MORE than 35,000 people have visited the world's first Leprechaun museum since it first opened six months ago, an average of 200 people a day.

The director of the Dublin city museum, Tom O'Rahilly, says he has now agreed to keep the museum open for a minimum of another 10 years after the encouraging visitor numbers.

He also says he will consider changing the price structure after a number of negative reviews which complained of excessive entry costs.

"All the data shows that we are doing very well, and 70% of our market is from international visitors.

"I am aware that there are people posting reviews about the price, but we do believe it is worth the cost and is in line with other European attractions. However, down the line, this is something we will consider looking into."

Reviewers have been venting their anger online over the prices since the opening of the museum.

One review posted online says "I went here with my child and wasn't too happy with the value for money. It was €10 adult and €7 child and I really didn't feel it was worth that."

Another reviewer says, "We took two visiting nephews to visit this attraction yesterday, and the experience cost us €27 for a family ticket. This is probably the worst value in Ireland, and I fear greatly that visitors who have been ripped off like this will go away with a bad impression of Ireland and its rip-off culture."

The museum has attracted international attention, and has been featured on the Japanese equivalent of the Six-One News as well as news features in South Africa.

"The interest has been phenomenal, and in our opinion, 99% of the coverage has been positive," says O'Rahilly.

The Leprechaun Museum, which is on Jervis Street, is now planning on creating new features over the coming months, and will aim to bring more children in through school tours with the starting of the new school year.

"When we opened, people presumed it would only be a temporary exhibition that would not be around for too long.

"However the whole thing was built to last and we will be introducing new features and additional parts to the museum over the coming months. We've had interest from schools as well so that has been another positive development."