Dublin Decoded: Talks, Tours & Treasure Hunts of Dublin

21/08/2024

2.55PM TODAY. FREE.

Want to understand ,more about Georgian architecture, Georgian plaster-work, and in particular, the unique plaster-work of No.20 Dominick St. ?

Join our FREE, Zoom webinar 3-4PM, TODAY Wed 21 Aug.
with architectural historian Prof. Christine Casey,
Conservation architect. Kevin Blackwood
& myself, local historian and guide, Arran Henderson.

This talk is LIVE ONLY (not recorded)
But access is open and free for everyone.

By kind permission of the host and event organiser (not me)
the Zoom Link is now up and available
on http://dublindecoded.com

Worth reading “Ts&Cs” - please, before joining!
Log on by 2.55PM today.

Walking Tours and other Events for August, 2024 These tours listed below are our only tours currently

15/08/2024

Garden tour, ceiling tour, or a free webinar? - https://mailchi.mp/619fc2464bd7/garden-tour-ceiling-tour-or-a-free-webinar

12/08/2024

Dublin Decoded are very proud to be participating in 5 events, across 3 days, in Heritage Week 2024.

First up, this Saturday, 17 August, and again just 3 days later, on Tuesday 20, we have two half-hour tours (each day) of the famous Number 20 Dominick Street, discussing the legendary 18th century Rococo plaster work ceilings, with their fantasy of birds and figures.

These tours take place at 11AM and again at 11.50 AM, both days.

The tours are FREE, but must be booked in advance, via Event Brite ticket platform
and they will book up fast! - so don't delay.

If Saturday is already booked out buy the time you check, then as i say there are further tours, just 3 days later, on Tuesday 20,at the same tow times.

Here are the links for both the Saturday and Tuesday booking slots.
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/20-lower-dominick-street-tickets-965839410677

Finally, however, for those who want a bit more context and detail, next Wednesday 21st, we have a one-hour webinar on Zoom on the area, context and craftsmanship of the house.
Personally, I plan to talk about the general Dominick Street area, with the aid of lots of maps and old engravings.

I am in exalted company on this Zoom webinar. Also present and contributing are conservation architect Kevin Blackwood and the well-known architectural historian professor Christine Cassey, author-editor of the definitive Buildings of Dublin guide.

Again, this online is entirely FREE.
All are very welcome - we'd love in fact, to see as many people as possible on this talk, but you must be booked in of course, just so you can receive your Zoom link in advance.

The link to register for the one-hour webinar is
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/20-lower-dominick-street-tickets-965892890637

We would love to see you there.

Please share as appropriate
Irish Architectural Archive
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Events in Dublin
An Taisce Dublin City
Dublin Inquirer
Dublin City Libraries
The Little Museum of Dublin
Irish Georgian Society
The Royal Irish Academy

Guided tour of Robert West's historic building at 20 Lower Dominick Street

12/08/2024

This all looks great! All in the welcoming embrace of the lovely Hugh Lane Gallery And personally speaking, I can't wait to see the Sarah Purser exhibition in particular.

12/08/2024

This looks like great fun. You can't beat a good book-swap! Always super to have any excuse to visit MoLI anyhow, to be honest, with its exhibits, and its beautiful buildings, and its incomparable setting, and its fab gardens, and its yummy cafe. Shall I go on??? 😊

Join us for the Great MoLI Book Swap! Taking place on the 31 August and 1 September, the Book Swap is your opportunity to rehome your well-loved books and pick up some new reads. Entry is included with general admission (half price with code bookswap) or free for MoLI members. Spend a day exploring our exhibitions and exchanging books with fellow bookworms! https://moli.ie/events/the-great-moli-book-august-2024

18/07/2024

one of our favourite places to visit, and to bring visitors to Dublin.
The guides and tours are all brilliant here and incredibly, admission and tours are both completely free. A true underrated gem of the historic Liberties.

18/07/2024

It may not be entirely practical to uncover this stretch of the river Poddle

It may also not be practical to construct a full-sized, working mill on this stretch of the river Poddle;
nor to use the mill to create building materials, nor indeed to use that material to create housing on the roof of Saint Werburgh's (!)

However, all of these petty objections miss the real point.

The real point is that this section of ground along the old medieval wall of Dublin just outside Dublin Castle and running along the city walls at Ship Street (formerly Sheep St).
and connecting with the corner at adjacent Werburgh Street, represents some of the most richly layered parts of old Dublin.

