If history is your passion and you want to visit some of the most significant and historic sites in Dublin, we’ve picked out our favourite seven sites with an important link to a Dublin long gone.
If you’re travelling to and from Dublin Airport you may spot the “old airport”. The Old Central Terminal Building as it was known is a white building which was architecturally designed to resemble a cruise liner. The Terminal was operational from 1940 to 1972, when the new terminal was opened to allow for growing passenger numbers. It is a nice reminder of a bygone and glamorous age for air travel.
Glasnevin Cemetery is Ireland’s largest cemetery, where over 1.5 million souls are interred. It has an onsite museum and offers guided tours. It’s the resting place of a lot of notable Irish figures, from the world of politics, sport, and entertainment. The cemetery has been in use since 1832 and its high walls were actually built to deter bodysnatchers, who were active in Dublin in the 18 th and 19 the centuries.
The Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Dublin and has been opened since 1198! As you can imagine, there’s been a lot of Guinness poured in that time. The present building dates back to 1754, but local lore has it that a tavern has been operational on the premises since 1198. It was almost destroyed in the civil war of Independence in 1922, and the pub often gave shelter to famous Irishman, Michael Collins.
The famous G.P.O. or General Post Office was at the beating heart of the 1916 Easter Rising. The rebels stormed the G.P.O., seized the building and declared Ireland a sovereign nation while standing on the front steps of the building reading from the Proclamation. There is now an award- winning museum open at this famous building on Dublin’s O’Connell Street where you can learn some more about Ireland’s bloody journey to independence.
If you’re a bookworm and you want to visit one of the most impressive libraries in the world, then get to Trinity College. It’s recommended to get there early to avoid ques. The Old Library is a treasure trove of wall to ceiling books and it’s also home to the historic Book of Kells exhibit. It’s also home to one of the few remaining copies of the original 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic which was read on the steps of the G.P.O.
Kilmainham Gaol was built in 1796 and served as a jail for 128 years. It is steeped in history and tragedy, many Irish revolutionaries during the fight for independence were imprisoned and even executed here. It is now regarded as one of the most important Irish monuments signifying the struggle for Irish freedom. Even though it ceased being a prison in the 1920’s, you can take a tour of the prison and learn about the harsh and brutal conditions that inmates endured. It has also been a filming location for movies such as In the Name of the Father and The Italian Job.
The famous Molly Malone statue represents a bygone age where living conditions were tough, but Dublin women were tougher! The statue was unveiled during 1988 Millennium celebrations and was inspired by the main character of the song Molly Malone. The song tells the tale of a fishwife who works hard plying her trade on the streets of Dublin and dies young. The statue depicts a woman in 18 th century dress and pulling a cart filled with cockles and mussels. Molly is dressed quite provocatively in a low-cut top and this alludes to the fact she may have also worked as a prostitute to make ends meet. The song is an unofficial Dublin anthem and is often sung at the end of the night in a Dublin pub.
