Things to do in Dublin this Easter

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Things to do in Dublin this Easter

THINGS TO DO IN DUBLIN THIS EASTER
Easter has arrived, and for many, that means a 4 full days break from work – happy days! If you are in Dublin, there are so many things to do it’s difficult to know where to start. Here’s a few tips:

Go Racing!:
We may be biased here at Racing Tours Ireland, but Easter is a very busy time for horse racing in Ireland with two 3-day festivals to choose from in Cork and Fairyhouse. The Irish Grand National is the highlight of the weekend at 5pm on Monday at Fairyhouse, and if you are in Dublin we recommend a visit to Fairyhouse on either Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, especially as the weather forecast is a good one. 30 runners will go to post for the National and if you manage to pick the winner you’ll have a very happy Easter indeed. It’ll be easier resisting all those delicious Easter eggs on Sunday, but we suggest taking a chance on Los Amigos at 16/1 or She’s Got Grit at 33/1. Remember if you can’t make it racing this weekend, we have plenty of upcoming tours for you to experience the best day tour in Dublin – now that’s an Easter present anyone would love!

Leinster vs Bath:
If you want a sporting themed Easter in Dublin, then the day before the Fairyhouse meeting kicks off, watch Leinster play Bath in the quarter final of the European Rugby Champions Cup at the Aviva Stadium. This should be a close and exciting match, with many of Ireland’s Six Nations winning team on show. If you can’t shout on “the boys in blue” at the match, then there will be plenty of opportunity to shout them on in the famous pubs of Dublin.

The Dublin Walking Festival takes place from April 3rd – 5th 2015
If fresh air and fun is more your thing, then head for the Dublin Wicklow Hills, which sit on the south side of Dublin city, and are within easy access from the city centre with public transport. Dublin is blessed to have such great walking areas and access routes on its doorstep, and so there is a walking festival this weekend. There are great trails that will suit many abilities and also family friendly routes for young children. The Dublin Mountains Way trail from the west side of Dublin and out towards the Irish sea at Shankill is also a great way to see hidden treasures of Dublin. Hillwalking image
Highlights of the festival include:Scenic walks in the Dublin Wicklow hills, The Dublin Mountains Way trail, The Wicklow Way, Bohernabreena and its beautiful reservoir. Full Moon walk over looking the lights of Dublin and the Irish coastline. Visits to some of the best pubs in the Dublin hills afterwards, Johnnie Fox’s and the Merry Ploughboy. Historical walks of Tallaght, The Hell Fire Club and Massys Woods. Great fun for everyone and a great excuse to enjoy the great outdoors that Dublin has to offer.

Literary Walking Tour:
If the hills and mountains of Dublin are a little too daunting, why not explore Dublin’s great literary past? Dublin is famous for its authors, playwrights, and writers. There are a host of guided tours available to help you out, or do it yourself and go at your own pace with our suggested tour below that will take you past all the points of interest to anyone wishing to hear about Joyce, O’Casey, Kavanagh, or any of Dublin’s famous literary figures.

Start: Dublin Writer’s Museum, Parnell Square
Finish: Trinity College
Time: Allow 2 hours.
Dublin Writer’s Museum: Located at 18 Parnell Square North, Dublin 1, the museum occupies a tasteful 18th-century townhouse. There are displays relating to Irish literature in all its forms from around the 10th century to the present day, with restaurant, and a specialist bookstore.
James Joyce Cultural Centre: Located near Parnell Square and the Dublin Writer’s Museum, this Joycean centre is in a newly restored 1784 Georgian town house which contains various exhibits, an archive, and a reference library.
Make your way over to Mountjoy Square to number 35, once home to Seán O’Casey. Brendan Behan grew up in nearby 14 Russell St. Continue down Gardiner Street along the route taken by Leopold Bloom in Jame’s Joyce’s “Ulysses”. Up Railway St stood Bella Cohen’s Brothel, also featured in this book. Stroll down towards the River Liffey to Abbey St where the famous Abbey Theatre stands. Many important works were first staged here since its opening in 1904, including the “Playboy of the western World” by John Millington Synge and Seán O’Casey’s “The Plough and the Stars”. The present building replaced the original theatre, which burned down in 1951.
The General Post Office: Not only was this building the site of the Easter 1916 Rebellion but also inspiration for poetry and literature of that setting, and in nearby Prince’s Street where Joyce’s Leopold Bloom worked for the freeman’s journal.
Move south of the River Liffey to Trinity College, the educator of many of Ireland’s great writers from Swift to Wilde. An ancient Irish masterpiece the Book of Kells can be seen here, at the Old Library.

End the day in a Dublin Pub:
This suggestion doesn’t need much selling, but we thought we share Lonely Planet’s thoughts on it with you: “Like getting bumped on the streets of New York or being the victim of haughtiness in Paris, you cannot fully experience Dublin without spending at least some of your time here in a pub. The city may have gone through some pretty dramatic changes over the last few years, but the pub remains the heart of its social existence, the broadest window through which you can examine and experience the very essence of the city’s culture, in all its myriad forms. It’s the great leveller where status and rank hold no sway, where generation gaps are bridged, inhibitions lowered, tongues loosened, schemes hatched, songs sung, stories told and gossip embroidered. It’s a unique institution: a theatre and a cosy room, a centre stage and a hideaway, a debating chamber and a place for silent contemplation. It’s whatever you want it to be, and that’s the secret of the great Irish pub.”
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HAPPY EASTER!!!

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