Since 1996, historian Lorcan Collins has brought visitors around Dublin’s most significant sights to tell them the story of the 1916 Easter Rising and its role in Ireland’s struggle for independence from Britain.
He also has a podcast called Revolutionary Ireland and has written The 1916 Handbook for O’Brien Press.
Derek O’Connor sat down with Lorcan for a chat to find out more. He discusses what to expect from his walking tour, the true blue Dublin and how he came to land his dream job.
In conversation with Lorcan Collins
I’ve been running the 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour for the past 20 years, bringing people around the city, showing them the sites of the Easter Rising. It’s not just for tourists, either.
Sometimes, these days, you’ll get 95% Irish people on the tour. It’s great that we take a real interest in our own history.
Helping people discover the real Dublin
I do feel like I have a responsibility to show the good and bad of Dublin; it’s a great city, and a safe city, and I like bringing people around and saying: “This is where it’s really at…”.
Places like Moore Street, that might not be the cleanest, most fabulously tourist-orientated places, but nonetheless they are the real Dublin. There is an alternative to Grafton Street and the Dundrum Shopping Centre.
A bit of interaction with the people on the streets is always fantastic fun.
The tour is a bit of a history lesson, but I love having a bit of craic with people – that’s the absolute reason why people come to Ireland in the first place. They want to enjoy themselves. They don’t just want a bunch of historical dates.
A bit of interaction with the people on the streets is always fantastic fun. There’s always some fella who wants to get involved. Inevitably, his grandfather had been in The GPO in 1916. Sometimes, I think everybody’s grandad must have been there, I hear it that often!
