Local guide · Trinity College and Dublin Castle
A guide links three of old Dublin's big names in one outing: the Book of Kells at Trinity College, Dublin Castle and Christ Church Cathedral. Pick it for the older layers of Irish history, the ones that Croke Park and the GAA Museum do not cover.
This listing strings together three of Dublin's best-known sights with a guide, in 2 to 3 hours. The first is the Book of Kells, which Trinity College calls a 1,200-year-old manuscript. It is kept in the Treasury of the Old Library, next to the Long Room. Check your booking for which entries are covered and in what order.
Know one thing before you go. Trinity is in the middle of its Old Library Redevelopment Project, and its own page says the books have been removed from the Long Room, apart from the first four bays. The hall is still there, but the walls of books from the photos are not, for now.
Dublin Castle was built in the early 13th century on a Viking site and was the seat of British rule until 16 January 1922, when it was handed over to Michael Collins. Christ Church Cathedral has stood for almost 1,000 years and has a medieval crypt. None of it touches Croke Park, but it is the deep background to the story the GAA Museum tells.
Check your booking for the exact meeting point, the start time and which entries are included.
The illuminated manuscript in the Treasury, then the Long Room of the Old Library, now mostly emptied of books for conservation.
From Viking Dublin to 1922, when the castle was handed over to the new Irish government.
The medieval cathedral on the hill above the Liffey, with its crypt.
Temple Bar and the streets round the castle are a few minutes' walk away.
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Yes, but most of the books have been removed during the Old Library Redevelopment Project. Trinity says only the first four bays still hold books.
The listing gives 2 to 3 hours for all three sights.
No. Trinity allows non-flash photography in the Old Library but not in the Treasury where the manuscript is shown.
No. For Croke Park and the GAA Museum, book the Stadium Tour on another day.
Ready to book
The Book of Kells, Dublin Castle and Christ Church Cathedral with a guide, in one morning.
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