Posts

Here are 33 things to do in Dublin:

  1. Visit the Guinness Storehouse to learn about the history of Ireland’s most famous export and enjoy a pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar.
  2. Take a stroll through St. Stephen’s Green, a beautiful public park in the heart of the city.
  3. Explore the historic Trinity College and see the Book of Kells, a beautifully illuminated manuscript from the 9th century.
  4. Visit the National Gallery of Ireland to see works by Irish artists such as Jack B. Yeats and Paul Henry.
  5. Take a walk along the River Liffey and visit the Ha’penny Bridge, a iconic landmark that spans the river.
  6. Visit the Dublin Castle, a medieval castle that now serves as a government building.
  7. See a play at the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national theatre and the birthplace of many famous Irish playwrights.
  8. Visit the Phoenix Park, a large urban park that is home to the Dublin Zoo.
  9. Take a tour of the Jameson Distillery to learn about the history of Irish whiskey.
  10. Explore the National Museum of Ireland, which has exhibits on Irish history, art, and natural history.
  11. Visit the Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison that now serves as a museum.
  12. See a performance at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, a modern venue that hosts a variety of shows.
  13. Take a walk along Grafton Street, a bustling shopping street in the heart of the city.
  14. Visit the Irish Museum of Modern Art to see works by contemporary Irish and international artists.
  15. Take a stroll through the Dublin Botanic Gardens, which feature a variety of plants and flowers from around the world.
  16. Go on a pub crawl and experience the city’s famous nightlife.
  17. Visit the Dublin Writers Museum to learn about the city’s literary history and see artifacts from famous Irish writers.
  18. Take a tour of the Old Jameson Distillery, a historic whiskey distillery that has been turned into a museum.
  19. Visit the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, which has a collection of modern and contemporary art.
  20. Take a walk along the Grand Canal, a beautiful canal that runs through the city.
  21. Go shopping in the Ilac Centre, a large shopping mall in the city centre.
  22. Visit the National Museum in Kildare st. to see the famous irish antiquities and some of the best perserved Bog bodies.
  23. Take a walk along the South Wall, a long promenade that offers beautiful views of the city.
  24. Visit the Dublin Flea Market, a weekly market that features a variety of goods from vintage clothing to antiques.
  25. Take a tour of the Dublin Castle Gardens, which feature beautiful gardens and historic buildings.
  26. Visit the National Leprechaun Museum, which offers an interactive experience about Irish folklore and myth.
  27. Take a walk along the Royal Canal, a scenic canal that runs through the north side of the city.
  28. Go on a food tour and try some of the city’s famous dishes, such as Irish stew and Guinness pie.
  29. Visit the Dublin Zoo, which is home to a wide variety of animals from around the world.
  30. Take a stroll through the Iveagh Gardens, a beautiful public park in the heart of the city.
  31. Visit the Irish National War Memorial Gardens, a memorial to the Irish soldiers who fought in World War I.
  32. Take a walk along the River Dodder, a scenic river that runs through the south side of the city.
  33. Visit the Old Storehouse Temple Bar for great irish food and music.
    Escape Boats

    Escape Boats

    The Ultimate Escape Room

    Escape Boat’s is Dublin’s most unique and exciting Escape room, It’s an escape room on a boat! or a barge to be more specific. Located in Ringsend close to the Google Headquarters this is an excellent way to spend your time with a small group of Friends. Great for Couples too. Fancy something different than your normal Tourist attractions this is sure to live up to the hype. They can cater for 2- 10 people in individual games and up to a max 16 ppl. There are two different Escape rooms located on the calm waters of the Canal, so no need to worry if Boats are not your thing. It’s exciting, fun and tests any budding escapee. We at Dublin 360 cannot recommend it highly enough.

    Anybody from the age of 12 can play although any children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. If you have younger children and you want to bring them to play you may do so, but please let them know in advance by email. Please be aware that children under 18 may find the game confusing and some sections of the game may be distressing for more sensitive younger players.

    Please note that the games may not be suitable for large groups of under 18’s. If you have a group request for under 18’s please make this clear when booking and they can advise you about the game.

    They can accommodate up to 16 players at a time. Teams are split into groups and play their two games (Convicts & SOS) at the same time – up to 10 players in Convicts and up to 6 players in SOS. Games last one hour but if you have more than 16 players, they can schedule consecutive games so teams are timetabled over the course of 2 or 3 hours. They also partner with a local bar/restaurant and can arrange finger food and entertainment in between games.

    For more info Get in Touch with Escape Boats

    How to Get there!

    Address:

    Waterways Ireland,
    Grand Canal Dock,
    Grand Canal Quay,
    Dublin 2, D02ET38

    Walking distances:

    Grand Canal Theatre: 1 minute
    Convention centre, 3 Arena, Merrion Square: 10 minutes
    Trinity College, Busaras, Grafton Street, St. Stephens Green, O’Connell Street: 20 minutes

    Train:

    Closest DART station is at Grand Canal Dock. They are an 8 minute walk from the station.
    Luas: Spencer Dock is the closest stop. We are a 10 minute walk from there.
    Dublin Bikes station: Station 59 is across the road from us on Grand Canal Quay
    Buses: Routes 1,15a,15b,47,56a,77a all stop beside Grand Canal Dock

    Want to know more! We sat down with Ronan the Co-Founder of Escape Boats to see how it all started!

    Interview with Ronan Brady Co-Founder of Escape Boats

    Dermot Murphy
    we all know that there’s escape rooms in the world. First of all, where did you decide to go with this concept and where did you first see your first escape room? Like a general escape room? And how did you come up with the idea of doing it on a boat? More importantly why did you pick a boat?

    Ronan Brady
    Okay, so we saw the first escape room in 2016. I was in Budapest with some friends for a weekend, and we woke up one morning, and it was like, we have to do something instead of drinking and before we go out for the evening in bars etc, really so and I came across these escape rooms in Budapest, as it turns out, it’s the capital of escape rooms at the time in Europe. So I thought it looks good. So I booked one. We went and I loved it. I thought it was brilliant. I had never heard of it and we I left the room I got a real buzz from that and I left the room and a kind of a light bulb went on in my head, I was like, these don’t exist in Ireland really. I went back to the person that I had already done a few projects with who is a top class engineer/inventor. He was between a yes and no so we had to go try this and check out Dublin’s ,Dublin had three escape rooms as it turned out, we felt we could offer a better concept!
    Anyway compared to what I’ve done in Budapest, which is were they were a bit more advanced and further on, so we we had a look at them. So was around we went to check those the escape rooms around Europe and then put our heads down to designing one. As regards the boat it is because we already had a nautical background or just to say that But we’ve worked on a couple of products that hadn’t come to fruition and kind of both hotels and hostels Sam’s heavily involved in a lot of boat businesses around Dublin like the Cill Airne Barge Restaurant so a boat made sense.

    Dermot Murphy
    The Cill Airne, you’ve worked on loads of boat projects, what a way to learn and Oh, yes, the boat on the canal has a restaurant in it. Yeah it’s excellent.

    Ronan Brady
    Yeah. The restaurant Bar Yeah, At the time, it was kind of fortuitous, because there was a commercial barge slot that just came available in Grand Canal Dock. There were only one or one or two spaces left. They were going to limited and the ventures that you can put there, you couldn’t put bars or anything like that. So people were kind of slow to put businesses on the canal so we went for the idea of a boat and did the refit in Holland shipped it over arriving over in Dublin we docked and got to work with making our escape rooms.

    Dermot Murphy
    What was their reaction to Your idea of doing an escape room on a boat when you are applying for that permit. Did they kind of look at you with two heads? Or did they kind of go? That’s amazing. That’s a brilliant idea, or how was it different? When you applied for the commercial licence for the business? Oh, yeah. On the boat, were they supportive or not?

    Ronan Brady
    They were intrigued.

    Dermot Murphy
    Have you got a yearly licence?

    Ronan Brady
    Well, they say, yes, it is a yearly licence.

    Dermot Murphy
    The actual boat/Barge itself, [Zorg Ella]. Yeah, why did you get it from Holland and how did you get it here?

    Ronan Brady
    We viewed a number of boats and we were a bit unfortunate as waterways Ireland were quite restrictive on the size that we could bring in. We found Holland basically is the main shopping space for these kind of boats, barges and ships. So we found one that was rejected because it was too big and then we found this one in southern Holland. It’s a few hours away from Amsterdam. Everwhere in Holland is a few hours from Amsterdam. The guy there said the ship has been in his family since day one, it’s over 100 years old and he was using it as a potato Barge He just had a laying there. There was half used for bunk beds down where they used to carry potatoes. So with a bit of imagination you can imagine. It was kind of a blank canvas once you take everything else out. We gauged what work would needed to be done it was very reasonably priced. So we sailed it from, there across the Isla Mir up to Amsterdam in the middle of the night and we moored just in Zamdam for a while. We got a lot of gear with us and we found some amazing ships chandleries and stuff like that to buy old equipment from ships. Okay. We wanted to fit it out as best we could with genuine ships equipment, and then repurposed so that you get the feel that you’re actually on a real barge/Boat for immersive play

    Dermot Murphy
    You couldn’t sail that from there to Ireland? You have to get it on another ship and sail on top of the ship. Or what way does it work?

    Ronan Brady
    Well, we did look at getting a Captain. There is guys who would sail all these boats back, whatever you wanted, it’s a bit of a risk because now you can’t get insurance for these kind of origins. You can’t predict the weather also. So yeah the way they do it is like, hop up the east coast of England they do port hopping. So when the weather’s calm about they would go from port to port, but you might not see your boat for months. A long few months. Yeah once you do that, it might also sink, we managed to get it on that the back of a truck and they drove it through England.

    Dermot Murphy
    I saw there was a video of it taken off the off the truck when it was launched in Dublin Harbour

    Ronan Brady
    It was, it was great publicity for us at the time.

    Dermot Murphy
    Yeah, it was so unique, basically.

    Dermot Murphy
    I know that you have two escape rooms on the boat. Now without giving too much away. Could you give us a little insight into what’s different about each room or like, I know it’s, it’s secretive. You know, you can’t give too much away, but even the names of the rooms and what’s the theme of each room? How many people can go into each room?

    Ronan Brady
    Yeah. So our first game is ” SOS” takes up to six players, and I started that game.

    Ronan Brady
    It’s a kind of a team based thing. So everyone has to work together to get through to the end. That’s a sinking ship. You’re on board a stricken vessel. You have to work your way through the ship and try and get out safely before the ship sinks. That’s the simple idea of it

    Ronan Brady
    Convicts is the Second Room

    That’s kind of a team based one. So we separate groups into teams of up to five on each team. The Theme of convicts is that you are on a convict ship, and it’s about to depart in an hour for the colonies. So you have 60 minutes to try and get out of the prison cells you’re in and escape the ship for the captain comes back!

    Dermot Murphy
    That’s pretty cool. That’s a great idea.

    Ronan Brady
    Yeah it’s a different style of game because you start off in a jail cell, you can see or the other team and you have to get out. It’s up to each team to get out before the other one. They are alongside each other. You can’t see the other team you can kind of hear them, but you whoever get’s out first is the winner. Those that escape, escape the fate of being sent to the colonies, so they win. It’s a competitive game.

    Dermot Murphy
    Yeah, that seems more competitive, right? Yeah so basically, it’s a good team building games. But would you say, particularly now, with all the COVID and office spaces been closed and people are only doing this and they’re not getting to see each other? Do you think it’ll be quite a good exercise for people to do once they can come groups together to kind of form better work team building ?

