Sights in Dublin
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Guinness Storehouse
; St James's) The most popular visit in town is the beer-lover's Disneyland, a multimedia bells-and-whistles homage to the country's most famous export and the city's most enduring symbol. The old grain storehouse, the only part of the massive, 26-hectare St James's Gate Brewery open to the public, is a suitable cathedral in which to worship the black gold; shaped like a giant pint of Guinness, it rises seven impressive storeys high around a stunning central atrium. At the top is the head, represented by the Gravity Bar, with a panoramic view of Dublin.
From the time Arthur Guinness (1725–1803) founded the brewery in 1759, the operation has expanded down to the Liffey and…
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St Stephen's Green
As you watch the assorted groups of friends, lovers and individuals escaping the confines of the office, splaying themselves across the nine elegantly landscaped hectares of St Stephen’s Green and looking to catch a few rays of precious sun, consider that those same hectares once formed a common for public whippings, burnings and hanging. These days, the harshest treatment you’ll get at Dublin’s favourite lunchtime escape is the warden chucking you off the green for playing football or Frisbee.
The buildings around the square date mainly from the mid-18th century, when the green was landscaped and became the centrepiece of Georgian Dublin. The northern side was…
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Old Library
To the south of the square is the Old Library, built in a rather severe style by Thomas Burgh between 1712 and 1732. Despite Ireland’s independence, the Library Act of 1801 still entitles Trinity College Library, along with four libraries in Britain, to a free copy of every book published in the UK. Housing this bounty requires nearly another 1km of shelving every year and the collection amounts to around 4.5 million books. Of course, these cannot all be kept at the college library, so there are now additional library storage facilities dotted around Dublin.
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Newgrange
From the surface, Newgrange is a somewhat disappointing flattened, grass-covered mound, about 80m in diameter and 13m high. Underneath, however, lies the finest Stone Age passage tomb in Ireland and one of the most remarkable prehistoric sites in Europe. It dates from around 3200 BC, predating the great pyramids of Egypt by some six centuries. The purpose for which it was constructed remains uncertain. It may have been a burial place for kings or a centre for ritual – although the alignment with the sun at the time of the winter solstice also suggests it was designed to act as a calendar. The name Newgrange derives from ‘new granary’ (the tomb did in fact serve as a…
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Dublin Castle
The centre of British power in Ireland for most of 800 years, Dublin Castle sits atop Cork Hill, behind City Hall. It was originally built on the orders of King John in 1204, but it’s more higgledy-piggledy palace than castle. Only the Record Tower, completed in 1258, survives from the original Norman construction. Parts of the castle’s foundations remain and a visit to the excavations is the most interesting part of the castle tour. The moats, now completely covered by more modern developments, were once filled by the River Poddle. The castle is also home to one of Dublin’s best museums, the Chester Beatty Library.
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Trinity College
On a summer’s evening, when the bustling crowds have gone for the day, there’s hardly a more delightful place in Dublin than the grounds of Ireland’s most prestigious university, a masterpiece of architecture and landscaping beautifully preserved in Georgian aspic. Not only is it Dublin’s most attractive bit of historical real estate, but it’s also home to one of the world’s most famous – and most beautiful – books, the gloriously illuminated Book of Kells. There is no charge to wander around the gardens on your own between 8am and 10pm.
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Christ Church Cathedral
Its hilltop location and eye-catching flying buttresses make this the most photogenic by far of Dublin's three cathedrals as well as one of the capital's most recognisable symbols.
It was founded in 1030 on what was then the southern edge of Dublin's Viking settlement. It was later smack in the middle of medieval Dublin: Dublin Castle, the Tholsel (Town Hall; demolished in 1809) and the original Four Courts (demolished in 1796) were all close by. Nearby, on Back Lane, is the only remaining guildhall in Dublin. The 1706 Tailors Hall was due for demolition in the 1960s, but survived to become the office of An Taisce (National Trust for Ireland).