It boasts deep connections to Viking and Anglo-Norman Dublin, with early industry and ancient mills, with the city walls,

It ( Werburgh Street,) was also the site of Dublin' first ever purpose built theatre. (the Werburgh Street, built by the Lord- Deputy Thomas Wentworth, earl of Stafford, in the 1630s).

The immediate area boasts other vital deep to Dublin's legendary literary culture.
Hooey Court was the birthplace of Dean Swift;
while James Clarence Mangan both lived, and was schooled, within yards of this spot.

And yet, how has this area been treated the last 30-40 year, including the ground immediately by the city wall itself?

It has been appallingly neglected, used as a series of nasty, extremely ugly surface car parks, for many many years now: a vile, litter-strewn-watseland of mud and refuse.

Given the historical importance of the site, and the fact it is so visible to tourists and visitors, connecting as it does Christ Church, to Saint Patricks Cathedrals, and Dublin Castle to Temple Bar, you'd think that the Govt and DCC would at least pretend to care.

Instead a hotel on CHrist Church place has been allowed to loom over the Werburgh St side, in true Irish canyon style,
while a car-park firm (Q- Park) allowed to build a hiddeous, unfinished entrance to their car park.

The whole thing is a disgrace, and also, frankly, an embarrassment to the county and those of us who really care about Dublin.

I don't think many elements of this amazing, ambitious proposal will actually come to pass.

But I do hope they will stimulate real debate and awareness, and also that they shock or shame the authorities into some action at last.

And the proposed park is a great idea!
Long overdue!

St Werburgh's Church, Dublin.
Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
St. Audoen's Church Visitor Centre

A fascinating and imaginative piece of work is currently in place along the railings around a long-derelict site at Werburgh Street and Ship Street. The →

17/07/2024

our very last history and architecture walking tour, until late-August 2024, is the amazing Merchants and Magnates tour, next TUESDAY, 23 JULY, meeting 11.15AM.

"Merchants & Magnates" explores the Drury -Clarendon- South William Street area of south-central Dublin.

Discover Georgian Splendour & Victorian Gems, vintage basements lights, Art Deco shopfronts, a half-hidden priory, a Georgian-era hospital
& the stories behind Dublin's mightiest Victorian market building!

There are approximately 10-12 spots still up for grabs, and this will be the last chance to do a tour with us this mid-summer. Don't miss it.

All the information, and tickets, as always, exclusively on our website
http://dublindecoded.com

03/07/2024

some new and very special one-off tours - https://mailchi.mp/294889ab75ad/some-new-and-very-special-one-off-tours

27/06/2024

our next Dublin Decoded walk is our
St. Patrick's Park to Blackpitts, Newmarket & the Coombe tour,
on FRIDAY, 7 July
(from 11.15AM to 1PM approx )

Explore the deep, layered history of tanning, weaving, brewing distilling, ancient Mills, hidden rivers, social housing, and much more, all around this remarkable area of the Liberties.

We only do this tour 1 to 3 times a year.
Don't miss it!

image detail from Rocque's map of Dublin, digitized by the BNF, showing the Mill Street and Mill lane area south of Newmarket Square, including the old Mill Race on the river Poddle.

Tickets for our tour, on Friday 5 July should be purchased in advance please.
and all tickets include the use of our excellent audio "whisper sets" on tour.

Tickets can be purchased via our Dublin Decoded website, on dublindecoded.com

17/06/2024

Finally, finally, got to see the fantastic William Orpen and family exhibition, at the beautiful Farmleigh Gallery at the weekend.
It is a wonderful, small to medium-sized exhibition, with works both by the utter genius that was William Sir William Orpen himself, and many more by other members of his extremely talented family. The whole show is full of surprises and insights, and all expertly curated by Dominic Lee, I can not recommend it highly enough.
Excitingly, a new, closely related art prize has also been announced, in William Orpen's name, and for a subject close to his heart too, namely the endlessly-interesting, multi-layered and reflective art of self-portraiture, with an excellent prize of €5,000. Please help spread the word, perhaps tag any artists you know who you feel may be interested (?) and for heaven sake, do go and see the show up in the lovely Farmlegh Gallery too, before it closes on 25 August.
I absolutely loved it.

Best self-portrait wins €5000 cash prize.
Entry details: - www.sirwilliamorpen.com/orpen-prize

29/04/2024

Some very tempting events this year from Culture Date with Dublin 8!

22/04/2024

prior to demolition in 1970s (and replacement with Sam Stephenson's controverisal Central Bank) Dame Street's Georgian-era Commercial Buildings, built way back in the 1790s, were home to Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and also to the famed , semi-mythical Ouzel Galley Society!

