Dublin: The Dark Side Tour

Dublin Castle is the first stop on our tour, scene of the gruesome torture and martyrdom of Bishop Dermot O'Hurley in 1584. We learn here of methods of torture and execution invented during the 1798 Rebellion solely for use on the subject Irish by their colonial masters.

We visit the site where a murder committed in 1115 engendered such bitterness that it ultimately brought about the Invasion of Ireland by the Normans in 1169; and we visit the rere of Christchurch Cathedral to hear about the strange events which followed on from the theft of the Heart of St Lorcan O'Toole from one of its side chapels only a few years ago, in 2012.

We view a section of the Old City Walls still surviving today, where the heads of Gaelic Chieftains were once displayed on spikes as a grim reminder to all of the British Crown's supremacy in Irish affairs. And we conclude our tour in Fishamble Street with a timely reminder of the prevalence of pandemics in history - in particular in the history of Dublin, and of how disease was to claim the Fair City's most celebrated citizen - Molly Malone.

Our starting point will be the steps of City Hall in Dame Street. I'll be there myself 30 minutes in advance of the tour to welcome those joining - wearing a navy jacket and holding an A4 sheet with 'Dark Side Tour' in bold print either side.