Dublin: Hidden Gem Walking Tour with Local Guide

About This Tour

Most Dublin walking tours stay firmly in the city centre. This one heads to Tallaght - and it turns out Tallaght has more than a thousand years of stories to tell.

Your guide is a local, and over two hours you’ll move through layers of Irish history that rarely get the attention they deserve. You’ll hear about Whitehall House, the former home of poet Katharine Tynan, where W.B. Yeats and George William Russell (AE) were regular visitors during the Irish Literary Revival. You’ll learn about William Howard Russell, born in Jobstown, who became one of the world’s first war correspondents, reporting for The Times on the Great Famine, the Crimean War, and the American Civil War - and who counted Charles Dickens among his friends.

The tour takes in the site of the former Tallaght Aerodrome (which played a role in WW1, the Irish War of Independence, and the Irish Civil War), the story of Urney Chocolates and Jacob’s - brands that shaped daily life in Tallaght for decades - and the rapid, turbulent transformation of Tallaght in the 1970s and 1980s, when it became one of the fastest-growing urban centres in Western Europe.

You’ll stop at St. Maelruain’s Church, built on the site of a monastery once known as one of the “two eyes of Ireland,” and visit the grave of Alice Furlong - poet, Irish-language advocate, and a founding member and Vice-President of Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland). The tour ends in Tallaght Village, where you’ll also learn a few words of Irish - and you’re welcome to try them out in a local café afterwards.

Throughout the walk, your guide shares letters, writings, and literature in both Irish and English to bring each story to life.

Groups are capped at 12 people, keeping things personal and easy to follow.

What’s Included

• Local guide from Tallaght
• Small group experience (maximum 12 people)

What’s Not Included

• Gratuities

Itinerary

1. Kingswood Heights - Brief introduction to Tallaght and its ancient Irish origins. (5 min)
2. Whitehall House - The former home of poet Katharine Tynan; her literary life, her friendships with Yeats and Russell (AE), and her contribution to the Irish Renaissance. Letters are shared. (15 min)
3. Jobstown, Tallaght - The birthplace of William Howard Russell, one of the first war correspondents, whose reports for The Times spanned Daniel O’Connell’s meetings, the Great Famine, the Crimean War, and the American Civil War. His friendship with Charles Dickens also features. (10 min)
4. Dublin Mountains viewpoint - Irish mythology, specifically the legend of Oisín i dTír na nÓg, told in a bilingual Irish and English version, with a view of the Dublin Mountains in the background. (10 min)
5. Former Tallaght Aerodrome site - The aerodrome’s role in WW1, the War of Independence, and the Civil War; the story of the Gallagher family and Urney Chocolates (which operated in Tallaght until 1980); and Jacob’s, whose presence also shaped the area. (15 min)
6. Tallaght’s transformation - How Tallaght grew from a small settlement into one of Ireland’s largest urban areas within a few decades during the 1970s and 80s, and what that meant for the people living through it. (15 min)
7. St. Maelruain’s Church - Built on the site of a former monastery, once described alongside Finglas as the “two eyes of Ireland.” A look at St. Maelruain’s life and the church’s history. (5 min)
8. Alice Furlong’s grave, St. Maelruain’s - The life of Alice Furlong - poet, Irish-language advocate, and a founding member and Vice-President of Inghinidhe na hÉireann. Her poetry is read in both Irish (with English translations) and English. (15 min)
9. Tallaght Village - Fenian Plaque - The Fenian Rising of 1867 and Tallaght’s specific role in it, with writings from Charles Dickens on this period. (10 min)
10. Tallaght Village - The cottages designed by architect Thomas Joseph Byrne, the story of the former Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (which ran through the area until 1932), and a short introduction to basic Irish. You’re welcome to use what you’ve learned in a local café in the heart of the village afterwards. (20 min)

Meeting point: Meet on the Kingswood Luas stop platform. Look for a guide holding a folder with “Discover More Tours” written on it.

Good to Know

This is a small-group tour (maximum 12 people), conducted in English. Suitable for all fitness levels. Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller. Service animals are welcome. Public transport options are available nearby.

Local Tips

The Luas Red Line makes this very easy to get to from the city centre. Kingswood is a stop on the Red Line, and the journey from O’Connell Street takes around 30 minutes. It’s one of those trips where you realise how much of Dublin sits outside the usual tourist circuit - and how quickly you can reach it. Grab a Leap Card from any Luas ticket machine if you haven’t got one already.

Alice Furlong is one of the most compelling stops on the whole tour. She’s almost entirely absent from the standard histories of the Irish Literary Revival despite being a founding member and Vice-President of Inghinidhe na hÉireann - the same organisation Constance Markievicz was part of. Your guide reads her poetry in both Irish and English, and it’s a genuinely moving part of the walk that most people wouldn’t encounter any other way.

Ask your guide about Urney Chocolates. The story of the Gallagher family and their chocolate factory, which operated in Tallaght until 1980, is one of those bits of local social history that tends to spark real recognition in people who grew up in Dublin. Even if you didn’t, it’s a vivid portrait of what Tallaght was like before the 1970s transformation.

Don’t skip the café at the end. Your guide teaches you a few words of Irish during the Tallaght Village section, and the suggestion to practise them in a local café afterwards is a genuinely fun way to close the morning. It’s low stakes, the locals are used to it, and it’s a different kind of memory to take home than a photo at a famous landmark.

This tour suits curious travellers more than checklist sightseers. If you’re looking for the Book of Kells and the Guinness Storehouse, this isn’t it. But if you’re interested in the people and places that shaped Ireland outside the obvious narrative - war correspondents, forgotten poets, chocolate factories, the fastest-growing suburb in 1970s Western Europe - this two hours will stay with you long after a standard city tour has faded.

Nearby on IrelandMe

• 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour
• Dublin: A History of Ireland Tour
• Dark Dublin Walking Tour - Torture, Murder and Mystery