A Cultural Canal
The longer of the city's two canals, it's no surprise that there's plenty to experience, enjoy and discover along the Royal Canal. Reaching all the way from its Spencer Dock beginnings to the 12th lock at Castleknock, here are just some of the wonderful things to see and do along the waterway.
Odes to city's sons and fateful footsteps
As you explore the Royal Canal, keep an eye out for odes to two of the northside's beloved sons. At Spencer Dock, you'll find a very recognisable face. Placed just around the corner from the streets of his childhood, this sculpture of celebrated singer and Dubliner Luke Kelly never fails to turn heads. Oversized with his wild red hair, the work by Vera Klute shows the unmistakable Kelly, lost in song.
Further up the waterway at Binns Bridge by the second lock, sits a bronze Brendan Behan. Created by John Coll, who also sculpted the Grand Canal's resident poet Patrick Kavanagh, Behan sits on a bench overlooking the water, just willing you to sit down beside him. Of course, in homage to The Auld Triangle, the now iconic folk song Behan's brother Dominic penned for his play The Quare Fellow, you'll spot some metal triangles on the bench too. These refer to the triangle that could be heard clanging "all along the banks of the Royal Canal" from nearby Mountjoy Prison, where the 1954 play was set.
Commemoration of a very different nature is visible near Croke Park and at locks five, ten and 12. At these points, you'll spot small bronze shoes mounted on stone plinths. They commemorate the 1,490 Roscommon tenants who were forced from their homes by their landlord during the Great Famine. Faced with starvation, the workhouse or emigration, the exhausted masses – escorted by a bailiff – were made walk 167km from Roscommon to Dublin, to board ships bound for Canada. Tragically, almost half died on board or on arrival in Quebec. Today the National Famine Way, a commemorative walking route that joins the Royal Canal Way, remembers their frail footsteps.
Pedals and paddles
Want to really get to know every drop of water, stretch of bank and inch of towpath along the Royal Canal? There's no better way than with a paddle in hand or some pedals at your feet. At locks one, six and eight, you'll find your choice of kayaking and water polo fun to dive into. Or if dry land is more your thing, rent a bike and cycle the route all the way to the city limit at Castleknock's 12th lock. Along the way you'll spin by the lively neighbourhoods of Drumcondra, Phibsborough, Glasnevin, Cabra and Ashtown, finding plenty of places to stop for a hot drop or a bite to eat.
Croke Park, four experiences in one!
Revered as GAA headquarters since 1891, why not catch a thrilling game of Gaelic football, hurling or camogie at captivating Croke Park? Utterly unique sports, simply check what fixtures are on and nab a seat in this iconic stadium.
If you're visiting outside of GAA season, you can still explore this hallowed ground. Europe's third largest stadium, Croke Park holds an incredible 82,300 spectators. Take the 'Backstage Pass' guided tour and get a sneak peek of the dressing rooms, experience the unrivalled view from the media centre, discover how they keep that grass so green and of course walk through the players' tunnel onto the pitch itself.
The stadium is also home to the fascinating GAA Museum. A superb celebration of Gaelic games in Irish life from the GAA's foundation to the present day, the exhibition also brings you a step closer to victory – by showcasing the original Sam Maguire and Liam MacCarthy Cups in all their glory.
And if all of that wasn't enough? It's time for the 'high point' of your Croke Park experience – the heady Kellogg's Skyline Tour! A jaw-dropping 17-storey-high rooftop walkway, this is Dublin's highest open-viewing platform. Up there on the top of Ireland's national stadium you'll be rewarded with awe-inspiring views of the capital, from the mountains right down to the sea.
Glasnevin Cemetery Museum
Just a 10-minute walk or four-minute cycle from the canal at Cross Guns Bridge, you'll discover the stories of some 1.5 million people housed within the fascinating Glasnevin Cemetery. So much more than a graveyard, as the largest non-denominational cemetery in Ireland, this Dublin 9 plot has been the final resting place of the great and the good of Irish life since 1832.
From political heavyweights – Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, James Larkin and Countess Markievicz; to musical, literary and artistic figures – Luke Kelly, Brendan Behan and Christy Brown; a guided tour of the grounds is practically required.
The compelling, interactive Glasnevin Cemetery Museum details the cemetery's origins and the variety of religious beliefs welcomed there. It also divulges tales of grave-digging and grave-robbing, as well as exhibiting photos of some of the many famous funerals and historic events that took place in its leafy grounds.
And there's more! Recently re-opened after a 27-year restoration, O'Connell Tower is quite a sight to behold. Built to commemorate the life of one of Ireland's most beloved political figures, Daniel O'Connell – The Liberator, this 55-metre tower (the tallest round tower in Ireland) stands above the great man's tomb. O'Connell's final words "My body to Ireland, my heart to Rome, my soul to heaven" are inscribed in the ornately-designed walls of his crypt, at the tower's base.
Today, you can visit the crypt and climb the staircase to the tower's very top where you'll be rewarded with simply breathtaking 360-degree views over Meath, Dublin, Wicklow and the Irish Sea.
Curious calculations
On a 25-minute ramble by the canal's fifth and sixth locks, you'll find Broombridge – an unassuming yet mathematically important spot just after lock seven. It was here in 1843 that mathematician and astronomer Sir William Rowan Hamilton was struck by a flash of genius. While walking along the canal with his wife, the formula for quaternions, a calculation he had been struggling with, suddenly came to him. Without a pen or paper handy, Hamilton carved the formula into the bridge itself!
Today you'll find a plaque on the bridge commemorating this canal-based calculation. While every October, devotees remember his breakthrough by retracing that fateful wander along the Royal Canal, from Dunsink Observatory to Broombridge, on the Hamilton Walk.
Find more ways to explore Dublin Canals, check out our Highlights section.