The Custom House is defined by its massive copper dome, topped by a statue of Hope resting on an anchor. James Gandon designed this riverside building in the seventeen eighties to handle the surge of trade coming into Dublin port. During…
Docklands and Famine Walk
This walk traces Dublin's journey from the tragic depths of the Great Famine to its modern rise as a global technology hub, following the River Liffey from historic quays to the futuristic Silicon Docks.
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1. Custom House Visitor Centre
2. The Famine Memorial
The Famine Memorial consists of several emaciated bronze figures walking along Custom House Quay. They carry belongings in bundles or drag them by their sides, their clothes hanging loosely on thin frames. Sculptor Rowan Gillespie created…
3. EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum sits inside the CHQ building, a low, long stone structure featuring massive barrel-vaulted ceilings. Built in eighteen twenty to store tobacco and wine, its vaults once echoed with the trade of the British…
4. The Jeanie Johnston Famine Ship
The three-masted wooden ship sitting on the River Liffey features a black hull with a distinct white stripe running along its length. This vessel is a faithful replica of the original Jeanie Johnston, which transported thousands of…
5. Samuel Beckett Bridge
The Samuel Beckett Bridge stretches across the River Liffey with a span shaped like a giant harp lying on its side. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the steel cables fan out from a single curved pylon that leans away from the water. In two…
6. Diving Bell
The Diving Bell on Sir John Rogerson's Quay is a rusty, industrial steel cylinder, shaped like an oversized, hollowed-out hat. It was built in eighteen seventy-one to help construct Dublin's harbor walls. Workers sat inside this…
7. Grand Canal Square
Grand Canal Square features a flat, red-resin surface that stretches across the waterfront like a carpet. It is designed to channel pedestrians toward the water, marked by tall, glowing red light poles that resemble stalks of rhubarb. The…