3 Days In Dublin
Ah, Ireland. Beautiful Ireland. A country I have always wanted to visit and in November 2022, I was lucky enough to enjoy a short city break away to Dublin with my friend, Amy.
Now, a quick disclaimer: I’m not a ‘city girl’ in the slightest, as you can probably tell from my past posts. But Dublin truly is unique and our 3 days spent exploring this city was more than enough to convince me to return and discover the rest of Ireland!
The Temple Bar - stock image
Day One
We landed in Dublin around 6 am, so after floundering through the airport, enduring an awkward encounter with the passport check-in machine (seriously, why do these things always happen to me?) and catching the airport transfer bus into the city, we began trawling through the streets in search of our hotel and some decent coffee.
When it comes down to it, Dublin isn’t all that different to any other city; it has large buildings, gritty architecture and a gentle morning traffic hum. The fact that we were in a totally different country could’ve evaded us completely if it wasn’t for that distinctive Irish lilting brogue.
As soon as 8 am came around, it immediately became clear that the mornings were entirely devoted to commuters; people seemed to emerge from absolutely everywhere, round every corner possible, but, in contrast to cities like London, rush hour didn't seem half as, well, rushed.
We arrived at the, always dependable, Premier Inn hotel around 8.30, placed our backpacks into storage and set out again for our first excursion in the capital - Dublin Castle.
Walking along River Liffey
Now, I am not ashamed to admit that I didn’t research Dublin Castle before visiting Dublin. I am not a planner. That’s Amy’s department. Once we knew we wanted to travel to Ireland, she was on the laptop quicker than I could blink. She had a full itinerary planned and as I’m more accustomed to last-minute decisions, or no decisions at all in some cases, I completely went with it and followed her lead. We both wanted to get the most out of the trip and luckily for us, we had a lot of the same interests. Dublin Castle, however, was not what I expected.
For anyone that’s ever been to Dublin, please tell me that I’m not the only one that expected an actual full-blown medieval castle? An enormous building full of State Rooms was not what I was expecting.
Of course, after entering the Castle (for free* as the card machine was broken) and reading every tidbit of information provided, it all became a little clearer.
Basically, the Castle was initially a mediaeval castle, built on King John of England’s orders, but it burnt down in 1684. Then was reconstructed into a beautiful gothic Georgian palace. They had a suite of grand reception rooms built in, now known as the State Apartments, and they are absolutely stunning. No wonder Dublin Castle is a hit with tourists! Obviously, that was a very brief rundown of the history but for the full chronology of Dublin Castle and other information please click here.
*admission is NOT free, we just got lucky. Please click here for ticket info
The grand staircase entrance up to the State Rooms and yes, it was decorated for Christmas!
We also spent some time walking around the gardens and headed into Chester Beatty Library. They have a great little cafe in there where a lot of civil workers seemed to be eating their lunch, so you know it’s good if the locals are packing the place out!
Just before leaving the castle grounds altogether, we spoke to a very helpful man who gave us some great recommendations on where else to go whilst in the city centre. So on his suggestion, we opted for the GPO Museum next.
On the way, we spent a lot of time trying to capture the essence of Christ Church Cathedral in all its glory (I’m pretty sure Amy’s pictures turned out better than mine) before admiring the architecture of Ireland's most prestigious university, Trinity College. I had no idea that Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker, along with many other famous faces, attended the university so that was pretty special.
Christ Church Cathedral. Photo credit Amy Robinson
The GPO (General Post Office) Museum was probably my favourite attraction during our time here. For me, it was completely unexpected and I had to drag Amy around the museum one more time just to soak in every bit of information. Well, mainly because I was a bit overwhelmed and didn’t understand a lot of it but also because it was fascinating.
I don’t know if this particularly needs highlighting but I am from England and although I know our history is severely intertwined with a lot of countries (in and outside of Great Britain), we were not taught anything about the Irish War of Independence, the Easter Rising or The Troubles in school. We were only taught about medicine through time, Henry and his six wives and WW2. And even with that, we weren’t taught the full extent, from all sides and all parties involved. Anything we wanted and needed to learn had to be done by ourselves through books, TV and the magical marvel that is the internet. When I told my dad what I’d learnt about the Irish War he was floored that I didn’t know already, but how do you know if you aren’t told?
