Dublin Decoded run both public and private guided walking tours of of Dublin’s built heritage and history: including explorations of the Georgian era, Modern and Victorian infill, social history and even fragments of Medieval Dublin.  To see details of our famous Dublin Decoded public, guided walking tours, to which all are welcome (tickets average €19 pp) please go to the Public Walks page of our tours website.   Be advised, we run just 2-4 public tours each month, they are only scheduled 8- 25 days prior to each tour, and they nearly always sell out. This useful monthly newsletter will let you know if or when new public tours go ahead.   Alternatively, to see the possibilities for booking a private tour, on a date of your own choosing, for your own group, please go to the home page of our tours website, see the available featured tours, then follow the steps to book your tour. Private tours from €200, for your entire group.  All information on our tours is on the respective tour pages.

Either way, whether you join one of our public walks, to which all are welcome, we look forward to welcoming you  on tour!

 

note each of these four different walks have a different meeting point.  As a private, custom event, booked for your own group, we can easily cater details for your party.  Please note the address below is for private booking inquiries and we can not answer emails about our public walks there.  All details of our public walks programme (1-3 public walks per month) appear every month in our free Dublin Decoded ezine.   The link to the quick-subscribe form is here.    All private tour inquiries should be made please to the email address below please.  When booking a tour for your group, it is greatly appreciated if you put your preferred date in the subject header when possible please.

The descriptions below each give just a flavour of our 4 most popular and celebrated walks.

Our Georgian East tour was first developed in partnership with the Irish Georgian Society.  This covers architecture, history, and social history, and covers the area from College Green, through Trinity College, and from there to Stephens Green.  Among the architects featured are pioneer Edward Lovett Pearce, Richard Cassels, Thomas Burgh; William Chambers and James Gandon.  We look at a number of beautiful facades and exteriors, and usually enter several buildings as well, to look at some equally beautiful interiors too.

For college groups, and others keenly interested, we can also look at the underlying history, principles and ideals that underpin the Georgian style; the politics and economics that made it possible in 18th century Ireland, a handful of individual architects and crafts-people, and how they triumphed as designers and problems solvers, and a brief look at other ideas like proportion and materials.

The meeting place for Georgian East is generally in Trinity College. During weekdays (Monday to Friday) the walk always starts at 2.15pm  (I can start later, by request & arrangement but not earlier Mon-Fri)   Private group tours should be booked in advance. Inquires to dublindecoded @gmail.com  Please include your preferred dates in the Subject Header when possible please.

Georgian West: For those who want to explore the other end of the city centre, we also run our celebrated Georgian West tour.  This explores the very beginning of the neo-classical style in Dublin, via work by Sir William Robertson; as well as buildings by Sir Thomas Burgh; Thomas Ivory; Thomas Cooley,  James Gandon and others.   On this tour we look at how the “Castle” itself became the very first part of Dublin to receive a neo-classical treatment in architecture, (and why) and at how the hugely powerful Wide Streets Committee reshaped the city.   The focus however is on a number of outstanding individual buildings including: the Chapel Royal (by Francis Johnston) City Hall (the former Royal Exchange); and the beautiful Newcommen Bank.  An exterior view and appreciation of James Gandon’s sublime Four Courts and/or a visit to the rarely-seen interior of Saint Werburgh’s church often also form a part of the tour.  For private group tours please inquire at the email address below.   The meeting place for Georgian West is generally in South William Street, in the the South City Centre.  During weekdays (Monday to Friday) I recommend a start time at 2.15pm  (I can start later, by request & arrangement but not earlier Mon-Fri)   Private group tours should be booked in advance. Inquires to dublindecoded @gmail.com and please include your preferred dates in the Subject Header please.

 

 

 

We have two further walking tours, with our two, very different North-side walking tours.  These include a mix of Georgian architecture, mixed with Victorian, medieval, history and social history.

From Smock Alley to the Kings Inns,  from 2.10pm, a lovely version of our Georgian North tour.     A wonderful, intriguing, and  highly sociable walk, featuring medieval markets and monasteries, glorious Henrietta Street and the  King’s Inns    featuring superb buildings by architects Fredrick Darley, Henry Aron Baker and Francis Johnston.   
  The tour includes Parnell (formerly Rutland Square) some of the many secrets of Cavendish Row,  the Rotunda Hospital; and the Rotunda complex, including the Lying-In hospital, the Gate and Ambassador, along with Eccles Street, some city surprises, Mountjoy Square, and often even a trip to a Art gallery or two!   We generally recommend a start point at Cow Lane.  

Georgian North West,  is the newest and perhaps most exciting of all our walking tours.  Full of economic, industrial and social history.  For those who like to get off the beaten track.

To make inquiries about any of the walking tours above for your private group, please email us at dublindecoded @gmail.com  Please include your preferred dates in the Subject Header please.

We hope you can make at least one of these lovely, highly sociable tours:  and seize the chance to see Dublin anew.

Very best wishes, from Arran Henderson, and Dublin Decoded.

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