It’s a huge relief, and huge pleasure, to relaunch our guided walking tours of Dublin this week. They start very soon now, with two tours of Grafton Street, next Wednesday the 12th and Friday the 14th of May.

Anybody who knows about our tours will be aware we include a lot of information on architecture during our tours. Some on modern/ contemporary architecture, to be sure, but mostly on older, historic buildings, and we try to share what we know about architecture in general.

So for example we try to illuminate and explain the characteristics of say, Victorian “Gothic Revival” Buildings, or Georgian Buildings and we use the whole city as a sort of giant textbook, pointing out the features and details of these beautiful buildings. Part of the idea, for a non-specialist but culturally-curious audience, is to make architecture and architectural history more accessible and enjoyable.

We think knowing a bit about architecture makes walking around the city immensely more rewarding. And there’s a LOT to enjoy! Dublin has some of the best 18th and 19th century architecture in the world. These buildings, from the Georgian masterpieces of James Gandon; or the subtle pleasures of a Venetian-style Gothic Revival Museum building, by renowned 19th century Irish firm Deane and Woodward. There are marvels everywhere to behold, from multiple types of richly-colored marble and stone in one building, to an art deco typeface used on a 1940s library.

It’s not all about architecture either. We love history too, in its broadest and richest sense, from women’s history to social history; from fire and plaque in the medieval era to the politics and revolutions of early modern Ireland. From the engineering history of bridges, ports, harbours and docks, to the theatrical, publishing and literary world of 1600s and 1700s Dublin.

If you like ideas, and like tracing the evolution of a city through its streets, lane and squares, and even in the faces, features and scars of the buildings itself, you have come to the right place.

Here are the tours we are running over the next 7-9 weeks, from Wednesday 12th May to the 3rd of July, 2021.

Wednesday 12 May: Grafton Street. Tour 2PM

Friday 14 May : Grafton Streeet Tour 5.30PM

Sunday 16 May Classic Highlights: 11 AM:

Wednesday 19 May:  Gutter  Bookshop, Lit, Theatre, Politics in Georgian and Early Modern Dublin:  5.30PM

Friday 21 May Portobello Tour 5.30PM

Saturday 22nd May  South East Highlights: 11AM

Sunday 23rd May Classic Highlights 11AM

Friday 28 May Rathmines 5.30PM

Saturday 29th of May: Medieval Walls:  11AM.

Sunday 30th May.  River and Canal: Harbours, Quays and Docks  11AM

Thursday 3 June South East Highlights:  2PM

Saturday 05th of June  Patrick’s Park to Cork Street, Via Blackpitts, Newmarket, Weavers’ Sq.,  Reginald St. and the Coombe.    11.30AM.

Saturday 26 June: Dublin Castle to Smock Alley: Literature: Politics & History; 11.30AM**

Wednesday 30th June: Classic Highlights 5.30 PM

Saturday 03 July. Capel Street Quarter 11AM

More information about each of these tour, and the all-important tickets, may be seen on our walking tour business website here.

But its worth saying here that to comply with public health guidelines, all excursions are limited to 15 guests maximum.

And in addition to that, to allow enhanced social distancing and superb sound quality on our guided walking tours, all tickets on public tours also come with audio headsets as standard. 

This premium service which costs us around €4.50-@5 euro, per guest, is included into the price of your ticket.  

Tickets are one type only (general admission) and are €20 per person (which includes your audio headset).

We hope to see some of you on tour over the next month or two, and of course, please feel free to spread the word.

Arran Henderson

Dublin Decoded Tours.