Dublin's Liberties: Stories, Characters & Hidden History

Standing at the edge of medieval Dublin, Christ Church marks the gateway to a part of the city where some of its most eye-popping stories lie hidden in plain sight. Here, we set the scene with a twisted tale of romance, power and betrayal, before heading into the streets of the Liberties to uncover more of old Dublin's extraordinary characters and secrets.

One of Dublin's oldest streets, Cook Street is packed with traces of the city's past, including one of the most impressive surviving sections of the old city walls. But the stories here do not end centuries ago. From a shape-shifting and violently dramatic figure who once roamed these streets to the opening chapter of a major 21st-century crime saga, this small stretch of Dublin contains more than its share of extraordinary tales.

One of Dublin's most culturally significant streets, Thomas Street is where the story of the Liberties begins to take shape. We explore how this distinctive part of the city came to be, and how it acquired the identity and name it still carries today. Along the way, we encounter a spectacularly audacious figure whose exploits became the stuff of Dublin legend, uncover the rebellious history hidden behind an extraordinary church, and take in the changing life of a street that remains at the heart of the Liberties today.

Now a quiet green space, this former graveyard opens onto one of the darker chapters in Dublin's past. Here, we delve into the shadowy world of the bodysnatchers and the extraordinary lengths people once went in search of the dead. We are also now deep in the Liberties, close to the Guinness brewery, whose story is intertwined with that of this historic neighbourhood and many of the characters who have shaped it. Time permitting, we may also explore the nearby site associated with the infamous final moments of one of Ireland's most famous revolutionaries.

Pimlico takes us into a part of the Liberties with a particularly colourful and sometimes notorious past. Here, we explore the world of faction fighting, old rivalries and the forces that helped shape this close-knit neighbourhood. The story then moves into the stranger world of Dublin's early gangs, including the notorious animal gangs, and the efforts to bring order to streets that could sometimes seem beyond control. Along the way, we encounter larger-than-life characters, including the man who became known as Ireland's Dirty Harry, and one of the most bizarre disasters in Dublin's history.

Meath Street is one of the main commercial and social streets at the heart of the Liberties. Surrounded by quiet residential streets, it offers a glimpse of the neighbourhood's everyday life and the strong sense of community that has long defined it. This is also a place of memorable characters, including one much-loved local whose unusual habits made him a familiar and unforgettable figure on Dublin's streets.

We wrap up in another distinctive corner of the Liberties, where traces of an older way of life still survive within the modern city. We explore the enduring world of horses and stables, alongside curious details hidden in plain sight and buildings with surprising stories to tell. This part of the neighbourhood has also witnessed moments of extraordinary tension, when the influence of organised crime collided with the strength and character of the local community. Along the way, we encounter another side of the Liberties, including the unlikely story of a movement whose influence reached far beyond these streets.