    Ronan Brady
    Yeah, in my opinion, there’s no better team building exercise you can do. You are faced with a number of challenges in there. It’s designed for that sort of dynamic and you are able to play to people’s strengths and weaknesses, and is the only way that you can, the only teams that can finish it successfully will work together. So, okay, as a team building tool, and as a, I suppose, as a manager, yourself, you will be recognised when you’re playing or even watching a team play. You can see how people play in these stressful situations. Even though game people are very immersed the elements that are in our game, are very lifelike.

    Dermot Murphy
    that’s interesting. So it’s a psychological lesson, basically, for everyone as well, if it proves that people want to be the best at what they want to do sometimes I’d say.

    Ronan Brady
    yeah, yeah. I know that. I talked somebody recently saying he works for a big multinational, but he wanted to try to use it as a job interview. He wasn’t allowed to, but maybe in the future maybe he wanted to do it as part of his job interview process.

    Dermot Murphy
    Yeah, that is interesting. Put six people in a room together don’t know each other and see how they interact.Now we get into this one bit, Ronan. Okay COVID-19. This came along, and pretty much ruined all of hospitality and Ireland & tourism. So how has it impacted you, obviously and what do you think? What’s your plans for the future?

    Ronan Brady
    Yeah. It came right to the point where we are business that firmly established itself. We had a full time manager with a lot of staff and our games were going very well. Our reputation was very good. So everything’s going well and we were looking at building new games and expanding. We were in the process of doing that, and then covid hit. So all those plans are put in the back burner.

    Dermot

    What were your other plans?

    Ronan Brady
    Well, we had a lightship/lighthouse projects which we sourced in Wales. There was an old lighthouse and we had a concept for a game that was kind of like the crystal maze and would have been a great iconic thing for Dublin. That’s firmly been put on hold and we are working on another smaller one, which was a tank we were planning in bringing over an ex British military tank.

    Dermot Murphy
    This must have been a big tank?

    Ronan Brady
    Well I suppose at the time It was an armoured personnel carrier carrier. It looks exactly like it is the tank holds up to 12 people. so it is big enough to stage an escape room.

    Dermot Murphy
    Wow. Okay. Wow, that’s interesting. And these yes is mobile. So you could drive it around also?

    Ronan Brady
    There’s a contentious issues. I don’t know if we would have been able to move it around during the game. We were looking for a location to drive. Yes that was part of the plan

    Ronan Brady
    We were looking for a place to put it. We had a number of venues, by the way, we’re in talks of various people, but them. Yeah, that obviously proceeding with that at the moment is tricky.

    Dermot Murphy
    I presume the players at the moment they have to all wear masks while they’re down there or as if they’re in a group that the company Yeah.

    Ronan Brady
    Yeah, because we reopened June 29. And we put in all the PP s doesn’t matter. masks and gloves are worn

    Dermot Murphy
    Ok Excellent.

    Ronan Brady
    Yeah, well, there’s a lot of touch points in the game.

    We’ve sanitising stations that every every exits and entrance and right, following all the protocols the government put in and business has probably reached to those 20 past

    40 to 50% of what it was unfortunately.

    Dermot Murphy
    Thanks for your time Ronan and best of luck in the future!

    Ronan:

    You are welcome!

    Check out Escape Boats here and book your tour here

    Like what you see? Support us Here

    HopeBrewery

    Hope Brewery & Tour

    Hope Brewery is one of Dublin’s newest and premium Craft Beer Breweries located close to Howth Junction Dart Station. A German style state of the art brewhouse is independently owned and run by a group of old school friends with a passion for beer and Business

    They offer various different styles of beer from Celebration stouts to Hoppy Lagers. They also offer highly recommended Brewery tours for those of you that wish to get more in depth on how a brewery is run and how to make beer! This very personal tour showcases their finest beer selection and a run through of the brewing process from mill to mash to brew to fermenting and onto packaging. Well worth a visit for and budding beer enthusiast. You won’t find a finer Brewhouse in Dublin!

