself is nothing out of the ordinary--it's a pretty and historic church. However, the crypt is amazing. Made of limestone, it creates a perfect atmosphere to mummify the bodies interred there. The tour guide was absolutely fantastic. Very informative and entertaining. We were invited to touch the mummies, which was the very coolest thing I've ever done. read more

Pretty cool church in the inner city. The church is nice but not on par with some others around but it's the vaults underneath that make it pretty damn awesome. Underneath there are long burial chambers with mummies inside. There is great history here and definitely worth the visit. read more

Why are tourists so dedicated to pretending they aren't tourists? Go here because it is creepily fascinating not because you are trying to prove you are no mere tourist. Mummies add to any environment and these are really something.You also get a Wolfe Tone death mask and some lurid tales of torture and death !The church it self is quite nice and it is always fun to read the memorial plaques for what they tell you about Irish history.The staff is very nice.Send your friends Mummy postcards. Walk through the graveyard while you're at it.Oh , you can touch a mummy but I don't go for that. read more

St. Michan's Church is a hidden gem. The outside is dull and uninviting but inside and underneath are another story. The inside of the church is very beautiful and the organ is apparently the one that Handel composed his Messiah upon. The vaults of the church hold mummified remains which can be seen on a very inexpensive tour. Those who aren't too squimish can touch one of the mummie's hand which apparently gives good luck. read more

The St. Michan's Church is one of the easiest places to overlook in Dublin but one of the coolest sites to see. If you're lucky, you will be welcomed to the church by Peter, the most sarcastically funny tour guide you'll ever meet. You'll hear a brief history on the church then be guided to the tombs below. Its not every day you are able to see mummies and the inside of tombs. Definitely fun for the whole family especially young ones who love creepy things. You wont regret your visit. Have fun and say hi to Peter. read more

one of the oldest in the city