The original wooden church in…
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St Patrick's Cathedral
It was at this cathedral, reputedly, that St Paddy himself dunked the Irish heathens into the waters of a well, so the church that bears his name stands on one of the earliest Christian sites in the city and a pretty sacred piece of turf. Although there's been a church here since the 5th century, the present building dates from 1190 or 1225 (opinions differ) and it has been altered several times, most notably in 1864 when the flying buttresses were added, thanks to the neo-Gothic craze that swept the nation. St Patrick's Park, the expanse of green beside the cathedral, was a crowded slum until it was cleared and its residents evicted in the early 20th century.
Like Christ…
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Chester Beatty Library
The world-famous library, in the grounds of Dublin Castle, houses the collection of mining engineer Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875–1968), bequeathed to the Irish State on his death. And we're immensely grateful for Chester's patronage: spread over two floors, the breathtaking collection includes more than 20,000 manuscripts, rare books, miniature paintings, clay tablets, costumes and other objects of artistic, historical and aesthetic importance. The library runs tours at 1pm on Wednesdays and at 3pm and 4pm on Sundays.
The Artistic Traditions Gallery on the 1st floor begins with memorabilia from Beatty's life, before embarking on an exploration of the art of Mughal…
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Kilmainham Gaol
If you have any desire to understand Irish history – especially the juicy bits about resistance to English rule – then a visit to this former prison is an absolute must. This threatening grey building, built between 1792 and 1795, has played a role in virtually every act of Ireland's painful path to independence.
The uprisings of 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1916 ended with the leaders' confinement here. Robert Emmet, Thomas Francis Meagher, Charles Stewart Parnell and the 1916 Easter Rising leaders were all visitors, but it was the executions in 1916 that most deeply etched the jail's name into the Irish consciousness. Of the 15 executions that took place between 3 May…
reviewed
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National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History
No wonder the British army were so reluctant to pull out of Ireland, when they were occupying this magnificent space, the oldest army barracks in Europe. The building – the museum bit can wait – was completed in 1704 according to the design of Thomas Burgh, whose CV also includes the Old Library in Trinity College and St Michan’s Church. Its central square held six entire regiments and is a truly awesome space, surrounded by arcaded colonnades and blocks linked by walking bridges. Following the handover to the new Irish government in 1922, the barracks was renamed to honour Michael Collins, a hero of the struggle for independence, who was killed that year in the…
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Fry Model Railway
Ireland’s biggest model railway is 240 sq metres, and authentically displays much of Ireland’s rail and public transport system, including the DART line and Irish Sea ferry services, in O-gauge (32mm track width). A separate room features model trains and other memorabilia. Unfortunately the operators suffer from the overseriousness of some grown men with complicated toys; rather than let you simply look and admire, they herd you into the control room in groups for demonstrations.
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Trinity College
The country’s most famous university is an oasis of Victorian tranquillity in the middle of the city. Founded by Elizabeth I in 1592, most of the stunning buildings and landscaped squares date from the 18th and 19th centuries, but the campus’ single biggest attraction is much, much older – queue up to gape at the Book of Kells, one of the world’s most extraordinary illuminated manuscripts. Thirty-minute walking tours are available, see website for details.
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Dublinia & the Viking World
A must for the kids, the old Synod Hall attached to Christ Church Cathedral is home to this seemingly perennial exhibit on medieval Dublin, complete with models, music, streetscapes and interactive displays. The newly added Viking World tells the story of Dublin’s 9th- and 10th-century Scandinavian invaders and the city they built in their wake. Finally, you can climb neighbouring St Michael’s Tower for views over the city to the Dublin Hills.
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Hugh Lane Gallery
Whatever reputation Dublin has a repository of world-class art has a lot to do with the simply stunning collection at the Hugh Lane Gallery, which is not only home to works by some of the brightest stars in the modern and contemporary art world both foreign and domestic, but is also where you’ll find one of the most singular exhibitions to be seen anywhere: the actual studio of one of the 20th century’s truly iconic artists, Francis Bacon.
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Number 29
Built in 1794 for the widow of a wine merchant, Number 29 reconstructs genteel Dublin home life from 1790 to 1820. Discover how Georgians bathed twice yearly and how ladies used a latter-day mini gym, the leather exercise horse. See the discreet dining-room mirrors that allowed servants to respond to orders without listening in to round-table gossip. The 30-minute tour is a fascinating taste of the city’s social history.
