Private Dublin Shore Excursion

This half day Dublin tour is best for first time visitors who have limited time available. You enjoy a driving tour of the city and then visits to both Trinity College and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Your private guide will meet you at the pier and you will start with a driving tour which allows you to see the main sights including the famous Doors of Dublin, the River Liffey, the Customs House, O'Connell Street, the GPO (General Post office), the Four Courts, and the city's Georgian area, including Merrion Square, Fitzwilliam Square, St. Stephen's Green, and Leinster House (National Parliament Building).

Your first stop is Trinity College, which along with the Old Library building, make up Ireland's oldest university. Today it houses one of Ireland's most illustrious books, the 9th century Book of Kells, an exquisite and lavishly decorated copy of the first four gospels in Latin. Even after such a long time, the grandeur and aura of this historical book has not diminished and is considered one of the major tourist attractions in Dublin.

Before viewing the famous book visitors pass through an excellent exhibition based on the book of Kells and other important writings from Ireland's monasteries. You'll see the 'long room' built in 1745. Once the principal library of the University, it now contains over twenty thousand books and manuscripts with some of the Trinity's oldest volumes. Brian Boru's harp, said to be the oldest harp in Ireland is on display along with a copy of the Proclamation of the Republic, or 1916 Proclamation, one of the most important documents in Irish history.

Next you visit St. Patrick's Cathedral, Ireland's largest church and the National Cathedral of Ireland which is built on the site where St. Patrick supposedly made his first Irish converts to Christianity in the 5th century. The cathedral was damaged during Cromwell's invasion of Ireland in the 17th century. The Guinness family (of brewery fame) restored the structure in the 19th century.

St Patrick's is Gothic style and adorned with funeral monuments in its splendid interior. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, was dean of St. Patrick's and is buried here. The Chancel is flanked by ornate stained-glass windows, and next to the Altar are spectacular choir stalls, once used by the knights of St Patrick. The massive west towers house a large array of bells whose ringing tones have become part of the very character of Dublin.

At the end of the tour you are brought back to the pier

Mobility: Folding wheelchair OK, some sites may be inaccessible (advance notice required)