Dalkey – History, Literature and Walking Trails

When looking for a hotel in Dalkey, you can plan your trip around the things that interest you locally: historic sites, literature or walking routes. Dalkey’s cultural attractions include the ruins of St Begnet’s Church and Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre. For walks, you can choose between a digital StoryMap with themed walking routes and a route from the DART station to Killiney Hill.

St Begnet’s Church and the Rathdown Slabs

The ruins of St Begnet’s Church stand on Castle Street, next to Goat Castle, and are surrounded by a small graveyard. One of the group of 28 Rathdown Slabs is located in this graveyard. This group is unique to the Barony of Rathdown. The church, castle and graveyard provide a tangible historical point of reference for your walk; the slab also connects the site to a wider group of monuments.

Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre

Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre presents exhibitions and historical information in twelve languages. As the language offering may change, it’s best to check before your visit. The Writers’ Gallery celebrates the work of 45 Irish writers and creative artists. Examples mentioned include Joyce, Bono, Beckett and Maeve Binchy.

The Immersive Medieval Living History Experience at Dalkey Castle offers a different way to learn about history: costumed performers from the Deilg Inis Theatre Company and professional tour guides bring history to life. If you’d also like to explore literature on foot, a guided literary walk combines a tour of Dalkey and its scenic surroundings with excerpts and passages from the authors’ works. One experience brings medieval history to life; the other explores literature on a walk.

Walking Routes and Getting There

The Dalkey Heritage Trails bring together four themed walking routes in an interactive digital StoryMap: Castle Street Heritage Trail, Bullock Harbour and Castle Trail, Coliemore & Vico Coastal Trail, and Quarry Trail. Another walking route described here runs from the DART station through the village, along Vico Road to the coast, and onwards to Killiney Hill. This gives you a choice of themed routes as well as one specifically described route. Trail conditions may change; check them before setting out.

You can reach Dalkey by DART train from Dublin’s Connolly, Tara Street or Pearse stations in approximately 30 minutes. This journey time is a guide and may vary. Check the connection for your travel date if your plans depend on it. This lets you combine cultural attractions and walks with an approximate journey time from Dublin, without presenting the different routes as a single walking route.

Discover more destinations: Sandyford, Dun Laoghaire, Blackrock, Stillorgan.

Return to the main travel guide: Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown.