Dark Dublin Walking Tour: Torture, Murder and Mystery
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Dublin, Ireland
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Discover a morbid side to Dublin with this macabre history tour. Step away from the bustling pubs and hear stories from your guide that rarely feature in guidebooks, as you tour the city on foot. Listen to gruesome tales about serial killers, restless ghosts, hangings, torture, and executions as you walk past Dublin Castle, Saint Patrick's Cathedral, the 40 Steps, and more. Perfect for travelers looking for a unique take on a typical city tour.
- Explore dark Dublin on a chilling walking tour
- Learn about dark history including murder and grave robbery
- Sightsee beyond the city center in neighborhoods like Smithfield
- Easy-to-find meeting point to start off the tour
What's Included
- In-person guide
- Small groups
- Eco-friendly
- Private transportation
- Dinner
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Barnardo Square, Dublin 8, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Barnardo Square is the small square next to Dublin City Hall on DAME STREET DUBLIN 2.
End point
- 7 Smithfield, Dublin, Ireland
We will finish the tour in Smithfield Square.
Operating hours.5:30 pm
Itinerary
Hear all about the dark side of Dublin on this group tour, where your guide will tell you gruesome stories about grave robbing, torture, cannibalism, and more unsavory tales. These are stories you can’t find in a regular guidebook, and some of the places you’ll visit would be difficult to find without your trusty guide.
Besides hearing dark stories of Dublin, you’ll also get to see some of the city’s most famous sites as you walk through town. Walk by Dublin Castle’s upper and lower courtyards, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, and more, until you finally finish at Smithfield Square. Note that you don’t enter the churches and cathedrals, but you will hear stories about their dark pasts.
Besides hearing dark stories of Dublin, you’ll also get to see some of the city’s most famous sites as you walk through town. Walk by Dublin Castle’s upper and lower courtyards, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, and more, until you finally finish at Smithfield Square. Note that you don’t enter the churches and cathedrals, but you will hear stories about their dark pasts.
1
Barnardo Square
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Dublin Castle
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
The 40 Steps
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
Saint Patrick's Cathedral
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
5
Christ Church Cathedral
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
6
St. Audoen's Church
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
St. Michan's Church
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
8
Smithfield Square
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 2,275 reviews
Nicole_F, Apr 2026
Kim was an amazing tour guide. The tour itself was very informative, entertaining and of course spooky! Loved our time on the tour!
Katie_D, Apr 2026
This was a fantastic tour! We love taking ghost tours in different cities, and I loved that this was a walking tour instead of the bus offered in other options. Kieran (I think that was his name? I may have forgotten!) was so entertaining and engaging. He went beyond simply ghost stories to tell us more about the various nefarious goings on in historical Dublin. Loved that we got to see some of the most beautiful and important sites in the city and learn more about them. Though things got a bit dark, my 12 year old absolutely loved it. A healthy dose of humor helped. We had a great time and would recommend to anyone visiting the city!
Matteo_M, Apr 2026
Really motivated guide. A lot of info that would never have been obtained without this tour. Focus on personnages central to Ireland - not (solely) reliant on history. All in all lots of fun!
Isabel_B, Apr 2026
Great tour! Ciaran was our guide and he was wonderful we throughly enjoyed our walking tour and all the facts and stories provided to us. we had a smaller group and he was very personable. highly recommend!!
Kimberly_S, Apr 2026
Ciran was our guide. We loved our dark Dublin tour. It was informative and entertaining. The stories and history lived up to the name.
Claire_C, Apr 2026
Good tour our guide was really informative and fun, the tales were grusome so not for the fait hearted but bits of history you wouldn't normally hear about.
nerissa_c, Apr 2026
Great tour with a great host. He made it informative but fun. I would definitely recommend this tour if you're into murder stories
Philipp_L, Apr 2026
Very different and crazy stories. Sometimes a bit scary, but very, very interesting. The guide knew what he was talking about
Highly recommended
T_D, Apr 2026
Would highly recommend this tour. Kieron was excellent. Knowledgeable and with a great sense of dark humour, he brought the stories to life as we wound our way along the trip.
