Declan
People love the idea of the Liffey. Postcard shots. Reflections. Bridges lit up at night. Looks lovely when you’re walking beside it and don’t have to think about what’s actually …
You get used to daft questions when you’re a tour guide. After a few years, you stop flinching. People are lost, they’re tired, they’re full of jet lag and bad …
You’ll notice it if you’re not from here. No one really says “hello.” Not properly. Not like in other cities where people seem genuinely delighted to see you. In Dublin, …
I used to include the Famine Memorial on maybe one in every five tours. Depends on the group. If they looked like they could handle something heavier than anecdotes about …
Some pubs are built for talking. Others are built for people who’ve already done enough of that and just want to sit down without being asked what their plans are …
I gave walking tours of Dublin for years. Not fancy ones — the kind where you start outside a coffee chain and end up next to a bin explaining to …
I spent twenty years walking Dublin’s streets giving tours. In that time, I had more one-sided conversations with statues than I ever did in my last relationship. Not on purpose. …
Crossing O’Connell Street shouldn’t be an ordeal. It’s not that wide. There are traffic lights. You’d think people would manage. They don’t. Locals dart like they’ve just robbed something. Tourists …
Every Dubliner’s got an opinion on where to get the best pint. They’ll argue about it for hours, usually in a place that doesn’t even serve Guinness. I’ve had good …
I don’t tell this one on tours. Not because it’s embarrassing — though it is — but because it doesn’t fit neatly between the statues and the shopping tips. You …