A plan for Dublin

History

Dublin is in a low-lying, fertile area, not boggy by Irish standards, and with good sea access. It became the core of the Gaelic kingdom of Leinster, and the Vikings established a large settlement by what is now Dublin castle, until ejected by Brian Boru at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. This set a pattern that Dublin was fought for, not fought in. The Normans colonised the southwest and Leinster from the 12th century, and further out they battled with the Gaels, but Dublin sat snug within the "Pale" — the defensive palisade. Similarly with the Tudor conquests; then the city fell swiftly to Cromwell so his atrocities were elsewhere, and King William marched in unopposed after the Battle of the Boyne. 18th century Dublin was the second largest city in the British Isles, with a tight little Protestant clique ruling the place to London's liking. Industry and culture flourished, and the city acquired its graceful Georgian streets and squares, but Ireland was ruled as a colony. Britain's other colonies watched with great interest as the independence movement gathered pace.

"The Troubles" of the late 19th and early 20th century involved ethnic conflicts, paramilitary gangs, and savage reprisals by the authorities. The outbreak of the First World War seemed to put a brake on this, with tens of thousands of Irishmen marching away to France and Flanders. Surely one big push on the Somme would win this war - but while the generals were planning this, armed insurrection broke out at Easter 1916. The rebels seized the central Post Office on O'Connell Street, read their proclamation of independence, then were bombarded until they surrendered. Initially they attracted little sympathy or support, especially as they were backed by arch-foe Germany, but the authorities snatched defeat from a quick win by the subsequent court-martials and executions by firing squad. Hundreds were arrested and 15 were shot. This and atrocities such as the Croke Park massacre were fatal to the legitimacy of British rule. By 1921, the Irish tricolour fluttered over a Dublin that was capital of a separate state.

Dublin's top attractions sell out in summer. Buy tickets online in advance if you know you want to see something, especially for the Book of Kells where even early arrivals may find all the day's slots are filled.

The Dublin Pass gives you free and fast track entry to thirty-some attractions in Dublin. Adult prices in 2024 are €79 for one day, €109 for two, €129 for three, €154 for four and €164 for five, child prices about half, and days must run consecutively. You'll struggle to break even on this deal as only the Hop-on Hop-off bus tour and the Jameson Distillery and Guinness tours charge over €25; most are way cheaper. The Pass doesn't include the National Museum sites (free anyhow), the Library and Book of Kells at Trinity College, or any public transport.

North of the river

1 GPO Museum, O'Connell St Lower D01 F5P2, ☏ +353 1 872 1916. Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM. The GPO is the headquarters of the Post Office in Ireland, built in Neo-Classical style 1814-1818. In 1916 it was occupied by Irish rebels led by PH Pearse, who read the Proclamation of the Republic outside the front door of the building. The interior was burnt out by shelling from government forces against the rebels, but the exterior survived. Subsequently the GPO was restored, reopening in 1929, and remains a busy working post office. The museum within it is a multimedia exploration of the Easter Rising. Adult €17, conc €15, child €8.50. (updated Jun 2024)

So Padraig comes for a job in construction, and the hiring boss says "So can you tell me, what's the difference between a joist and a girder?"

"Sure, everyone knows that. Joist wrote Ulysses and Girder wrote Faust."

Tours

1 Guinness Storehouse, St James's Gate D08 VF8H (Bus 13, 40 or 123, or tram to Heuston), ☏ +353 1 408 4800. Sun-Thu 9:30AM-5PM, Fri Sat 9:30AM-6PM. Guinness is brewed in 49 countries and Ireland just happens to be one of them. The St James Gate brewery is still in production, now part of Diageo, and this vast storehouse has become an exhibition (self-guided) on the drink and the Guinness family. Price of entry includes a pint at the seventh floor Gravity Bar, which forms the head of the giant pint of stout formed by the atrium. Outside, touristy-trappy horse-drawn carriages ply for hire, but a stretch limo for the 2 km ride back to city centre might be cheaper. Adult €26, child €10. (updated Jun 2024)

