Review: Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre
Dalkey Castle is a 14th century castle located in Dalkey Village in Dublin. Guides and actors make this a Living History tour where they reenact characters from the era.
I lead a walking tour in Dalkey and have walked past the castle countless times, so one Winter afternoon I went to visit it for myself. And I am glad that I did.
It's a very entertaining hour in coastal Dublin. Highly recommended.
Score 8/10
History of Dalkey Castle
Dalkey was very important for ships coming to Dublin. Thanks to its deep water, they would dock here, unload their goods which would then be transported overland to Dublin 15 kilometers away. These were dangerous times, so they built 7 castles in Dalkey to store these goods. Only 2 remain. One is a ruin, the other is Dalkey Castle.
The Tour Experience
Entrance
I walked into to the gift shop which serves as the entrance and was immediately met with a shout of my name! I didn't know anyone here, but it was from the extremely friendly lady at the ticket counter. She had seen the names on the tours and figured out that I was the solo male. We then did the very Irish thing of discuss my family name, you can often tell where someone is from by their surname, and of course she knew people I knew. A lovely welcoming start.
The Writers Gallery
The tour starts in the Writers Gallery where you watch a 10 minutes video on the history of Dalkey that has some beautiful shots of the surrounding water.
Dalkey is a very wealthy place, probably the richest in Ireland. On the walls are photos of its residents from over the years, Bono, The Edge, Van Morrison, Enya, Maeve Binchy, Eddie Irvine, George Bernard Shaw live/d in the Dalkey & Killiney area (where my tour goes).
The Barber
The fun began with our first actor, the Barber! This gentleman was brilliant, he was fully in character and told us about life back in the 14th century. He interacted with our small group and got the kids laughing.
Sometimes these reenactment type tours can be cringe, but all the actors at Dalkey Castle were excellent and got the visitors laughing.
St. Begnet’s Church
We walked out to the ruins of St Begnet's Church. This dates from the 10th century. There we met the archer who explained the defensive mechanism of the castle. There's the Machiculation where archers could fire down at anyone trying to break in. Makes our Ring Doorbells seem a little weak. Above the front door is the Murder Hole where boiling water was poured on them. If they really didn't like you, they poured boiling pee on you! The acid in it really burns the skin. Apparently.
The Graveyard
The archer explained there are 2500 bodies in this tiny graveyard. You wonder where they all go until he points out that the graveyard is much higher than the street, yeah, they just piled them high!
You learn something new every day and today I learned why there are yew trees in Irish graveyards, they keep the cattle away! The yew tree here is 250 years old.
The Castle Kitchen
We were led up narrow stairs to the kitchen where the next reenactor was waiting for us. This was the cook. Another very funny experience as he told us about life in the castle.
Dalkey Castle Roof
The archer led us up to the roof where we had views over all of Dalkey and out to the sea. I took a lot of photos up here with all the beautiful scenery.
The Museum
The tour ended in the museum which was very educational. I learned a ton that I'm going to add to my own tour. There's been people in Dalkey for 5000 years. The Vikings lived on Dalkey Island. People went to live there to escape the Black Death.
The Gift Shop
You exit through the gift shop which is small, but well curated. I picked up a book on the history of Dalkey.
Tickets
Since this is a guided tour, you can only visit at tour time. There are just a few tours each day & the group are a small size. so you should book ahead.
Make A Day Of It
The coast line of south Dublin is my favourite area of Dublin! There's a reason all the rich people live here. You'll see views that you won't believe. If you want see real Dublin, and not just the tourist places in the city centre, spend a day out here. It's so easy to get to on the light rail. Dalkey is just 30 minutes from town.
Here is a fabulous day out.
10-12pm Do my Vista walking tour
Ireland by Locals
12-1pm Do the Dalkey Castle tour
1pm-2pm Lunch at Queens
Next door to the castle is Queens. It opened in 1745. Come in here for lunch or dinner after your tour. If you want a quick snack, I love Country Bake.
2-4pm See this coastline from the water on the fabulous GOAT Boat.
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Ireland by Locals
