Dublin Walking-storytelling Tour

Some of the stories are based on works of public art and who or what they represent — Oscar Wilde, Molly Malone, Éire with the harp, for example. We visit the Setanta Wall, shown at the top of this page, for stories about the great mythological hero Cúchulainn. Dublin’s newest sculpture, the Selfish Giant, by Lithuanian wood sculptor Sarunas Gimbutis, has pride of place in a new playground in Merrion Square behind the statue of Oscar Wilde, author of “The Selfish Giant”.

Finn’s Hotel, the fading sign still visible high on the side of the red-brick building that is no longer a hotel, was where James Joyce met his future wife, Nora Barnacle, and got the idea for Finnegans Wake.

One of our stops (if we can fit it in; the bank closes at 4.00) is the House of Lords in the old Parliament building, now the Bank of Ireland. The coat of arms of Derry on a tapestry depicting the Lifting of the Siege shows a seated skeleton, for which there is a grisly story.

The short video at the bottom of this post will give you a taste of the 1.5-hour tour. It was part of a proposed AudioTrip app that never materialised.