Dublin: Hidden Gem Walking Tour with Local Guide

We will start the tour in Kingswood Heights, you will be briefly introduced to Tallaght and we will examine Tallaght's beginnings in ancient Irish history

Our next stop will be just outside, the former residence of Katharine Tynan - Whitehall. We will examine Katharine's life, how she partook in the Irish and English literary circles of her time, to her own rich literary contributions - AE described Katharine as "the earliest singer in that awakening of our imagination which has been spoken of as the Irish Renaissance". We too will explore Katharine's friendships with W.B Yeats to George William Russell (AE) who would frequent her residence, Whitehall. Contents of letters from Katharine to W.B. Yeats and George William Russell (AE) will be shared.

We will explore the life of William Howard Russell who was born in Jobstown, Tallaght. William is considered one of the first ever war correspondents and he became synonymous with the work of a war correspondent. We will examine his early life in Tallaght to his very long and rich life in reporting primarily for 'The Times' - from his reports on the meetings of Daniel O'Connell to the Great Famine in Ireland to his reporting on the Crimean War to the American Civil War. We will also brielfy examine his friendship with the famed, Charles Dickens. Some writings and letters of William's will be shared.

We will briefly explore the background of Irish mythology -before diving into one of Ireland's best known legends - 'Oisín I dTír na nÓg' - 'Oisín in the Land of Youth' - a bilingual version(Irish and English) of this lengend will be shared and we will learn of the link this legend has with Dublin Mountains as we have a lovely view of these beautiful mountains on this stop.

We will explore the history of the former Tallaght Aerodrome (its role in WW1, the Irish War of Independence to the Irish Civil War) formely built on lands belonging to the father of Katharine Tyan (a poem of Katharine's on this development will be shared). We will also explore the fascinating story of the Gallagher family, how they brought Urneys Chocolates into being and how Urney Chocolates (a brand which offers nostalgia to many in Ireland) would find its home in Tallaght for many decades until it would close in 1980 - we will also chat a little about how the Urney Chocalates brand lives on. We too shall chat briefly about another well-known brand, Jacob's, which too for a time operated in Tallaght and will shall discuss the transformative impact these businesses had on the area.

We will examine in more depth the transformation of Tallaght in the span of a few short decades (1970s-80s) into one of the largest urban areas in Ireland - (Tallaght in the 1980s was one of the fastest growing urban centres in Western Europe). We will also examine the impact this had on the area and its populace in particular against the backdrop of an Ireland which was experiencing economic difficulties, to high unemployment to high emmigration. We too shall spend time learning and seeing how Tallaght has grown and transformed from this period into what we know as Tallaght today.

St.Maelruain's Church now stands on what used to be a former monastery, which had such importance in ancient Ireland - it along with with a monastery at Finglas were known as the 'two eyes of Ireland'. We will briefly examine this period of history, the life of St.Maelruain himself and how the present day church came into being.

Alice Furlong is buried on the grounds of St.Maelruain's church and until quite recently was lost to time. We will explore Alice's life, from her being one of the founding members + Vice-President’s of Inghinidhe na hÉireann ‘Daughters of Ireland’, + to a talented poet/writer. She too was a Irish-language advocate and her love of the Irish language was shared with her love of Tallaght. Some of Alice's poetry will be shared -(works in Irish(professional translations of her work into English will be provided) and English).

A plaque in Tallaght Village has been erected to commemorate the Fenian Rising of 1867, we will explore this period in Irish history, in particular Tallaght's role in it. Writings from the famed, Charles Dickens on this period of history in Tallaght will be shared.

We will end the tour in Tallaght Village, we will see the cottages which were designed by the architect, Thomas Joseph Byrne, who was one of the most influential architects of this day. We too shall briefly chat about the former Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (DBST) which would run through the area before closing in 1932. To end the tour, you will be taught some basic Irish and we will briefly chat about the Irish language. You are more than welcome to use some of the Irish you have learned in a special local café right in the heart of Tallaght Village at the end of the tour if you would like.