Dublin Dark Tour: Gruesome Tales of the Past

Unearth Dublin’s gruesome stories of murder, torture, cannibalism, and more on this 2-hour guided walking tour. Explore the city’s dark past and discover the secrets hidden behind its beautiful architecture.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Barnardo Square - Barnardo Square on Dame Street serves as the meeting point. This quaint square is located next to City Hall, directly across from the Olympia Theatre. Guides can be easily identified by their purple umbrellas.
  • Dublin Castle - Our guides will spend time in the Lower Courtyard of Dublin Castle, delving into the torturous…
What's Included
  • Eco-friendly tour practices ensure sustainability.
  • Enjoy the intimacy of small group experiences.
  • Benefit from the knowledge of an in-person guide.
What's Not Included
  • Private transportation
  • Dinner
Additional Information

Join us as we unearth Dublin’s terrifying tales of homicide, extreme punishment, man-eating, grave pilfering, houses of ill-repute, suggestions of child consumption, mysterious rituals, and much more! Our adventure begins at Dublin Castle where we will delve into its savage history, discuss ecclesiastical persecutors and reveal why the main courtyard…

Location
Barnardo Square
Barnardo Square is the small square next to Dublin City Hall on DAME STREET DUBLIN 2.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(2163 Ratings)
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Ashley_b
Sep 26, 2025
It was really cool and... - It was really cool and informative. You learned general history but also the history they don’t tell you about. Great tour. Have already recommended.
Review provided by Viator
Tayler_g
Sep 25, 2025
Learned a lot ! - Keiron was very knowledgeable about the dark stories of Dublin. Very open to questions. Easy amount of waking with breaks in between. Would recommend if you want to learn a good mix of history and dark stories
Review provided by Viator
Dylanfk9654wj
Sep 23, 2025
Excellent - Our guide was excellent, she kept the tour entertaining and you could tell she had a passion for this which made it better and more interesting. Recommend to everyone who likes these sort of tours
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Beachykeen0411
Sep 23, 2025
Interesting tour and different perspective of the city - Fantastic experience doing this walking tour. Our guide, Killian, was a great story teller. I don't think I will forget any of the stories that I learned. Highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eileen_cos_10
Sep 23, 2025
Funny but gruesome tour of the underbelly of Dublin - This tour is not for the faint of heart. That being said, we loved it! Our guide Stephen was quite funny and informative. The tour discusses torture, murder, ghosts, and some local history in a humorous way. If that's not your jam, then skip it. It was perfect for our large group of extended family. It's a good value for your money. We got to see the outside of a few places that we hadn't seen during this trip, like St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church, and Dublin Castle, so that's a bonus if you're just starting out your vacation. There are frequent stops so it's not too tiring, but wear good waterproof walking shoes in case of rain. If you need to sit frequently, this is not a good choice for you. Stephen was happy to recommend other places to go afterward and to answer any questions. It does drop you off in a different location from where it starts (St Michan's Church of Ireland), so you may have to walk a bit afterward to get back. We were lucky that it was closer to our rental than the starting point.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Solotraveler0011
Sep 22, 2025
Killian is the best tour guide - My guide was absolutely amazing. Shout out to Killian for making this a fun and rewarding experience. I had already done a couple of tours so I knew much of the history, but he re-explained it in a different way and obviously, there was a twist to each story. I don’t remember any of the names he gave us and I would really love to look into their stories more. We were able to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Even though it was only about 2 1/2 hours, it felt like four and still exciting. The tour was so good, I would go a second time. Just a note, according to the castle guide, it was burned down because of someone reading a book over a candle, and there would’ve been an explosion since they had all of the gunpowder in there, but they were able to come up with a solution to avoid that particular room, which is where the blue door is
Review provided by Tripadvisor
32suzannem
Sep 22, 2025
Be prepared to be scared ! - Company is very accommodating! They were able to book us in to a subsequent tour after we ran late for the one we had booked. We had the fabulous guide, Micheal, who kept us entertained and rapt with attention while sharing the dark side of Dublin’s past. Walking was great, so nice to be able to see the location of some of the spooky and gruesome going’s on. We highly recommend this tour, so worth the time and value for money can’t be beat.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristinlv4260rm
Sep 21, 2025
Do it! - Steven was our guide and was great with the craic! We visited multiple churches/sites where he told great stories. Would recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cathy_h
Sep 20, 2025
Fun time - Fun time! Stephen was a.great storyteller and gave us lots of juicy bits. Covered a lot of ground and centuries of mayhem
Review provided by Viator
Gail_b
Sep 27, 2025
Dark Dublin Tour - Michael was our guide and he was fantastic. He told the stories in a very enjoyable way and was very friendly. The only part that was difficult was sometime the pace was quite fast and we have a few in our group that do not walk so fast.
Review provided by Viator
From $25
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).