2 Teeling Distillery, 13-17 Newmarket D08 KD91, ☏ +353 1 531 0888. Daily 11AM-PM. Distillery opened in 2015, primarily for whiskey but with small amounts of poitín. Tasting tour €25 (pointless going for the cheaper "cocktail" tour). (updated Jun 2024)

3 Jameson Distillery, Bow Street, Smithfield D07 N9VH, ☏ +353 1 807 2355. Mon-Sat 10AM-PM, Sun noon-PM. Jameson whiskey was produced in Dublin from 1780 to 1976, when the business relocated to Midleton near Cork. So the old Bow St distillery no longer makes whiskey but has been converted into a museum about the process and industry. Adult €26. (updated Jun 2024)

The Lazy Bike Tour Company, Drury Street multi-story car park, ☏ +353 1 443 3671, hello@lazybiketours.com. Daily 9:30AM-5:30PM. Two-hour bike tours of the major sights and off the beaten track, with informative guides. e-bike €40, push-bike €35. (updated Jun 2024)

Dublin has a wide range of eating places in all price brackets, though visitors may consider them overpriced by European standards – one factor is VAT of 23%.

Cuisines such as Indian and Chinese were slow to appear as Dublin only had small ethnic communities, but they now have a good presence especially north of the river. Indian food is generally North Indian. Chinese food in Ireland has become something of its own thing, with the omnipresent "Spice Bag" an idiosyncratic new food of 21st century Ireland. Vegetarian, vegan and GF options are also now readily available.

Budget

1 Bewley's Café, 78 Grafton St D02 K033, ☏ +353 1 564 0900. Mon–Fri 8AM–6:30PM, Sat–Sun 9AM–6:30PM. Grand stylish coffee shop, a Dublin institution. It's had some famous regular customers, from Joyce to Geldof, but they'll make you feel just as important. (updated Jun 2024)

2 Butlers Chocolate Café, 24 Wicklow Street D02 R981, ☏ +353 1 671 0591. Mon–Sat 7:30AM–7PM, Sun 10AM–7PM. Chain of chocolate-themed cafes, Wicklow Street is the original outlet. There are three others in city centre, plus airside in T1 and T2 at the airport. They also ship orders. (updated Jun 2024)

Lemon Crèpe & Coffee Company, 66 South William St D02 FT51 (next to Butlers), ☏ +353 1 672 9044. Mon–Sat 8AM–5PM, Sun 9:30AM–5PM. Good value filled crèpes, they also do waffles and sandwiches. (updated Jun 2024)

Govinda's, 83 Middle Abbey St D01 EV91, ☏ +353 89 962 1787. Mon–Thu noon–7PM, Fri–Sat noon–8PM. Hare Krishna-run vegetarian restaurant. Filling portions, only order their Special if you're really hungry. (updated Jun 2024)

Leo Burdock is a chain of fish & chips takeaways. Central outlets are Crown Alley off Temple Green and Werburgh St by Christ Church Cathedral, open daily 12:30-10:30PM.

3 Pablo Picante, 131 Lower Baggot St D02 Y237, ☏ +353 1 662 9773. Mon–Sat noon–8PM. Small friendly Mexican eatery, eat in or take away to nearby St Stephen's Green. They also have outlets at Clarendon Market and Dawson St. (updated Jun 2024)

4 Zaytoon, 44 Lower Camden St D02 YR71, ☏ +353 1 400 5006. Sun–Wed noon–midnight, Thu–Sat noon–4:30AM. Casual Persian restaurant. They also have a fast-food cafe in Temple Bar (corner of Parliament St and Essex St). (updated Jun 2024)

Water in Dublin is fresh and clean from the Wicklow Mountains. The water of Vartry reservoir at Roundwood is commended in Joyce's Ulysses but the characters go boozing instead. Poulaphouca at Blessington was built later, and Sally Gap is the scenic road between the two catchments.

Pubs: it's reckoned that Dublin has over 600. You can but make a start.

