Meet the Media – Sunday Social | Sunday 8 February 2026
Some parts of Dublin wear their history lightly. Others, like Dublin 8, carry it in the street layout, the buildings, and the stories passed down through generations. As part of the Meet the Media Sunday Social, delegates are invited to explore one of the city’s most historically rich districts on a guided walking tour led by Gerry Mullins, a Dublin 8 historian and author with deep roots in the area.
This is not a whistle-stop tour of landmarks. It’s a walk through the social, cultural and industrial layers that shaped the city — told by someone who knows the Liberties not just as history, but as a living place.
Swift, Guinness and the Making of a Neighbourhood
The tour begins around St Patrick’s Cathedral and St Patrick’s Park, setting the scene for two names that echo throughout Dublin 8’s story: Jonathan Swift and Guinness. Mullins brings context to Swift’s time as Dean of the Cathedral and his wider influence on the city, while also unpacking how the Guinness family’s philanthropy left a lasting physical and social imprint on the area.
From the Cathedral’s 19th-century restoration — funded by the Guinness family — to the creation of St Patrick’s Park itself, the walk traces how wealth, power and civic responsibility intersected in this part of the city. Nearby landmarks such as Marsh’s Library and the former Iveagh Play Centre (now the Liberties College) help illustrate how education, literature and reform were woven into everyday life.
Through the Liberties
Moving on foot through the Coombe and the Liberties, the tour weaves through historic streets including Francis Street, long associated with trade, craft and independent businesses. Here, Mullins focuses on the human side of the story — how people lived, worked and built community in one of Dublin’s most distinctive neighbourhoods.
Passing the Iveagh Buildings, developed by Edward Cecil Guinness to provide housing and amenities for working families, the tour highlights a model of urban philanthropy that still shapes the area today. It’s a perspective that adds depth to the familiar Guinness name, grounding it firmly in place rather than brand mythology.
Dublin 8 and the Whiskey Revival
The walk also takes in Dublin 8’s role at the centre of Ireland’s modern whiskey revival. A visit to Roe & Co Distillery offers a contemporary counterpoint to the historical narrative, with a brief guided experience and a complimentary cocktail. It’s a reminder that this district has always been tied to production, innovation and export — past and present.
From Pilgrims to Pubs
Returning along James’s Street, the tour pauses at St James’s Church, historically the starting point for Irish pilgrims travelling the Camino de Santiago. The story of pilgrimage adds another layer to the area’s international connections, long before modern tourism existed.
The Sunday Social concludes, fittingly, at Grogan’s Castle Lounge, a long-standing meeting place for artists, writers and journalists. It’s an appropriate end point — a space where conversation, ideas and storytelling continue, echoing the themes explored throughout the afternoon.
Part of the Meet the Media Sunday Social
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When: Sunday, 8 February 2026
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Time: From 3.00pm (approx.)
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Guide: Gerry Mullins, Dublin 8 historian and author
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Finish: Grogan’s Castle Lounge, Dublin 2
Free for registered Meet the Media delegates, this walking tour offers a relaxed, sociable way to experience Dublin beyond the usual visitor trail — guided by someone who knows the area intimately and understands how its past still shapes the city today.