Dublin’s Victorian Pubs – A Walking Tour with Donal Fallon
- Monday 26 October 12:00pm
- The Palace Bar
- €20 + €1 Booking Fee
tours
Bram Stoker’s Dublin was a city in transformation. The railway was reshaping the city, public parks were opening up new spaces for leisure and the humble public house was changing too.
Historian, author of The Dublin Pub and host of Three Castles Burning podcast, Donal Fallon leads us on a specially-commissioned walking tour through the streets of Stoker’s Victorian Dublin. Along the way, discover the drinking habits and political connections of the age, the pubs frequented by figures like Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Charles Stewart Parnell and the literary worlds of Sheridan Le Fanu and Máirtín Ó Cadhain.
This walking tour will pass some of Dublin’s most famous historic pubs, including The Palace, Mulligan’s, Davy Byrne’s, The Bailey, McDaid’s, Toners and Kennedy’s, as well as the Shelbourne Hotel bar where Bram Stoker met the great Victorian actor Henry Irving. The route will also take in Sheridan Le Fanu’s former home on Merrion Square and explore his story The Cock and Anchor, which centres on Dublin’s Bleeding Horse pub.
Donal will also uncover some less familiar connections, including Bram Stoker’s own short story written in support of the Temperance movement, and the curious relationship between Ireland’s literary, political and drinking cultures.
This journey through the pubs and personalities of Victorian Dublin is a very different way to explore the city that shaped Bram Stoker.
| Meeting Point | The tour meeting point is at The Palace Bar, Located at 21 Fleet Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. |
|---|---|
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Doors | Please arrive 10 minutes before the tour starts. |
| Age Suitability | 18+ |
| Latecomers | Latecomers will not be admitted. |
| Warnings | This is an outdoor event. Please dress appropriately. |
| Accessibility | This tour is not wheelchair accessible. More info |
The Palace Bar, 21 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 H950
The tour meeting point is at The Palace Bar.
The closest Dublin Bus stops to 21 Fleet Street are:
Stop 319, Westmoreland Street (Northbound): 1, 13, 40, 44, 44D, E1, E2, F1, F2, F3
Stop 320, Westmoreland Street (Northbound): 7B, 7D, 7E, 11, 11B, 16, 19
Stop 4521, College Green (Southbound): 13, 27, 56A, 65, 65B, 77A, 151
Stop 341, Aston Quay (Westbound): 37, 39, 39A, 70, C1, C2, C3, C4
Accessibility Information
Ticketing
This is a ticketed event. Tickets are €20 + €1 booking fee.
Arrival
The tour meeting point is at The Palace Bar, Located at 21 Fleet Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. The streets feature cobblestone roadways and narrow stone footpaths with heavy pedestrian foot traffic.
The closest Dublin Bus stops to 21 Fleet Street are:
Stop 319, Westmoreland Street (Northbound): 1, 13, 40, 44, 44D, E1, E2, F1, F2, F3
Stop 320, Westmoreland Street (Northbound): 7B, 7D, 7E, 11, 11B, 16, 19
Stop 4521, College Green (Southbound): 13, 27, 56A, 65, 65B, 77A, 151
Stop 341, Aston Quay (Westbound): 37, 39, 39A, 70, C1, C2, C3, C4
Entry
This tour is not wheelchair accessible as it begins in The Palace Bar.
Access requires navigating the street-level entrance on Fleet Street, moving through the compact ground-floor pub, and ascending a flight of internal stairs to the upper floor.
There is no elevator on site.
The remainder of the tour takes place outdoors, requiring attendees to navigate varied surfaces ranging from flat paving to uneven heritage cobblestones.
Space
The Palace bar (meeting point) is a historic pub with tight entranceways, and compact standing areas.
The rest of the tour takes place outdoors on the streets of Dublin.
Accessible Bathroom / WC
No dedicated accessible toilet facilities on site.
Bar
Although the tour focuses on historic pubs and begins inside The Palace Bar, there is no dedicated bar access or alcohol served to attendees as part of the event. Following the initial indoor segment of the tour, the remainder of the tour takes place entirely outdoors, viewing pubs from the street.
Sound
There is no amplified sound used on this tour. The indoor segment takes place in an acoustic pub atmosphere that may be loud and busy with regular customers. The outdoor segment navigates the busy streets of Dublin, where ambient city noise will be present. Tour guides will speak without the use of electronic microphones throughout the entire experience.
Lighting
In the Palace bar there will be ambient lighting.
The rest of the tour takes place outdoors during daylight hours.
Quieter Room
No quiet room available.