Ana_D, Mar 2026
Loved this tour! You learn a lot of unique history and interesting stories that you wouldn’t otherwise get on a standard walking tour. Our guide was so friendly and knowledgeable and offered us a lot of local tips at the end too! Highly recommend this experience.
Josephine_G, Mar 2026
Great tour guide very knowledgeable.
Really got into the part and his gestures were great. Would recommend him as guide.
Kim_H, Mar 2026
Very nice, gentle walk around Dublin. Learnt a lot from our guide Henrick. He was very easy to listen too. I would highly recommend.
Kim_H, Mar 2026
This is such a cool and unique experience! I always look for more off the beaten path activities when traveling and have always loved darker tales. This tour is a wonderful combination of both and did not disappoint. Kieran was an amazing guide - very knowledgable, funny, and personable. He walked me through Dublin and shared several stories about Dublin's darker side in history, random facts, and Irish myth/lore. He even made suggestions of places to visit and discover during the duration of my trip. I loved getting to see and hear about a different side of Dublin than most tours offer, even if I visited the site previously. It made it all better to hear these stories from someone who is super passionate and you can tell loves sharing them. I would highly recommend this experience whether as a group or a solo activity!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hello,
Hope you're well and thanks for taking the time to leave us such a detailed and lovely review! We're super happy to hear your enjoyed the Dark Dublin Walking Tour with Ciaran.
Thank you for taking the time to explore Dublin with a local Irish business too, we appreicate the support!
Thanks again and we hope you come back to Dublin soon!
Cheers,
Unearthed Tours Dublin
John_Y, Mar 2026
This was a very fun, informative and entertaining tour! Our tour guide, Keenan, was great from the beginning! Go on the tour and just enjoy yourself!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hello!
Hope you're well and thank you for choosing to explore Dublin with a local Irish business!
We're super happy to see you enjoyed Dublin, especially the Dark Dublin Walking Tour!
We hope to see you on our other tours soon.
Cheers,
Unearthed Tours Dublin
Kathryn_W, Mar 2026
This tour was great! It’s a dark tour so they don’t spare the details. It was so interesting to learn about some of the darker history elements and about the city in general. Henrick was a fantastic guide!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hello,
We're super happy to see that you enjoyed our Dark Dublin Walking Tour and thank you for supporting a local Irish business!
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review and we hope you come back to Dublin some time soon :).
Cheers,
Unearthed Tours Dublin
Reagan_F, Mar 2026
Kieran was an excellent tour guide. He knows so much about Dublin and it's history. He also made a point to have a conversation with nearly every member of the group individually and asked about interests and travel plans to give suggestions. It's an absolute must for anyone looking to learn more about the darker sides of the city's history.
Sara_B, Mar 2026
Kim was such a great guide! So enthusiastic and knowledgeable! Loved the dark history, such a different side of Dublin not everyone gets to hear about. Loved it!
Jennifer_E, Mar 2026
Intriguing stories that you won’t hear anywhere else. Kim was absolutely fantastic, knowledgeable, kind, and interesting throughout the tour! A personal touch to add was that the company and Kim were completely attentive and willing to help me out when I struggled to find the meet up spot!
AIMEE_C, Feb 2026
This was so much fun! Got to hear local lore about various things throughout history. Even tho the topics were dark, it was presented in a fun way and had lots of laughs.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hello!
Thank you so much for taking our Dark Dublin Walking Tour, we appreicate the business!
We hope you enjoyed your time in Dublin.
Kind Regards,
Unearthed Tours Dublin
lkrtoensing, Feb 2026
We loved this walking tour. We try to do a dark history tour in every sitting we go, and this one was fantastic! We learned a lot of interesting, dark history and discovered a different side of historical places. We highly recommend!
