Glasnevin Cemetery tour

One short bus journey on the 40 or 40A from Parnell Street [top of O'Connell St] leaves you at Glasnevin Cemetery for their free tour, Wednesdays and Fridays at 1430 from the main gate (ask the bus driver). See the graves of Daniel O'Connell, Michael Collins (of recent film fame), Eamon DeValera (don't believe everything you see in films), Charles Parnell, Brendan Behan and many others. Well worth the effort to get there!

Glencree cemetery - German war graves and Reconciliation Centre

Glencree is a beautiful hamlet/village near the Dublin/Wicklow border and nestling in the Wicklow hills. It contains two of the area's hidden treasures - the German war graves and the Reconciliation Centre (a converted Reformatory). The bodies of German servicemen are buried in the former and it is beautifully maintained and in a truly peaceful location. You might ask what happened to all the allied servicemen - although Ireland was neutral they all mysteriously managed to find their way back to England or the North of Ireland! The German survivors were kept in the Curragh military camp for the duration of the war. There are also a few sites of crashed WW2 planes but these are fairly inaccessible (pictures of the German cemetery and another.

How to find it: This involves quite a bit of effort if you haven't got a car. Take the 44C bus to Enniskerry (some services go up the valley to Curtlestown - I have to check the 185 bus details). Walk along the Glencree road (about 7 miles/11 km) in a westerly direction. On reaching the village there is a small pedestrian gate on the right at the hairpin bend - a short walk leads to the cemetery. Many thanks to Jeanne Bryan for inspiring this entry!

I am not currently residing in Dublin (although I am a native) and a recent visit by car convinced me to tell you all - don't drive or hire a car just for Dublin unless absolutely necessary! The traffic is gridlock - signing is dubious and there are many roadworks due to work on a rapid rail line, cable, gas and utilities.

Tour buses

Do try the Dublin city tour buses - they come highly recommended from my US friends, Judy and Pat Handley. Judy suggests that you buy a day pass since you can plan your subsequent visits having toured the full circle! The drivers are great fun and Judy and Pat went for three complete tours.

There is no named central railway station in Dublin, but there are two mainline (intercity) stations and three suburban stations. The mainline station for trains to the west, south-west and south of Ireland is Heuston (formerly "Kingsbridge") station and that for the north and south-east is Connolly (formerly "Amiens Street") station. Connolly is also one of the suburban stations being on the northside; Tara Street is almost on the River Liffey and is the station for the city centre and Pearse (formerly "Westland Row") station is on the southside near the rear of Trinity College.

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