Discover Alone
“Swift chanced his arm here.”
Saint Patrick's Cathedral is the national cathedral, which sounds grand until you realise Christ Church is the local one. It is a bit like two uncles arguing over who paid for the turkey. The building has been here since the thirteenth century, sitting on what was once an island in the River Poddle. Water has been an uninvited guest for centuries, so do not expect a secret basement full of gold. Jonathan Swift was the dean here, and legend says he chanced his arm through a wall to check if he could fit his head through. That is where we get the phrase, likely because he was drunk. Today, worshippers enter free, but tourists pay a fee to look around. It is still a working church, so try to look up at the ceiling rather than just staring at the floor. You are here to see history, not to count your coins. The architecture is stunning, but the gossip is better. Swift would probably write a satire about the queue alone. Just look up, breathe deep, and try not to bump into the priest. It is a serious place with a funny history. Keep your voice down and your eyes open. You might spot a real ghost, or just a very tired tourist.
Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
Then Tom went looking for the oddest places around it.
Stop 2 · Five minutes' walk
Battle of Dublin
“History is now fiction.”
Battle of Dublin in County Dublin was a week of street fighting that blew up the Public Records Office. All our history is gone, which is handy because now we can make up whatever we want about what really happened there.
The Battle of Dublin was a week of street battles in Dublin from 28 June to 5 July 1922 that marked the beginning of the Irish Civil War. Six months after the Anglo-Irish Treaty ended the recent Irish War of Independence, it was fought between the forces of…
From Wikidata Q645776Photo: National Library of Ireland on The Commons, Public domain
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Stop 3 · A short walk away
St. Patricks Well
“Fox owns this garden.”
St. Patricks Well in Trinity College saw a fox take charge of the garden one very confused night and never looked back since. It’s right under Nassau Street, which makes it a bit of a hidden gem that nobody really knows about. Hang around long enough and you'll hear a story from a local.
Annotated 'St. Patrick's Well' on the 1837 ed. OSi 6-inch map and on the 1863 ed. OSi 25-inch map. This holy well also known as the 'southern well of St. Patrick', is still visible in the Provosts garden of Trinity College, directly W of the main entrance to…
From the National Monuments Service (Archaeological Survey of Ireland) record DU018-020060Photo: Smirkybec, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Stop 4 · Round the corner
monument
“Fairies hate parking fees.”
Monument in St Michan’s Park is currently involved in a serious dispute with the fairies over who gets to park their invisible carriages by the Erin statue. The prison foundations beneath it are full of secrets, but the real trouble is that the ghosts keep arguing about the parking fees every single evening. Keep your distance if you hear giggling.
Freestanding carved ashlar limestone monument, dated 1903, set on elevated grass mound. Carved stone figure of Erin holding funerary wreath, with wolfhound and high cross at her feet, on chamfered square-profile pedestal, on stepped base. Carved bust…
From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 50070299Photo: William Murphy from Dublin, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Stop 5 · Hop back in the car, 5 minutes
Grand Canal
“Canal is tired of ducks.”
Grand Canal lock in County Dublin complains to the council that the boats are too loud and the ducks are too political. It’s been doing the same up-and-down routine since the 1790s and is frankly tired of the attention. It just wants to flow quietly without anyone asking it for a selfie or a history lesson.
Canal lock on circular line of Grand Canal, built c. 1795. Comprising two pairs of mitre gates with timber foot-boards and balance beams, set within cut limestone lock chamber, having limestone copings and splayed end to west. Timber mooring posts to north…
From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 50110527Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0
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The whole day on one map
See everything else around St Patrick's Cathedral →
Over a million places across Ireland and Britain, all free. Explorer Tom has a story for nearly every one.