    Each Beer comes with it’s own unique stories some of which are listed below:

    DIRECTION TO HOPE BEER BREWERY

    From Connolly Station/Tara Street or Pearse in the city center Take the Dart [North] towards Howth or Malahide, for about 25 minutes (6 stops) €2.60
    to Howth Junction

    Walk for 6 mins take the Kilbarrack Exit. You will see the HOpe Beer logo on the Brewery to your right

    The tour takes place in our brand-new brewery with a 20 l Brewhouse, 6 Fermentation Vessels and a Bright Beer Tank. The brewing kit is supported with ancillary equipment like the Water Purification Plant, Glycol unit, Grain mill, etc. All aspects of the brewing process will be covered on the tour and a member of the brewing team will be on hand to answer your questions. This part of the tour will take 25 mins approx.

    For More info on their beers and Tours hope Beer offer click the Button Below!

    Hope Beers

    HOPE HOP-ON SESSION IPA

    A Juicy Hazy Tropical Session IPA , with a name based on the story of Two young bucks who hopped on the DART [Train] one day and somehow ended up in New York City with not a penny between them!

    Session Beers come from the fun fact that brewery workers were entitled to 2 Beers per day, i.e going on a ‘Session’ . Generally lower in alcohol content to avoid timely work accidents!. Should they bring back this rule…we possibly think so!

    An easy drinking session IPA that balances malty sweetness and body with fruity hop flavours and
    aromas.

    INGREDIENTS:
    Water,
    Malts: Weiner, Oatflakes, Acidulated
    Hops: Citra, El Dorado, Azacca
    Yeast: Amreican Ale.
    EBU=20, EBC=10, ABV=4.3%

    HOPE HANDSOME JACK IPA

    An intense and citrussy double dry hopped IPA!

    A take no prisoner ale that’s American and Japanese hopped, he’s well-mannered but dangerous!

    INGREDIENTS:
    Water, Dextrose
    Malts: Magnum, Centennial, Sorachi Ace, Simcoe, Citra
    Yeasts: American Ale

    EBC=14 EBU=49

    THE STORY OF JACK THE BACHELOR
    Jack Criss, the 17th century Irish pirate, was tall and handsome with blonde hair and eyes green as the sea. He set sail from Ireland, plundering his way to Spain and Italy. He didn’t die in battle but was stabbed to death in a Naples hotel. Probably by one of his four wives. Some bachelor!
    Here’s to Jack!

    HOPE GRUNT

    CITRUSY WHEAT BEER
    A bone-dry, citrusy and spicy ale inspired by Walloon farmhouse brewers. A light aperitif or accompaniment to starters.

    Ingredients:
    Water.

    Hops: Cascade, Citra

    Spices: Juniper, Lemongrass & Bergamot.

    Malts: Pale Ale, Wheat, Acidulated.

    Yeasts: Belgian Ale

    EBU=21

    THE STORY OF PIG ON THE MAST
    If a Howth fisherman didn’t fancy going to sea after a heavy nights drinking he would tie a pig to the ships mast. With its devil-like cloven feet, the sheer mention of the word pig was thought to bring forth gales and storms. Only a brave captain would set sail, unless he fancied a rasher sandwich!

    Grunt if you dare!

    HOPE PASS IF YOU CAN

    BLONDE BEER
    A malty, slightly fruity ale with a with a subtle hop kick. A great all rounder that combines well with main dishes and desserts.

    Ingredients:
    Water.

    Hops: Magnum, Mosaic, Citra,

    Yeast: US-05

    Malts: Pale Ale, CaraHell, Munich, Acidulated.

    EBV=22

    EBC=14

    4.6% ABV

    THE STORY OF THE HIGHWAYMAN
    Michael Collier, notorious 19th century highwayman, was North County Dublin’s answer to Robin Hood. He was so successful that his townland was dubbed Passifyoucan. Finally arrested in 1807 in his favourite haunt The Cock, he was deported and returned home only to die of cholera! Still, the name remains.