Anyway, I digress. The GPO is amazing. It’s an interactive museum complete with headphones for audio which can either add to its charm or take away from it. I ended up ripping my headphones off in frustration because I just wasn’t taking anything in, hence forcing Amy to march around with me to start all over again. It goes through the timeline of how it all began, what they wore, what they were hoping to achieve, etc, in the very building that the leaders of the Easter Rising used to serve as the headquarters against British Rule.
Once you come out of the museum, you can go next door to the connected, still functioning Post Office.
The GPO and Museum! Photo credit Amy Robinson
To finish off our jam-packed day, we went for dinner at The Church which reminded me of an upscale Wetherspoons, enjoyed some drinks in Temple Bar, before finally checking in to our hotel properly and retiring for the evening.
For more information on the GPO including admission fees please click here
Day Two
We decided to begin our second day with a visit to EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum. Amy had already booked our tickets for the Guinness Storehouse that afternoon so we had some time to burn and EPIC seemed to be the perfect way to do that.
Entering the building is like entering an airport. The space is very open, light and filled with shops and eateries. This seemed to be a deliberate decision as once you pay for your entry ticket, you receive a little paper passport to begin your journey throughout the museum. There is a lot going on at EPIC, so I'd advise allowing a good few hours to take it all in!
The museum takes you on a journey through time starting with boarding a ship for America and ending with an airport escalator to reflect modern times. There are plenty of educational articles to read, short clips to watch, and real experiences to hear, so it's not difficult to envision how the Irish might have felt when they first left their home country. It also brings you all the way through to the other side and shows you what happened when they eventually arrived in America.
The bit I found the most interesting (and wish there were more stories of) were the real accounts of Americans ostracising the Irish. Advertisements for job seekers with ‘Irish need not apply’ stamped over them. Posters in pub windows with ‘No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs’ in big bold letters… This part of the museum is pretty awful and I couldn’t help but feel a certain stab of pain seeing and reading these signs in real life. It’s one thing to read about this on the internet or watch in films, but to actually see the real thing is something else entirely. I know it happened, of course it did, but to experience it for myself and be inches away from the real thing hit me quite hard.
Another part of the museum that we enjoyed was the section about famous Irish outlaws. There’s an interactive guessing game you can take part in to check you really know your facts and a lineup wall to get your mugshot taken in front of. And because we are still kids at heart, Amy and I had to do this!
The museum goes on to include celebrities, famous faces and public figures who are Irish or have Irish ancestry. This bit was alright but some of it, in my opinion, seemed to be a bit reaching.
All in all, it was a pretty good experience and if you can handle all 18 rooms then you’re on to a winner. I wish it had included more stories from soldiers etc but I’m not going to lie, I did enjoy stamping my passport in each section.
Here’s the link for EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
Feeling ravenous after spending our entire morning at EPIC, we ventured down the riverside in search of somewhere to eat and after a few back-and-forth moments, we settled on O’Connell’s.
From the outside, the pillar box red O’Connell’s looks tiny and unassuming but as soon as you step inside, it’s immense. We were greeted immediately by the barman and given menus. I can’t remember what I ordered but Amy had a traditional Irish stew which seemed to go down well. We spent a decent amount of time here whilst waiting for our Guinness tour simply listening to the bar staff talk. There’s just something about the Irish that set us at ease, we were comfortable and felt well looked after. Looking back on it now, it might have been how upfront the staff were. Although they’re obviously in the hospitality business, they didn’t shy away from casual conversation and the occasional swear word. It felt honest, genuine and sincere. Unlike many places (having previously been in the hospitality sector myself, I can vouch for this), they didn’t seem to be operating behind a mask and although we were just two more unknown paying customers to them, they didn’t make us feel that way. Actually, I liked it so much that I convinced Amy to return the next day.
