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Irish Women's History Dublin Private Walking Tour
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From €20 per person
Dublin’s streets are full of history - but walk them with this expert guide and you’ll notice how much of it has been told without the women. This private 2-hour walking tour changes that. Led by a guide with over a decade of experience, it moves beyond the traditional statues of men to uncover the revolutionaries, artists, writers, and organisers who built the nation alongside them.
The tour starts with the women of the 1916 Rising and the War of Independence. You’ll hear the story of Countess Markievicz - the first woman elected to the Westminster Parliament - and Rosie Hackett, the trade unionist who fought for workers’ rights and whose name now graces one of the city’s newest bridges. The Cumann na mBan and the radical activists who risked everything for Irish freedom get the serious historical treatment they deserve.
From there the tour moves into literary and intellectual history: Lady Gregory, the driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and Anna Parnell, a formidable political organiser whose contributions tend to get overlooked in favour of her more famous brother.
The walk also covers Dublin’s suffragette movement - the streets where women campaigned for the vote, and the social reformers who fought for better housing and healthcare in the city’s poorest districts. It doesn’t flinch from the more difficult parts of Ireland’s 20th-century history either, including the lives of “The Magdalenes” and the suppression of women’s rights in the decades that followed independence. It’s a nuanced, respectful, and genuinely eye-opening way to see Dublin.
Because this is a private tour, your guide can go deeper on whatever threads interest you most.
Tell your guide what interests you most before you start. Because this is a private tour, your guide can genuinely tailor where the time goes. If you’re particularly drawn to the 1916 period, or to the literary figures, or to the suffragette movement, say so at the outset - you’ll get a much richer two hours.
The Rosie Hackett Bridge is worth a moment. Opened in 2014 and named after the trade unionist and 1916 activist, it’s one of the few pieces of central Dublin infrastructure named after a woman. Standing on it while hearing Hackett’s story gives the history a physical weight that sticks with you.
Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. You’ll be on your feet for two hours on Dublin’s streets, which can be cobbled and uneven in the older parts of the city. Dublin weather is famously changeable, so a light waterproof layer is always a sensible call.
The harder parts of the tour matter. The sections covering “The Magdalenes” and the suppression of women’s rights after independence are heavy, but they’re also essential to understanding 20th-century Ireland honestly. Your guide handles these with real care and respect.
Consider combining this with a visit to Kilmainham Gaol. Countess Markievicz was imprisoned there, as were many of the women involved in the Rising and the War of Independence. Seeing the place your guide has described earlier in the day adds a layer of meaning to what you’ve already heard.