The 1916 Easter Rising shaped modern Dublin more than almost anything else, and this private 3.5-hour walk gives you a local guide with a genuine feel for the story. No scripted group commentary — just conversation, context, and the kind of detail that takes years of living here to absorb.
It’s just you and your guide for the whole tour, which is part of the Withlocals History City Tour series. Withlocals works only with small groups, pays guides a fair rate, and offsets all tour emissions so the experience is carbon-neutral.
You’ll visit the landmarks that were central to the Rising and trace their history forward into what Dublin looks like today. The confirmed stops include the General Post Office on O’Connell Street — the last of the great Georgian public buildings to be built in the city and the headquarters of the Rising’s leaders during Easter Week 1916 — and the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square, dedicated to all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom. Collins Barracks features depending on your guide’s chosen route, and additional stops may be added along the way.
Entrance fees to any attractions are not included in the price. Hotel pick-up isn’t included either, but your guide will be at the meeting point and the area is well served by public transport.
Meeting point: At the Triumphal Arch
This is a private tour — it’s just you and your local guide. The tour runs in English. A moderate level of physical fitness is helpful for the walking sections. Public transport is nearby. Hotel pick-up is not included, and entrance fees to any attractions are separate from the tour price. All tour emissions are carbon-offset.
Ask your guide about Kilmainham Gaol before the tour ends. The leaders of the 1916 Rising — including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly — were executed there in May 1916. The gaol is now a museum and one of the most powerful historical sites in Ireland. It’s not on the tour route, but your guide will know the visiting details and whether it’s worth adding to your time in Dublin.
The GPO interior is worth stepping into after your guide has covered the outside. The ground-floor exhibition documents the Rising in careful detail, and the building itself — even fully restored — carries a real sense of what it went through. It’s free to enter and you can wander at your own pace.
Collins Barracks, if your guide takes you there, now houses the Decorative Arts and History wing of the National Museum of Ireland. It’s free to enter and has a strong collection covering Irish social history, furniture, silver, and military objects. The 1916 section in particular is worth time if you want to go deeper than the walking tour allows.
The Garden of Remembrance is one of those places that rewards a slow visit. The pool runs east to west, which is deliberate — it’s aligned with the rising sun. The Oisin Kelly sculpture at the eastern end depicts the Children of Lir at the moment of their transformation, a mythological image chosen to represent the sacrifice and renewal of the Rising. Your guide will explain the symbolism, but it helps to stand still and look at it for a while.
Parnell Square, where the Garden sits, has several other things worth knowing about. The Hugh Lane Gallery is on the north side and holds Francis Bacon’s reconstructed studio as a permanent exhibit — it’s free and extraordinary. The square was also the location of the Rotunda Lying-In Hospital, the oldest purpose-built maternity hospital in the world still in operation.