What Dublin Is Actually Like in October
October is one of those months when people ask me what Dublin is like and I have to resist saying: “Which October?” Because Dublin in October can mean sitting outside …
Favourite Places in Dublin (3 of 5): Waiting at O’Connell Bridge
For years I spent a surprising amount of time near O’Connell Bridge waiting for people who had never met me. That’s a large part of being a walking guide. You …
Favourite Places in Dublin (2 of 5): The Pub Where Nobody Asked Questions
The pub wasn’t famous. That’s probably why I liked it. No tour groups outside. No signs claiming the best Guinness in Ireland. No framed photographs of celebrities desperately trying to …
Favourite Places in Dublin (1 of 5): The Bench in St Stephen’s Green
I never mentioned this place on the tours. Not because it was secret. It’s right there in the middle of Dublin. Thousands of people walk past it every day. But …
The Walk I Always Did After a Tour (And Why It Feels Different Now)
There was a walk I used to do after certain tours. Not every tour. Only the ones where the group asked good questions, or laughed at the right bits, or …
The Last Tour I’m Not Giving (And the Places My Brother Keeps Mentioning)
I walked through Dublin the other day the way you do when you’re not really walking through Dublin. Not for errands.Not for exercise.Not even for the usual mild resentment. It …
Why Every Public Bench in Dublin Is Somehow in the Wind
There is a particular kind of optimism involved in sitting on a bench in Dublin. You see it. You think, that’ll do. You imagine five quiet minutes. Maybe a sandwich. …
The Luas Will Humiliate You (A Local Guide to Dublin’s Tram Etiquette)
I used to think the Luas was foolproof. A tram. On rails. Comes, goes, everyone gets on, everyone gets off. Like a polite, organised snake. Then I started bringing tourists …
Hidden Art and Murals You’ll Walk Past and Never See (Unless You’re With a Local)
I used to tell people Dublin was a city you had to look sideways at. Straight on, it gives you the obvious things. Big doors. Big pubs. Big history. You …
Dublin Bus Stops: Where Time Goes to Die (And Occasionally to Chat)
If you ever want to understand Dublin, stand at a bus stop for twenty minutes.Any one will do. O’Connell Street, College Green, Donnybrook, doesn’t matter. Time stops working there. The …