As we will see on our "Dublin Decoded" walking tour tomorrow, they also provided pedestrian links through Temple Bar, at the insistence of the Wide Streets Commissioners!

This amazing piece of (silent) RTE footage, from the 1960s, shows Dubliners using the pedestrian link, through the Commercial Buildings central, inner courtyard.

Another piece of Dublin's, and Ireland's rich history of vanished buildings.
It makes it clear the crucial nature of saving the riches we still have left.

If you'd like to learn more about Temple Bar, from the 1600s to the 1990s, there are a small handful of spots remaining on our friendly and highly informative history & architecture walking tour tomorrow.

Tickets, and all information, on dublindecoded.com

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2022/0303/1284140-commercial-buildings-dublin/

Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society/An Cumann Eire san Ochtú Céad Déag
Irish Georgian Society

Offer made to shareholders in the company that owns Commercial Buildings on Dame Street Dublin.

02/04/2024

Our Dublin Decoded history and architectural walking tours for this month, APRIL, of 2024.

we have three public tours this month, although please note, two of them fall on the same day, namely next Saturday, 6 April.
So don't delay.

Our tours this month...

11.15AM SAT 6 April: Grafton St, history, architecture, secrets!

2.15PM, SAT 6 April: "Planners & Professors" The Harcourt Terrace, Adelaide Rd, Earlsfort Terrace, and Hatch St area. (Full of surprises)

1.45PM TUES 23rd: Temple Bar: Layers of change. (architecture & secrets)

all are welcome, on all our public tours.. Tickets should be booked in advance please through our website.

All information, plus tickets as always, through https://dublindecoded.com/

02/04/2024

Our Dublin Decoded history and architectural walking tours for this month, APRIL, of 2024.

we have three public tours this month, although please note, two of them fall on the same day, namely next Saturday, 6 April.

So don't delay.

Our tours this month...

11.15AM SAT 6 April: Grafton St, history, architecture, secrets!

2.15PM, SAT 6 April: "Planners & Professors" The Harcourt Terrace, Adelaide Rd, Earlsfort Terrace, and Hatch St area. (Full of surprises)

1.45PM TUES 23rd: Temple Bar: Layers of change. (architecture & secrets)

all are welcome..

All information, plus tickets, exclusively as always, through https://dublindecoded.com/

25/03/2024

https://mailchi.mp/df9c652d2d8d/ngi-tour-tomorrow-plus-3-saturday-walks

22/03/2024

a terrific detail from a glorious 18C map by Pool & Cash.

can you spot the Blue Coat Hospital?
Or the "gravel slip"?

Take a deeper dive with us from 11.15AM, THIS SUNDAY, 24 March (only) on our unique history & architecture walking tour:
"from Heuston to the Four Courts"

all details and your tickets, exclusively through
https://dublindecoded.com/

08/03/2024

Well, Dublin Decoded will soon be on American TV.

In this small 3-minute snippet from his show, we show well known presenter Michael Londra a bridge in central Dublin that was once constructed with the stones of an old monastic abbey!

We also look at an interesting map of the former medieval city walls.

Michael Londra is an Irish and US-based musician, travel-presenter and tour-leader, who hosts the prolific PBS travel program, "Ireland with Michael".

We are very grateful to him for featuring our historical and architectural walking tours in Dublin on his show.

Excitingly, we now hear that this episode, as well as screening on PBS network all across America, will now feature too on all Aer Lingus transatlantic flights, from June/July 2024.

Thank you Michael, it was terrific fun working with you and your crew.

You can book both public and private walking tours with Dublin Decoded, through our website dublindecoded.com

08/03/2024

Our March program kicked off this week, but some ofthe very best tours this month, some absolute crackers are actually running next week, notably on Tuesday 12th, Friday 15th and Saturday 16th of March...

Here are our remaining roster of walks, for the whole month of March.

This Tuesday Morning: Tuesday 12 March:
College Green, and the Wide Streets Commissioners, Georgian Dublin, & a visit to the magical Irish House of Lords (tour from 10.45 AM)

Tues 12 Morning: Merchants & Magnates: learn about the hidden history of the South William St / Drury / Clarendon Street area of Dublin (Tour from 1.45pm)

Fri 15 March: the Sculptures & Statues of Saint Stephens Green
Art history in a park! :) (10.45am)

Fri 15: Merchants & Magnates at 1.45pm (repeat run for this amazing tour, with the same start time)

Sat 16: Vanished monasteries, ancient churches & cathedrals (a special St Patrick's weekend version) (10.45am)

Tues 19: Morning: a walk up & down Grafton St! (10.45am)

Tues 19 March, Afternoon: an architectural & history walk of Temple Bar (1.45pm)

SUN 24 March: mid-morning tour:
from Hueston Station to the Four Courts (incl Collins/Royal Barracks-Blackhall- Smithfield- Bridges and Quays) 11.15AM

Tues 26: our guest-speaker, Adrian Le Harivel on Caravaggio and his followers, an Art History tour, back at the National Gallery of Ireland.