In 2021 you might pay €6 for a pint, glass of wine or measure of spirits, somewhat more in Temple Bar. Pubs are generally open Su-Th to 23:00 and F Sa to 01:00 or later. Hours were curtailed during covid, the plus (which will likely remain) was that pubs increased their food offering, which meant they were "restaurants" and permitted to stay open - "You must try our pizza!" became a legally enforceable invitation. Smoking is illegal within all Irish pubs but many have a beer garden or similar outdoor smoking area.

Temple Bar was named for the sand bar and mud flats along the south bank of the Liffey, reclaimed for building in the 17th century. "Temple" was both the name of the landowners, and of the Temple Bar district in London, with Essex St and Fleet St in the same respective positions. It's nowadays a tourist strip of cobbled alleys, drinking places, restaurants, more drinking places, shops, even more drinking places . . . it's very central so those stag and hen parties are probably just in for a quick one before heading to the Book of Kells or the big museums. Take care, but the sheer number of people on the streets gives you a measure of safety.

You can see much of the city on foot.

By public transport

Public transport in Dublin consists of trains, trams and buses. Unlike many other European capitals, the rail network in Dublin is quite limited, so buses are by far the main mode of public transport. Public transport is not run by a single agency, but by a number of state-contracted operators, and most information is provided separately on each operator's website. Trains are run by Irish Rail and trams by Luas, while most buses are run by Dublin Bus, except some local buses in suburban areas which are run by Go-Ahead Ireland.

Transport for Ireland (TFI) is the umbrella brand for public transport in Ireland, although its website primarily just directs you to the individual operators websites for information. However, the TFI Journey Planner is a good way to plan your journey across different modes, and the Live Departures provides real time information for all rail and bus stops. TFI also provides a number of smartphone apps including a journey planner and real time departures. The journey planner app also provides real time departures, so you don't need to download both. The TFI Journey Planner and Live Departures are also integrated into Google Transit and are available within Google Maps.

Tickets and Leap Card

You can use the Leap Card (see below) to pay on all forms of public transport in Dublin and most of Ireland. There is a flat fare in place for all journeys on Dublin Bus and Luas when paying with a Leap Card: €2 for adults and €0.65 for children (Aug 2026). Children under 5 travel for free. You cannot pay using contactless bank cards though this is planned to be rolled out in the future.

Dublin is still relatively safe, but the situation has noticeably declined in the last few years due to increases in drug abuse, illegal immigration etc. Locals advice is to keep your wits about you at all times. The Garda (police) presence is poor in the city centre and many areas are dirty and filled with vacant buildings. The surroundings and atmosphere can change vastly by walking just 100 metres. The emergency number for all services is 999 or 112.

Traffic: the city is congested, avoid bringing a car yourself, and never leave valuables on display in a car.

Motorists often ignore pedestrian crossing lights. Maybe they're preoccupied with searching for a parking spot.

Street life: Buskers, drunks and down-and-outs are all part of the picaresque Dublin scene, and An Béal Bocht - "the poor mouth" - has a noble literary tradition. A polite "sorry" should see them off.

Gardaí (police officers) are happy to assist or give directions but they are often nowhere to be found. If you fear for your safety and can't find or phone a Garda, head to the nearest shop, bar etc where you will be safe and can call. Pub doormen and bouncers will likewise call the police for you, they want to forestall trouble on their street.

LGBTQ+ travellers: Dublin is usually not only safe but welcoming, however 2022 saw a 29% increase nationwide in hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people. Each Garda station has a Diversity Officer on duty, and the police are vigilant against all forms of hate crime. Support can also be obtained from Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre on Capel Street, tel +353 1 873 4999.

Rough areas: The areas around the Liffey Boardwalk, Lower Abbey Street and around Connolly station can be unsafe by day, worth a swerve at night. O'Connell Street should be avoided at all times, apart from rampant drug-dealing and street crime it is also dirty and has few real attractions to speak of.

You have simply no reason to be in down-at-heel outlying districts such as Ballymun.