Travellers who care more about the story of a place than simply photographing it.
cultural IrelandMe tour notes
The History of Dublin With Locals: 1916 Easter Rising PRIVATE Tour
Private 3.5-hour walking tour of Dublin's 1916 Easter Rising with a local guide. GPO, Garden of Remembrance, Collins Barracks. Carbon-neutral. From €112.
From €112 starting price · live price may vary
Check dates & prices ↗ Free cancellation on most dates · Booked securely with Viator
Duration3 hours 30 minutes
PriceFrom €112
Rating4.8 from 73 reviews
BookingSecurely via Viator
The IrelandMe take
Best conversational private walk
Our practical read of the published itinerary, traveller feedback and local context—not the operator’s sales description.
The 3.5-hour format leaves room for discussion across the GPO, Garden of Remembrance and Collins Barracks, with a private local guide and carbon-offset operation.
Its review base is smaller and the route is longer. Choose it for dialogue and pace, not because it has the same specialist track record as the Collins tour.
One practical detail
Compare this with the other options in our 1916 walking tour Dublin guide → Ask your guide about Kilmainham Gaol before the tour ends. The leaders of the 1916 Rising — including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly — were executed there in May 1916. The gaol is now a museum and one of the most powerful historical sites in Ireland. It's not on the tour route, but your guide will know the visiting details and whether it's worth adding to your time in Dublin.
How the experience works
The 1916 Easter Rising shaped modern Dublin more than almost anything else, and this private 3.5-hour walk gives you a local guide with a genuine feel for the story. No scripted group commentary — just conversation, context, and the kind of detail that takes years of living here to absorb.
It's just you and your guide for the whole tour, which is part of the Withlocals History City Tour series. Withlocals works only with small groups, pays guides a fair rate, and offsets all tour emissions so the experience is carbon-neutral.
You'll visit the landmarks that were central to the Rising and trace their history forward into what Dublin looks like today. The confirmed stops include the General Post Office on O'Connell Street — the last of the great Georgian public buildings to be built in the city and the headquarters of the Rising's leaders during Easter Week 1916 — and the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square, dedicated to all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom. Collins Barracks features depending on your guide's chosen route, and additional stops may be added along the way.
Entrance fees to any attractions are not included in the price. Hotel pick-up isn't included either, but your guide will be at the meeting point and the area is well served by public transport.
What the price covers
- Private guide
- Carbon-neutral tour (all emissions offset)
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Entrance fees to attractions
The published itinerary
Use this to judge the pace and where your time actually goes. Operators can adjust stop order for traffic, weather or opening times.
- General Post Office, O'Connell Street (20 min) — Headquarters of the 1916 Rising leaders and one of the finest Georgian public buildings in Dublin. Patrick Pearse read the Proclamation of Independence from its steps on Easter Monday 1916.
- Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square (25 min) — A memorial to everyone who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom, set in the former Rotunda Gardens at the northern end of O'Connell Street.
- Additional stops may be included depending on your guide's chosen route for the day.
Meeting point: At the Triumphal Arch
Local tips that make the day better
The GPO interior is worth stepping into after your guide has covered the outside. The ground-floor exhibition documents the Rising in careful detail, and the building itself — even fully restored — carries a real sense of what it went through. It's free to enter and you can wander at your own pace.
Collins Barracks, if your guide takes you there, now houses the Decorative Arts and History wing of the National Museum of Ireland. It's free to enter and has a strong collection covering Irish social history, furniture, silver, and military objects. The 1916 section in particular is worth time if you want to go deeper than the walking tour allows.
The Garden of Remembrance is one of those places that rewards a slow visit. The pool runs east to west, which is deliberate — it's aligned with the rising sun. The Oisin Kelly sculpture at the eastern end depicts the Children of Lir at the moment of their transformation, a mythological image chosen to represent the sacrifice and renewal of the Rising. Your guide will explain the symbolism, but it helps to stand still and look at it for a while.
Parnell Square, where the Garden sits, has several other things worth knowing about. The Hugh Lane Gallery is on the north side and holds Francis Bacon's reconstructed studio as a permanent exhibit — it's free and extraordinary. The square was also the location of the Rotunda Lying-In Hospital, the oldest purpose-built maternity hospital in the world still in operation.
Good to know before booking
This is a private tour — it's just you and your local guide. The tour runs in English. A moderate level of physical fitness is helpful for the walking sections. Public transport is nearby. Hotel pick-up is not included, and entrance fees to any attractions are separate from the tour price. All tour emissions are carbon-offset.
Make more of the area
- The Road to Independence: Private Walking Tour of Dublin — A private 2.5-hour walk covering the core 1916 sites, starting at the Yeats Memorial in St Stephen's Green, for groups who want a slightly shorter experience. From €149.
- The Houses of Guinness Walking Tour — A 2 hour 45 minute walk through the real homes and civic legacy of the Guinness family, finishing with a pint where Arthur Guinness married in 1761.
Questions before you book
How long is The History of Dublin With Locals: 1916 Easter Rising PRIVATE Tour?
The published duration is 3 hours 30 minutes. Allow extra time to reach the meeting point and for your onward plans.
How much does The History of Dublin With Locals: 1916 Easter Rising PRIVATE Tour cost?
The listed starting price is From €112. Live prices can change by date, group size and availability.
What should I know before booking?
Its review base is smaller and the route is longer. Choose it for dialogue and pace, not because it has the same specialist track record as the Collins tour.
Ready to decide?
Check the live times before building the rest of your day.
From €112 · 3 hours 30 minutes Check dates & prices ↗
