A Dublin Walking Tour: 1,000 Years of Patriots, Poets and Pubs in Temple Bar

Dublin’s Temple Bar district is one of the most popular destinations in all of Ireland. For centuries, the area has attracted travellers who come to experience its vibrant pub-lined streets. On this walking tour, we’ll go beyond the music and bustling watering holes, and hear about some of the most interesting people connected to Temple Bar’s long history, from the city’s Viking origins, all the way to U2!

Hailing from Dublin myself, I love exploring my home and sharing the best of it with visitors from all over the world. Temple Bar has a reputation, especially among locals, of being the touristy part of the city. On this hour-long tour, I’ll take you beyond the throngs of people and show you the area’s hidden corners and lesser-known stories. You’ll hear about Temple Bar’s origins, find out how it got its name, and discover the best way to enjoy your time here. I’ll also tell you how the local government almost destroyed the whole place in the 1970s…

This tour starts and ends outside the Irish Houses of Parliament and along the way, you’ll have an opportunity to:

• Quench your thirst at one of Temple Bar’s best pubs: The Porterhouse, The Temple Bar Pub, The Palace Bar (one of Dublin’s oldest pubs) and Foggy Dew (one of the first craft beer pubs in Ireland
• Stand outside the medieval city wall’s boundary line
• Hear about the famous musicians and poets that have been hanging around the area since the 1700s, including band U2, parliamentarian Henry Grattan, and German composer, George Frederick Handel
• Stroll down cobblestoned streets and past a few of the city’s most famous landmarks including the Clarence Hotel, the Merchant’s Arch, the Viking Longboat statue, and Isolde’s Tower
• Find out about the “Hellish” reputation the area once had
• Stop by numerous cafés, restaurants and pubs, like Crown Alley’s Vintage Cocktail Club, the Seafood Café by Niall Sabongi, and House of Read
• See some of Dublin’s Cultural District’s highlights, like 3 Olympia Theatre and Smock Alley Theatre
• Snap photos of the Ha Penny Bridge, O’Connell Bridge, and the River Liffey
• Take in the oldest building in all of Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, and the Viking museum next door, Dublinia

Whether you’re in Ireland for the first time or you’re a curious local, this tour offers insight into one of the most famous parts of the country. You’ll leave with a greater appreciation for the iconic neighbourhood, and a few stories in your pocket that the vast majority of visitors never hear!