    Drink up if you can!

    Like what you see? Support us Here

    AB Tours Dublin

    Get to know the intimate history and stories of Ireland’s capital on this walking tour with local historian Alan Byrne

    About This Event

    Have you ever wished to get to know more about Ireland’s capital city, its history, people, buildings, statues and stories? Looking for a safe outdoor activity to enjoy during Covid restrictions? What better time than join me on an afternoon stroll around Dublin? On the tour you’ll see how Dublin was founded by the Vikings a little earlier than you may realise, see how the Norman conquest reshaped the city, learn why we have two main cathedrals right beside each other, hear the stories of the Hell district of the 18th century (including a serial killer or two), discover the hidden stories in the architecture and place names of the city and get a new appreciation of the things we take for granted in our home town. Suitable for all ages and levels of fitness, wheelchair friendly. Limited numbers and social distancing will apply. (This tour is designed for residents of Dublin who have a basic familiarity with the city and life in Ireland, but all are welcome. Guests visiting from overseas must provide proof of 14 day quarantine.)

    A Note from Alan: My name is Alan Byrne. I qualified with a Masters in modern history from UCD in 2017. In the time since, I have been working as a tour guide both in Dublin and nationally, as well as working as a research assistant on an upcoming biography of Charles Haughey. In 2020 I qualified with a National Tour Guiding Badge from Failte Ireland.

    Meeting Location

    Barnardo Square

    Dame Street

    Dublin 2

    The 5 Lamps Brewery tour and visitor centre is located inside the 1st floor of the Camden Bar on Camden Street. This newly renovated building dates back to the early 1900’s.The building opened as a 400 seat cinema ‘the Camden’ in 1912. It was enlarged and rebuilt in 1920 with 1200 seats in a Neo-Classical style and rebranded “the Camden De Luxe”. Later the exterior was remodelled in Art deco/Egyptian style in 1934 and seating capacity was increased for 1395 patrons. It had a 30ft wide proscenium, a 32ft deep stage and there were six dressing rooms. According to local lore Rita Hayworth attended a screening here in the 1950s! The cinema closed its doors on June 29th 1974. In 1975 it reopened as Ricardo’s amusement hall, the interior hall was split over two floors to accommodate a snooker hall. The stucco ceiling has been fully refurbished and may be familiar to many Commitments fans as the venue was used to host a rendition of “Mustang Sally” in Roddy Doyle’s famous 1991 movie about an aspiring Dublin Soul band with self interviewing manager Jimmy Rabbitte. ‘Jimmy Rabbittes’ is also the name of the small Irish local bar attached to the 5 lamps Camden Bar. This movie is well worth a watch for the music alone.

    The 5 lamps Beer is established in 2012 is the brainchild of Brian Fagan along with William Harvey, coaxed out of retirement to become the master brewer for Five Lamps Lager. William is a former Guinness Brewer with over 27 years to his name for the Giant Brewer.’He does all the cool brewing stuff’. His wealth of knowledge and experience has served the 5 lamps well! Fancy getting a deck of Cards with Williams as the joker– we got you covered!. Glasses with our brand language ”Dublinese’ T-shirts and beers are available to purchase in our gift shop at the end of the tour.

    The Unique Dublin style of the 5 Lamps brand gives visitors the chance to see a more real and unique version of Dublin. The tour has a 10 min video ‘A Love Letter To Dublin’ [in your own private cinema!] from Dublin singer Imelda may to get you in the know of all things Dublin before you start your tasting session. Our Expert guide will fill you full of the local Dublin slang and all the beers 5 lamps currently have on offer. These include our Trademark 5 lamps Lager, Red Ale, Stout, Irish Pale Ale , Light-Lager and our rotational Seasonal Brew! The Five Lamps Dublin Brewery Tour finishes with a beer tasting of the full Five Lamps range.

    Like what you see? Support us Here

    Portfolio Items