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War Memorial Gardens
Hardly anyone ever ventures this far west, but they're missing a lovely bit of landscaping in the shape of the War Memorial Gardens, by our reckoning as pleasant a patch of greenery as any you'll find in the heart of the Georgian centre. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial commemorates the 49,400 Irish soldiers who died during WWI – their names are inscribed in the two huge granite bookrooms that stand at one end. A beautiful spot and a bit of history to boot.
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Waterways Visitor Centre
If you absolutely must know about the construction and operation of Ireland's canals, you'll have to wait a bit as this interpretative centre is currently closed for renovations. Still, admiring the 'box on the docks' – as this modern building is nicknamed – is plenty good enough for the average enthusiast of artificial waterways.
If you are here in summer and are wondering why it needs to employ a security guard, it's to keep local kids from storming up to the centre's roof and using it as a diving platform into the basin. Sometimes the kids content themselves with diving off the shed on the bridge, terrorising those on board the Viking Splash Tour boats that pass…
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Old Jameson Distillery
Smithfield’s biggest draw is devoted to uisce beatha (ish-kuh ba-ha, ‘the water of life’). The whowhatnow? It’s whiskey, the essential Irish spirit, which doesn’t quite bestow life, but, if drunk enough, will undoubtedly take it away. Here, in the original home of one of its most famous and renowned distillers, you can get an excellent introduction to the history and culture of this most potent of drinks. Serious fans might be put off by the slickness of the tour and museum, which shepherds visitors through a compulsory tour of the re-created factory and into the ubiquitous gift shop.
The museum occupies a section of the old distillery, which kept the capital in…
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St Michan’s Church
Macabre remains are the main attraction at this church, which was founded by the Danes in 1096 and named after one of their saints. The oldest architectural feature is the 15th-century battlement tower; otherwise the church was rebuilt in the late 17th century, considerably restored in the early 19th century and again after the Civil War.
The interior of the church, which feels more like a courtroom, is worth a quick look as you wait for your guide. It contains an organ from 1724, which Handel may have played for the first-ever performance of his Messiah. The organ case is distinguished by the fine oak carving of 17 entwined musical instruments on its front. A skull on the…
reviewed
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Iveagh Gardens
Once known to locals as the Secret Garden, the word is out about the beautiful and ramshackle Iveagh Gardens, situated just behind Newman House. The gardens were designed by Ninian Niven in 1863. Features of the beautifully landscaped gardens include a wonderfully rustic grotto, cascade, fountain, maze and rose garden.
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St Audoen’s Protestant Church
The only surviving medieval parish church in the city, St Audoen’s was built between 1181 and 1212, though the site is thought to be much older. Enlarged in its 15th-century heyday, it shrank to its present size in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the eastern wing and St Anne’s Chapel were left to ruin.
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Merrion Square
St Stephen’s Green may win the popularity contest, but elegant Merrion Sq snubs its nose at such easy praise and remains the most prestigious of Dublin’s squares. Its well-kept lawns and beautifully tended flower beds are flanked on three sides by gorgeous Georgian houses with colourful doors, peacock fanlights, ornate door knockers and, occasionally, foot-scrapers, used to remove mud from shoes before venturing indoors. The square, laid out in 1762, is bordered on its remaining side by the National Gallery and Leinster House – all of which, apparently, isn’t enough for some. One former resident, WB Yeats (1865–1939), was less than impressed and described the…
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Gallery of Photography
This small gallery devoted to the photograph is set in a light and airy three-level space overlooking Meeting House Sq in the heart of Temple Bar. It features a constantly changing menu of local and international work, and while it's a little too small to be considered a really good gallery, the downstairs shop is well stocked with all manner of photographic tomes and manuals.
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National Museum of Archaeology
The mother of Irish museums and the country’s most important cultural institution was established in 1977 as the primary repository of the nation’s archaeological treasures. The collection is so big, however, that it has expanded beyond the walls of this superb purpose-built building next to the Irish parliament into three other separate museums – the stuffed beasts of the Natural History Museum, the decorative arts section at Collins Barracks and a country life museum in County Mayo, on Ireland’s west coast.
They’re all fascinating, but the star attractions are all here, mixed up in Europe’s finest collection of Bronze- and Iron-Age gold artefacts, the most…
reviewed