Daisy_H, Feb 2026
Ciaran was a great tour guide! Very knowledgeable, interesting and engaging. We were told lots of stories about the dark side of Dublin's history. He was also lovely to chat to and answered all our questions. Highly recommend!
Wayne_B, Feb 2026
Excellent tour really recommend it. Tour guide was excellent and so enthusiastic and kept that for the whole tour you could tell he enjoyed her job.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hello!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a review. We're glad to hear you enjoyed our Dark Dublin Walking tour and thank you for choosing a local Irish business to explore Dublin with!
Kind Regards,
Unearthed Tours Dublin
Snorri_B, Feb 2026
The tour was amazing, Stephen (or Steven sorry) was an absolute legend and a great guide. Would recommend to everyone
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hello!
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review and we're happy to see you loved Stephen's tour! Thanks for choosing a local Irish business to discover a dark side of Dublin with!
Kind Regards,
Unearthed Tours Dublin
Olga_C, Jan 2026
The tour does not go through main touristic spots, however you get the opportunity to visit places with "weird" backstory. Places that you didn't know exist without this tour.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
We would like to clarify that this tour does visit many of Dublin’s key sights on the south side of the city, exactly as advertised. The route includes Dublin Castle and the Castle Gardens, St Patrick’s Cathedral, St Audoen’s Church, the old city walls and Christ Church Cathedral. These are some of Dublin’s most significant and well known historic landmarks, and each is explored through the lens of the city’s darker history, which is the focus of the tour.
The main tourist locations we do not visit are primarily on the north side of the city. Including these would extend the tour well beyond two hours, so we have designed a route that balances Dublin’s most visited sites with lesser known locations, creating a focused and engaging experience within the advertised timeframe.
This approach is reflected in the large number of five star reviews we receive, with most guests finding the route and content both well paced and immersive.
We are sorry if the tour did not meet your personal expectations, and we hope you nonetheless enjoyed your time in Dublin.
Kind regards
Unearthed Tours Dublin
William_H, Dec 2025
Cillian was awesome. He was very knowledgeable and fun to hang out with. We had a great time learning about the most devious and deadly of Dublin. I recommend taking this tour, especially with Cillian.
Sharika_J, Dec 2025
The tour was amazing. Our tour guide, Killian, was so good. It is a dark tour full of torture stories so not for everyone but if you are looking to learn the dark history, I highly recommend the tour and Killian.
Sheila_B, Nov 2025
Very enjoyable ! I recommend this tour. Do it. We learned a lot of history. Michaèl was a great guide.
April_S, Nov 2025
The tour felt rather short, but it was a nice time. Heard some good stories and saw some places that held a lot of dark history. It’s a nice little extra to throw in between when you have a little time but want to stay close to your rooms.
Regan_H, Nov 2025
Perfect Halloween night tour. Micheal was really informative and was able to bring a lighthearted energy and humor to dark subject matters. Had a really enjoyable time walking around Dublin learning its dark history.
Ana_C, Nov 2025
Was very good, guide was very friendly and good at keeping focus the whole duration. The two hours flew by.
From $21.50
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Dark Dublin Walking Tour: Torture, Murder and Mystery
2,275
2 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$21.50
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Attractions in Dublin, Ireland
- Dublin General Post Office (GPO) Tours & Tickets
- National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History Tours & Tickets
- Glasnevin Cemetery Museum Tours & Tickets
- Epic the Irish Emigration Museum (EPIC) Tours & Tickets
- Wicklow Mountains Tours & Tickets
- The Hill of Tara (Teamhair) Tours & Tickets
- Kildare Village Tours & Tickets
- Wolfe Tone Statue Tours & Tickets
- James Joyce Statue Tours & Tickets
- The Book of Kells Tours & Tickets
- Trinity College Dublin Tours & Tickets
- National Library of Ireland Tours & Tickets
- Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) Tours & Tickets
- Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre Tours & Tickets
- National Gallery of Ireland Tours & Tickets
- Dublin Grafton Street Tours & Tickets