Soft rain off the Irish Sea, and a river that splits the city in two
The weather changes between one bridge and the next. On the right wind the quays smell of roasting barley from the brewery at St James's Gate. People give directions as stories, and every landmark in the story is a pub.
€26 for a library whose shelves are empty, and a night in Temple Bar
The Book of Kells Experience at Trinity is from €26, timed entry, booked online. You do see the book. But Trinity's own page says all books have been removed from the Long Room for the Old Library redevelopment, except the first four bays as you walk in. I would go for the manuscript, not for the famous photo of the shelves.
Temple Bar I keep to a walk-through. It is the one district where I hear more stag parties than Dublin accents; ten minutes' walk finds a pub poured for people who live here.
A chipper beside Christ Church, frying since 1913
Leo Burdock on Werburgh Street, in the shadow of Christ Church, has sold fish and chips since 1913; the family fried in coal-fired pans until 1991. Go at lunchtime on a weekday, order fish and chips and eat them out of the paper nearby. It is my favourite meal in Dublin.
Keep left, and pay the gantry before 20:00 tomorrow
Ireland drives on the left and roundabouts turn clockwise. The rule I give everyone: if you crossed the M50 between the Blanchardstown and Lucan exits, pay that evening on eflow.ie. At the rental desk, ask whether the car has a tag; if not, the rental company gets the penalty and, one Irish toll guide says, adds €30–€60 in admin. Foreign plates do not escape either: eFlow says penalty notices for non-Irish vehicles are sent by Euro Parking Collection.
The book under glass, a gaol with no car park, and a museum on hold
Book of Kells Experience — from €26, timed tickets, open from 08:30 (09:00 on Sunday). I book the first slot.
Kilmainham Gaol — €8, guided tour only, and tickets must be pre-booked on the gaol's own site; third-party tickets are not valid. It held leaders of the risings from 1798 to 1916. The gaol has no car park: use IMMA, five minutes' walk via West Avenue and Richmond Gate.
Chester Beatty — free, manuscripts and miniatures from Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Closed from 15 June to the end of December 2026 for Ireland's EU Presidency, so plan it for 2027.
Ha'penny Bridge — a cast-iron arch with a 43-metre main span, one of the earliest of its kind. Cross it on foot at dusk, when the quays light up.
Royal Hospital Kilmainham and IMMA — Park Rite runs the car park on Military Road, so after the gaol, walk the grounds before you drive off.
Batter since 1913, and a Silk Road café waiting for 2027
Dublin's cheapest classic is fish and chips from a chipper, and the local dish to try in a pub is coddle, sausage and bacon stewed with potato. Beyond Werburgh Street, the Burdock branch at Crown Alley in Temple Bar has walls lined with the famous people who queued there; it is the one Temple Bar door I do recommend.
The Silk Road Café inside the Chester Beatty cooks Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, and it closes with the museum until the end of 2026. When it reopens, eat there after the galleries.
Dracula's weekend, a marathon from Leeson Street, a parade from Parnell Square
The Bram Stoker Festival runs 23–26 October 2026, four days of the gothic over the October bank holiday weekend. On the Sunday of it, 25 October, the Irish Life Dublin Marathon starts on Leeson Street Lower at 08:45, with road diversions from 03:00 to 21:00 and no Luas Red Line between Heuston and Connolly from about 08:45 to 10:45. I would not drive in.
The St Patrick's Festival runs 13–17 March 2027. The parade leaves Parnell Square at noon on Wednesday 17 March, down O'Connell Street and over O'Connell Bridge to the Cuffe Street and Kevin Street junction. Park at Red Cow and take the Luas.
What's on
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 23–26 October 2026 | Bram Stoker Festival, four days of the gothic over the October bank holiday weekend |
| 25 October 2026 | Irish Life Dublin Marathon — start 08:45 on Leeson Street Lower, road diversions 03:00–21:00, no Luas Red Line Heuston–Connolly about 08:45–10:45 |
| 13–17 March 2027 | St Patrick's Festival; the parade leaves Parnell Square at 12:00 on 17 March, down O'Connell Street to the Cuffe Street/Kevin Street junction |