Some of these tours still have good availability, but others are beginning to sell out.

So come join us everyone, and spread the word if you can.

All the details, and the tickets, as always, on dublindecoded.com

01/03/2024

Catholic students were permitted to study at Trinity College from this day in 1794. The first Catholics enrolled the following May. But the Catholic church subsequently imposed restrictions on its flock attending from 1871 to 1970. Catholics had to first seek permission.

01/03/2024

anybody trying to live in or to maintain a historic 18th or 19th house, or even an early 20C/ Edwardian house for that matter, should consider joining some of these excellent talks. Get all the low-down, from the real experts in this field.

26/02/2024

Join us at our Spring on Saturday 2 March from 10am to 4pm with as Guest of Honour:
🛋️Meet the team
📝 Level assessment
🛍️ Exhibitors
🔦 Guided Tour of our building
📽️ Screenings
✂️ Workshops
🍷 Tastings
🎁 Competitions
Full programme: bit.ly/3wq5IEd

26/02/2024

Passionate about preserving our heritage for future generations? So are we!

Our Community Heritage grant scheme is now open for applications. The scheme supports community/voluntary groups nationwide with heritage projects- built, natural, and cultural.

Find out more at https://ow.ly/AZho50QHKZU

22/02/2024

With guests and members of the excellent sh yesterday, on a fascinating visit to the former Irish House of Lords at the old Parliament buildings, now Bank of Ireland, on College Green.

This 3-part chamber, with its Diocletian windows and 300-year old Boyne tapestries, was modelled by its architect Edward Lovett Pearce, on the ancient Temple of Venus and Roman in the Roman Forum, constructed at the time of the Emperor Hadrian.

Pearce’s chamber is nothing like as large as its illustrious prototype, which is thought to have been the largest temple ever built in Ancient Rome.
It is instead a miniaturised version, fitted out in Irish Oak, 18 century Dublin-made chandeliers, and of course those glorious tapestries.

Pearce no doubt got his inspiration for the shape and form of the Irish House of Lords from looking at the Temple of Venus and Rome in Rome,
albeit it was already a fragmentary ruin by the time he visited in the 1720s.

He was also however, undoubtedly inspired by reconstructive drawings of the Temple (imagining it as entire and intact) by the legendary, northern Italian, late-Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580)

Palladio’s celebrated 4 volume work on architecture, the Quattro Libri, was amongst Pearce’s most treasured possessions, and his most important travel guide.

To learn more about the historic architecture of Dublin, come on some of our city walks, the best history, art and architecture guided walking tours in Dublin.

And the best way to know which walks, and when they run, is to sign up to our free Dublin Decoded email newsletter.
I can’t sign you up (that’s illegal) You have to find the link yourself (all over our website, dublindecoded.com) and just fill out the 3-line, online subscribe form,
And then (crucially) approve the confirmation email when that arrives.

We only send out 8 or 9 newsletters a year. So you will never exactly feel inundated.
Nor need you miss the tours, which often sell out.

Learn how to see Dublin with fresh eyes, how to decode its streetplan, its monuments and its buildings.

Join us.

21/02/2024

On the second half of our tour today led by Dublin Decoded for the , we looked D’Olier and Westmoreland Streets:
first from the viewpoint of revolutionary 18C city planning by the Wide Streets Commissioners…

then at a handful of outstanding individual, but often much later buildings, like Thomas Newman Deane’s superb Venetian Palazzo -like design for the Victorian-era Scottish Widows Insurance building (seen in the background of the first photo here) and executed in striking, red Scottish sandstone.

12/02/2024

We love it when guests on our tours send us pictures.
Here are some really nice ones taken and sent to us by - from our tour on Saturday morning for the guests and members of the
It was a gorgeous tour. We had perfect weather for it, a great turn out, really good guests, bursting with curiosity, knowledge and good humour, and one of my favourite routes in Dublin, exploring the area of historic Markets, Monasteries, Courthouses and Prisons lying just west of Capel Street.

Thanks to my co-host Trevor White, to the Little Museum, to Hilda Clare for the fabulous pictures and to all our brilliant guests.