From the Little Museum of Dublin, a saunter past the legendary hotel The Shelbourne Dublin will take you to the top of Kildare Street, home to the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) on the left hand side. The parliament building was once known as Kildare House after James Fitzgerald, the Earl of Kildare, who commissioned its construction in 1745 and set out to create a grand Georgian mansion to reflect his lofty social status. When he became Duke of Leinster in 1766, the house was renamed Leinster House.
On the opposite side is a branch of the National Museum of Ireland (Archaeology), with outstanding permanent exhibitions including Ireland's Gold, Prehistoric Ireland, the Viking Collection, and the Treasury, including the magnificent Ardagh Chalice.
If you're interested in literature, you should visit the National Library close by, which has a permanent W.B. Yeats exhibition.
Address: Kildare Street, Dublin 2