Some street art on the streets of Dublin. Photo credit Amy Robison (or mine, not sure who took the best photo here)
The good thing about the tourist spots in Dublin is that everything is pretty well grouped together without becoming overwhelming. The Guinness Storehouse was an easy walkable 20 minutes away from the riverside but I wasn’t prepared for how big the place was.
There’s so much to talk about at The Guinness Storehouse that I don’t really know where to begin with it all. The tickets can be expensive depending on which experience you go for but I don’t think it’s completely unreasonable. I also don’t think anyone would regret paying the money, to be honest. There’s a huge gift shop at the entrance and live music, although I’m not sure how regular that is. There are also escalators, stairs and lifts to take you up and down the whole building, floor by floor.
I think Amy and I were there for roughly four or five hours altogether, so allow some time because you won’t want to rush it. With seven floors in total, each floor is an experience in itself and you discover everything there is to know about Guinness, from its history and production to its marketing and importation.
When you reach the seventh floor, you can enjoy your free pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar (panoramic rooftop bar) overlooking the streets of Dublin. It’s actually the perfect way to top it all off but I’ll warn you, nabbing a seat in the bar definitely isn’t the easiest!
For a better look at The Guinness Storehouse please click here
After quite a tiring day, it was time for food and drinks. For this, we decided to venture away from Temple Bar, ending up in Fibber Magees on Parnell Street.
Day Three
Our final day in Dublin began with a well-deserved lie-in and some Irish morning TV.
Our flight wasn’t due to depart until 10 pm, so we took our time getting ready, packing our things and checking out. When we were ready to relish our last adventure in the capital, we dropped our bags off into the hotel storage for the day, hunted down a cafe for breakfast and enjoyed a stroll to and around Pheonix Park.
Pheonix Park is incredible! It’s so well looked after and is absolutely gigantic. I can imagine it is the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city or simply a nice place to relax in the summer.
We walked for miles around this park, spotting deer and gazing up at The Wellington Testimonial. The deer situation upset me a little bit, not because of the deer themselves as they seemed very happy and healthy and are obviously well cared for but by the hoards of people feeding them and coaxing them for pictures. In my opinion, animals, especially wild animals, should be respected and left alone, not pawed at by numerous kids. It was a park, not a petting zoo. But I don’t know, maybe I’m just getting old!
The Dublin Zoo is located in Pheonix Park though if you’re interested in that, here’s the link.
Stock image. I didn’t actually take any pictures of the deer.
Finally, our last excursion to tick off our checklist was the Irish Whiskey Museum.
This was a fun interactive tour with a real-life tour guide. Our guide, Donal, was quick-witted and didn’t shy away from telling us that he was extremely hungover from his work Christmas party the night before. He also couldn’t resist letting in a fair few digs at Amy and me for being English (which I loved, by the way). I think the majority of the other tourists were from elsewhere in Europe and America.
We had a little whiskey-tasting session at one point which, I have to say, burnt the hell out of my throat and reaffirmed the fact that I am definitely 100% more of a Scotch Whisky fan!
It was great to learn the full history of Irish Whiskey as well as how it all tied in with Ireland’s troubled past. Overall, it was a pretty eye-opening experience and had me trawling the internet non-stop when I got back home.
For more information on the Irish Whiskey Museum click here
With the high of the Irish Whiskey still on the tips of our tastebuds, we decided to collect our bags and enjoy one last drink in Dublin before needing to hot-foot it to the airport and fly home.
So what did I think of Dublin? Amazing. Simple as that.
I had a really good time in Dublin but three days for my non-city personality was more than enough. We did nearly everything we set out to do and we had a good time doing it, so thank you Dublin!
Next time though, I want to explore all of Ireland and I hope it won’t be too long before I get to do just that!
Special shout out to Amy for being my partner in crime on this trip! Definitely wouldn’t have been the same without your organisational skills and willingness to repeat the GPO until I fully understood what was going on!
One last photo of Amy and me. And what’s that in my hand?? A pint of Guinness you say!?
Thank you for sticking with me and reading ‘3 Days in Dublin’!
Until next time…
