Is Dublin Safe?
I see this question asked frequently on Irish travel groups. I'm a Dubliner, born and bred, and will give you my thoughts here.
Disclaimer: I'm a 6'3" man who grew up in Dublin, knows the city & its characters well, so my experience will be different than yours.
Is Dublin Actually Safe?
Yes, for the most part is it. People are exceptionally friendly and will go out of their way to help anyone who is lost or needs assistance. But it is a capital city with 1.5 million people and so there's going to be the odd bad egg who can make the rest of us look bad.
Fortunately they tend to dress alike and make it easy for rest of us to spot them😄. See The Dublin Gurrier section below for more about this.
The Irish Police - Gardaí
The Irish police force are called An Garda Síochána,which means the Guardians of Peace. One officer is call a Garda, multiple officers are called Gardaí (pronounced guard-eeee)
They've very approachable and welcoming to visitors who may have questions or just want directions. You may not even see a Garda in your whole trip. Walking through Dublin City in the tourist areas, you'll probably see a few, but day to day as a Dubliner, I rarely see them.
I lived in the US for a long time and couldn't believe all the traffic stops. They don't happen here unless you are doing something very wrong.
Charm Not Guns
The Guardaí don't carry guns, which is a shock to many of our visitors. The Gardaí are trained more in descalation than confrontation.
We do have an armed specialist unit in case of a major event, but usually with the Gardaí, it just takes one look of disappointment like your mother would give you to stop you doing anything stupid.
Cop Yourself On!
I was at a soccer match last month and an away supporter sat in our section. Fans are segregated here. When his team scored, he jumped up and made a lot of noise. He was getting a lot of verbal abuse from our supporters, but he still wouldn't stop cheering. A 60ish guard slowly ambled towards him, looked down at him and just said "Seriously?" and that was all it took for him to stop and look sheepish.
The Dublin Gurrier
Gurrier is a very Dublin word! They dress alike. In tracksuits, North Face jackets, love their hoodies. More recently they like to dress in all black with face coverings and ride e-scooters or scramblers, with zero regard for cars, pedestrians or traffic lights.
Of course, they're not all bad and to be very fair, they're usually cheeky rather than dangerous. They can even be very funny with classic wit!
Now if you're a Dubliner, don't get all upset start giving out to me for generalizing. We all know exactly the type I'm talking about. You put your guard up a bit too, especially when there's a few of them together.
Types of Crimes
If you are the victim of crime, it's more likely to be pickpocketing or petty crime. We don't carry guns here. But there have been some tourists that have been injured in muggings. Again, I'm being very upfront here. 10 million visitors a year come to ireland and a couple of times a year you'll read about a tourist being injured, so you've more chance of winning the Irish lottery than being a victim of physical violence. hurt.
Northside & Southside Dublin
The River Liffey divides Dublin in half. The Northside and the Southside.
Traditionally the Southside is looked upon at the wealthier and safer side. The Northside is considering its poorer cousin.
Now, I'm able to talk quite freely because I grew up on the Southside and today live on the Northside so I know what life is like on both sides of the river.
I love my village on the northside, I'm here for life!
Which Areas of Dublin I Avoid
O'Connell Street
The north side of the inner city around O'Connell Street & Talbot Street is not great. I'm just going to say it.
O'Connell Street should be our Champs-Élysées, our most impressive street. Instead, it's been poorly managed with a miss mash of arcades, fast food and souvenir shops. I went to school at the top of O'Connell Street for 12 years. I know it very well. Today, I steer clear unless I have a reason to go. Not that it's dangerous, it's just got more unsavory characters.
I already know I'm going to get comments and emails about this section, but here we go! It's my opinion based on 30+ years being in the city on a near daily basis.
Talbot Street
When I take the bus into town, it terminates on Talbot Street in the north inner city. I actually get off the bus early and change to a different bus to avoid stopping there. During the day, it's more dodgy than dangerous. At night, there's been more than a few violent incidents in the area at night. The very popular tourist bar, The Celt, is here.
The Liffey Boardwalk
I don't walk it at night.
Which Areas of Dublin Are Best?
The south side of the city centre is the nicest part. It's where most of the tourist attractions are, Temple Bar, Books of Kells, Trinity College, Guinness.
Yes there are some on the northside too, but if I'm going into town on a Saturday, I'm going to Grafton Street, Wicklow Street, Stephen's Green, all on the Southside.
I recommend when choosing Dublin hotels to stay on the Southside.
That's a very big generalization, there's some excellent hotels on the north side, Motel One Dublin, The Ruby Molly are great hotels that are a little less pricey because they are on the northside. I'd stay either without hesitation. The Zanzibar Locke is one of the highest rated hotels in Dublin on Booking.com
Darragh
Are Dublin buses and trains safe?
Overall yes. I'm on public transport every day and apart from the annoying idiots playing their phones without speakers, there are not many issues.
The bus is the safest. Sit close to the driver. The DART has a text line you can text if you see any issues, note your carriage number on it.
The Luas line has a bit of a reputation, especially the red line. I take it occasionally and yes, there's more of the Dublin Gurrier than dangerous element about it. They are good about having security on the Luas at night, but not on every one. You can always sit in the front carriage closest to the driver for extra precaution.
Your safest bet is to book a taxi with the Freenow App. This is what we use in Ireland instead of Uber.
Drugs & Homeless in Dublin
There are some homeless people in Dublin. We have a chronic housing shortages and Ireland is a very expensive country to live in, so through no fault of their own, some people are homeless. You'll see them politely asking for money, they just trying to get through the day and find a place to sleep. Treat them with compassion.
We do have a drugs problem, like any major city. There were two very well known drug families in a feud which caused a lot of violence but it was between themselves for the most part and didn't impact visitors. You'll see addicts begging occasionally. I always keep a wary eye and cross the street or give them plenty of space when I'm walking.
Dublin at Night
If you're in the busy nightlife area, like Temple Bar, Camden Street, Grafton Street, you're very unlikely to encounter any issues. Dublin has a very busy nightlife and there's always lots of people around, stay in areas like this.
Maybe some pickpocketing but be smart and exercise caution. Don't flash the cash, the usual suggestions.
The later it gets in the night and the more drinks you've had, the higher the risk something bad happening.
Protests in Dublin
You might have seen news about Dublin riots in November 2023. This was completely unprecedented, nothing like it had happened before in modern Ireland, and it was universally condemned by Irish people.
Ireland has a strong tradition of peaceful protest and free speech. You'll often see marches through Dublin city centre, but they're peaceful and well managed. I've never had any concerns about them as a local, and neither should you as a visitor.
If Something Goes Wrong
- Call 999. Not 911.
- Irish people are fantastic and will usually come to your assistance.
- Make sure you have good travel insurance. It's not expensive.
Bottom Line
I've been in 50 countries and I prefer the less touristy side so often end up in very local areas of supposedly dangerous countries. I do this because, yes I have the advantage of being a big guy, but more because I think that 99.5% of people are good. In Ireland, I'd raise that percentage even higher.
