It’s heritage week. A massive event with thousands of free tours, guides, events, talks, and buildings on view throughout the country from 18 to 25 August. You may have heard of Culture Night or Open House wk end - this is the week long version, but with events taking place all around the country, and every piece of heritage you can think of being involved.
We’re already in the middle of it, but there’s still plenty to see.
Always popular is the Masonic Lodge on Molesworth St - do it on Culture Night and you get the 20 min tour, in Heritage Week you get the 2.5 hour version!
So far since Saturday I’ve done a walking tour of medieval Dublin, a tour of St. Audoen’s church, a lecture on the European Master paintings in the National Gallery, a 1916 walking tour of Beggars Bush, a visit to Monkstown church, games in Dublin Castle state rooms, National Library talks on Irish placenames and how to search parish records, a lecture on myths in Irish history, and a tour of the National Gallery archive. Many of these events take place on multiple days/nights so there’s still time to catch them. Many are also regularly available outside of Heritage Week.
The next few days will have me joining a walking history tour of the royal canal, a talk on Inchicore during 1916, a tour of Tailor’s Hall and the Royal College of Surgeons, a reenactment of Robert Boyle’s experiments, and an historical tour of the Botanic Gardens, among others.
All you need is the time to dig through the website, such is the wealth of events on offer.
Make time. It’s worth it.
