An "off-the-beaten-track" history tour in Dublin is giving tourists a "last chance" look at sites that have played a significant and defining role in Ireland's proud and tumultuous history .
East Walls History Group is based in East Walls, an inner city Docklands area of Dublin's Northside which boasts a rich and fascinating history . The group was founded in 1998 during the Celtic Tiger - the name given to the economic boom in Ireland between the mid 1990s and the late 2000s - which earmarked East Walls for major regeneration.
Keen to protect East Walls from gentrification, and keep the tales of the area alive , Joe Mooney and other residents set to work furthering the group's presence. In 2011, they carried out research, published material online, hosted talks, and launched the walking tour, which one US tourist described as "one of the most democratic" he'd been on .
"The free tour delves into how the Irish Free State was developed," Joe told IrishStar.com . "So many people in East Walls took part in the 1916 Easter Rising . Then there was the War of Independence and the Civil War.
"A lot of tours show where events unfolded, but the site is now a McDonald's or a garage . A lot of East Walls has remained the same and is home to the original buildings, bridges and cranes where attacks or ambushes took place.
"Visitors can stand on the exact spot where these dramatic events unfolded . That spot looks the exact same now as it did back then. It creates a great sense of place and time."
Joe went on: " Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, lived in the north inner city so we also cover the ground where he lived and the different legends and stories associated with the area that might've inspired him.
"There was a cholera outbreak in the late 1800s so everyone looked pale and like zombies. Stoker lived beside the army barracks where there was a slaughterhouse that produced meat for British troops. Residents complained about rivers of blood flowing up the street. This could've fed into the imagination of the young author-to-be ."
If the Rebellion was countrywide , the British authorities wanted a port big enough to bring in ships and troops, so the docklands was sealed off during 1916, Joe explained. Rail links from the port also got them to any part of Ireland .
One event that isn't widely covered, apart from in the research the history group carried out , is the street sniper battle that took place during Easter Week in East Walls. Guides show visitors where the battle took place as well as where the first British soldier died and where the first rebel casualty and other civilian casualties happened .
"During the War of Independence, a huge number of IRA volunteers and associates of Michael Collins lived and operated in East Walls ," Joe went on. "These people carried out assassinations and did the intelligence work.
"We show where the major arms raids took place, and where an ambush pipped to be the greatest of the whole period was meant to take place , but didn't come off.
"We show where everyone was positioned and where the armoured car got suspicious and pulled out . There's also the story of an explosive device so dangerous no one wanted to use it. Everyone ran away from the guy carrying it."
In a link to Hollywood, tourists may recognize many of the tour's stories from the 1996 film Michael Collins starring Liam Neeson . The tour poignantly ends by letting visitors see where the last British troops sailed out of Dublin .
The beauty of the tour is that they can be curtailed upon request depending on a guest's family history or interest, and if residents happen to be passing by, they are warmly invited to share a yarn or two with the group .
"We don't know what's going to happen on any walking tour," Joe laughed. "We might bump into someone with a guitar and they might sing a song for us . Others might stop to read a bit of Sean O'Casey to add a bit of flavour.
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"People are getting older and the tradition of storytelling is sadly dying out but the group is a fully functioning part of the community and outsiders are always welcome." To book your tour or to find out more, please click here .
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