Skip the tour of Dublin Castle but walk its garden for free
Is The Dublin Castle Tour Worth It?
Verdict: For me, this is a skip. I bring people through the ground of Dublin Castle every day on my Dublin Jet Lag walking tour and I always warn my guests that it's not 'a castley castle'. It's more 19th century government building. And that theme continues if you do the tour inside the castle. Lots of stately rooms that is more Bridgerton than Braveheart. It's quite dull. Do walk around the gorgeous Dubh Linn Gardens behind the castle though.
Score: 6/10
Save with the Dublin Pass
The Dublin Pass gets you into Dublin's top 40 attractions for one flat fee. It pays for itself after the three big ones that everyone does: the Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery, and the Hop-on Bus. Everything after that is free, Dublin Castle, EPIC, Christchurch, plus three of my own favourites the Little Museum of Dublin, the Jeanie Johnston Famine Ship and Teeling Distillery.
👉Buy the Dublin Pass here.
The Dublin Castle Tour Experience
Dublin Castle was built in 1300 and was the centre of English rule in Ireland for 600 years. It did have four towers and a moat so it was a 'castley castle' (I need to trademark that term) but various fires over the year damaged it and after a big one in the late 1600s, they figured that they didn't need a castle for protection anymore and so that is why today, it looks more like Georgian offices than a castle.
The Grand Staircase
The tour begins at the Grand staircase, which does live up to its name. Dublin Castle is where Ireland receives visiting presidents & dignitaries such as the Queen, and you can picture them gracefully descending the grand stairs. The Queen did visit in 2011, the first visit by English monarchy in nearly 100 years.
At the top, I learned something that I never knew. Guinness trademarked the Harp and when the new Irish Free State wanted to use it as their emblem in 1922, Guinness allowed them, but on the condition that they flip it 180 degrees.
Get fresh air, coffee & a guided tour of Dublin with me. We go through the grounds of Dublin Castle and Dubh Linn Gardens
Presidential Corridor
This was my favourite part of the tour, it had portraits of our 9 Irish presidents. During my tour, they were preparing for our latest presidential election where Catherine Connolly was elected to be our president. We've now had 3 females presidents from a total of our 10 presidents.
The Rooms
The tour continued through a variety of stately rooms, the drawing room, the dining room, the throne room. This is where I started to switch off. You come for a castle and instead it's like an old house tour with portraits of (self) important old men.
The Record Tower
The Record Tower is the most castle looking part of the castle, but even it is a bit dodgy. The top bit was added during the renovations 200 years ago. You can tell because the windows are big to let in light to the office workers! There has been a crane working on this tower as long as I can remember, but I've never seen it actually move.
Chapel Royal
The tour finished in the chapel royal, an old church with 103 heads looking down on you. More (self) important old men. The guide did give a lot of Irish history in the chapel, which was a good 5 minute Dummies Guide to Ireland. I did like that.
Dubh Linn Gardens
The tour does not bring you here and it's a shame. It's my favourite part of the castle. The gardens are behind the castle and is where Dublin got its name. You'll need to come on my Jet Lag tour to find out why!
Let's Be Positive!
Dublin Castle is in a great location, it was the centre of Dublin so it makes sense. It's a good area to stay in. I absolutely love The Chancery Hotel that is on a very quiet street right behind it. You can see Dublin Castle from the reception of NYX Dublin Christchurch
Conclusion
It's one of those 'ok to do if it's a rainy day' tours for me. Don't plan your trip around it. Ireland has got so many other castles that are better.
Read Next
Dublin Castle Photo Gallery
