walking tour

Historic Gay Dublin

Great walking tours should be entertaining, informative, welcoming and a little bit scandalous. One could equally ascribe these adjectives to the Irish gay scene. Let GCN founder and queer archivist Tonie Walsh be your guide on this two hour stroll through Dublin's fascinating gay history as he lifts the lid on stories of Oscar Wilde's trial, the theft of the Irish crown jewels and the 1993 decriminalisation of homosexuality. Tonie's recounting of tales about places such as the Hirschfield Centre, which was the original hub of the scene, and certain sordid sauna stories, sprinkle much humour on this history. Whether you’re LGBTQ or indeed S, with an itinerary that includes starting at the Oscar Wilde statue in Merrion Square before City Hall, The National Library and Dublin Castle, this kick-off to the Pride Festival will teach you something new. / Emily O'Callaghan

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Clery's Clock

A well-established meeting place for Dubliners and visitors to the city alike, it is believed that many a successful love affair had its beginnings underneath Clery's clock. While rather modest as far as landmarks go, it was here that many young lovers and friends met before frequenting Clery's ballroom, the Metropole dancehall opposite, or the many cinemas that lined the street. On Saturday nights during the 1950s and up until the 1970s, young guys and girls waited patiently underneath the old clock for their date to arrive and for the night to begin. This weekend, for a taste of old school romance, why not breathe new life into this great tradition and begin your evening underneath Clery's clock? Composed of two opposing faces, a night that starts here has a good chance of ending with faces coming together. "I'll meet you under Clerys Clock!" / Sinead Vaughan
 

grooming

The Merchant Barber

There have been a couple of blips - there was the girl who liked to take the razor to the back of my neck. There was also the fruity chap in Knightsbridge who tried to turn me into Louise Brooks. But for the past quarter century only one joint has had exclusive tonsorial access. I speak of the Merchant Barber. I remember my first visits as a callow 13-year-old, the snipping and the clippers, the fug of cigarette smoke, the smell of product, the blonde broad with the short skirts who would sweep heaps of hair and make it difficult to stand up. This was (and still is) a place that made a man of you. Mr Bernard Breslin is still the guvnor, he wears his scissors in a holster and holds the Irish hairdressing federation hall of fame icon award. I shit you not. Straighten up gents, you don't want a stylist, you need a barber. / Mr & Mrs Stevens

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Swimming at Seapoint

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South Wall

Secret Dublin? It don't get more secret than South Wall. Adventure your lonely way down and through the post-apocalyptic landscape around the fantastically stripey Poolbeg chimneys and you'll find yourself on a precocious pier jutting out into the middle of Dublin Bay. Topped by a little red lighthouse, the panoramic view from here is just a little bit breathtaking.  Half way along the Great South Wall you'll find the Half Moon Swim Club (previously a battery). Cross your fingers and hope the swimmers are in - a handful of the most salted aul' Dubliners meet here for swims in frigid waters. They'll make you tea, offer you biscuits, and give you the grand tour. Bring your togs and you'll be one o' da lads (like me).  It feels like you're being initiated into a forgotten bit of Dublin history. / Karl Watson

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Werburgh's Church

Ever paused while waiting in-line at Burdock's to wonder what lies behind the imposing stone façade across the street? That, my fishy friends, is St Werburgh's (pronounced 'Ware-bergs'), perhaps the most peculiar place of worship to grace this city of quare kirks. Beyond the big blue doors you'll find a host of obscure treasures echoing the turbulent history of the building itself, including Swift's baptismal font, Napper Tandy's Bell, and - most randomly - two of Dublin's oldest fire-engines. But it is in ascending to the balcony, to perch in what was once the Lord Lieutenant's private pew, that you get the best sense of the place in all its faded 18th Century pomp. If you're very nice, Denise (Church Sexton) may even let you look around the graveyard, which now serves as her back garden - gnomes and all. Curioser and curioser! / Tom Donegan

walking tour

New Obsessive Tour of Dublin

We've had the New Wave and the New Romantic but do you know The New Obsessive? Well today is your chance to lock pick the mind of Gary Farrelly, the artist and commander-in-chief, whose behind All roads lead to Neustern, the most intriguing exhibition in town right now, as he leads 'The New Obsessive Tour of Dublin'. This guided walking tour promises to reinvent the histories and functions of the captial's built environment. Taking in existing architecture, Farrelly's tour will warp the Dublin you know into a Dublin unhinged, reimagined, and manipulated by the artist's will and whim - cue H-bomb-proof secret police headquarters, ministries for sexual morality and mind-control, and state visits via U-boat up the Liffey. A one man nation state and self-obsessive Farrelly may also give share some of apocalypse make-up tips. Essential walking. / Daphnie Godson

museum

The Leprechaun Museum

If you're looking for something that's both Irish and a little different this week than this tour might be the one. The National Leprechaun museum has been going strong since it opened and is one of those places that sounds like one thing... but is something else entirely. I think they must get a kick out of the name - I certainly did, looking at some other reviews and finding handfuls of tourists raging their little Johnny didn't get to see a REAL leprechaun. That's rip off Ireland for you eh? The museum is all about preserving Irish history and folklore in its purest form - through the tradition of word of mouth - a wonderful concept in itself. Worth the visit if you're bringing little people out for the day or have some foreign friends coming over that need to get some 'real Irish' into their weekend. Win Tickets / Rachel Ray

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Gasworks Sculpture

If the rebranding of the Grand Canal Theatre made your eyes sting and left you thinking that any venture into the South Docklands should henceforth come with a health warning, then look out, because Bord Gáis is up to more arts trickery. It has sponsored a new public artwork on Sir John Rogerson's Quay by Belfast-born John Kindness. He has recreated the shape of an old gas holder and decorated the enamel panels with friezes inspired by the country's story of gas. The land around here was once dominated by the coal gas industry, from the 1820s until the arrival of natural gas in the 1980s. Many were employed in its production, from unloading imported coal from ships to maintaining the gasometer at the nearby Gasworks building. This must elevate Kindness's sculpture far above a mere branding exercise. / Maisie

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Glasnevin Cemetery

What lies in Glasnevin Cemetery? There are 1.5 million people buried within its walls (equal to the living population of Dublin) with many historical figures among them, including Eamon de Valera, Charles Stewart Parnell, Countess Markiewicz, Michael Collins and Brendan Behan. And, of course, Daniel O’Connell, who founded the cemetery to ‘bury people of all religions and none’. This fascinating and peaceful necropolis is also home to a newly opened modern museum, café and exhibition space. There are few cities in the world where you can visit a museum within a cemetery followed by a pint in a legendary pub. The nearby Gravediggers dates from the 1800s, is mentioned in Ulysses and originated the drinking colloquialism, ‘Going for a jar.’ Ask the bartender why. No shovel required. / Shirley Chance

Tropical Popical

Five days is good going. The whole salon is good going- it's good going there! Kitsch, completely unpretentious and from €7. I never get my nails did except in NY but I'd been following their twit and facyB so was pretty psyched. Through a half open door it's squeal worthy and awe-some from within. The signature Tropical Popical nail has palm trees and flamingos. 'Can of Lilt with your mani?' Amazing. I haven't had one since my grandad was diagnosed diabetic. 'Open that before you get your nails done'. Excellent. I brought Donal - 23, single, straight (he'll want me to mention that) - to prepare for winter dates. You gotta be buff. His technician wasn't as chatty as mine but gave him a hand massage that made me blush. Apparently they've had more men in. I'm looking at my nails right now five days later. A couple of premiere chips appeared last night on MY date. In a good way. / Georgia