What to do in Kilmullin

Trinity College, the University of Dublin, is a campus in the city center. Admire the bell tower and stone buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries and view modern art. Learn about famous Irish authors who studied here. Browse the galleries or take a tour to view the relics in the Old Library, with ancient gospels and medieval art exhibits.

Follow the signs to “Faiche Stiabhna”, as the Irish call St. Stephen’s Green, for an inner-city oasis. Admire the Victorian buildings, play soccer, throw a frisbee, watch people, jog, feed the ducks, doze or have a picnic in this popular Dublin park. You could also bring a novel written by one of Dublin’s great authors and read it at the very spot where they found their inspiration!

Aviva Stadium is the national sports arena, where Ireland plays international rugby and soccer games. The structure has a futuristic design and stands in a picturesque area of fields and a canal. Experience the rhapsody and songs of the nation’s passionate fans in this stadium of 51,700 seats.

Among the most exclusive spots in European retail, Grafton Street is a boulevard full of upscale boutiques and restaurants. It is one of the two main commercial parts of Dublin and has an international array of big names. Yet the street retains its local charm with well-known street performers and traditional pubs. Bring cash and credit cards for a trip through the street’s upscale boutiques.

The O2 is the biggest indoor venue in the Republic of Ireland, with a capacity of 14,500, reducing down to 9,500 for those occasions when the front rows of a gig simply have to be a moshpit!

The 18th-century Dublin Castle is among the city’s most iconic sites. A small park with pretty floral displays lies behind the castle, which replaced a 13th-century Viking military fortress. Learn its fascinating history as the seat of British and Irish governments over the centuries.

The Convention Centre Dublin is an award-winning structure of space-age design in the Docklands part of the city. It consists of a tilted cylinder of blue glass flanked by curved gray blocks. Look up at the ultramodern structure at night, when rows of lights illuminate it in myriad colors.

The largest church in Ireland is St. Patrick’s Cathedral, on a site with a church since the 800s. Although it has status as the national cathedral, it is not the seat of the bishop because Dublin has two cathedrals. Marvel at the 101-foot (31-meter) granite spire atop the 147-foot (45-meter) Minot’s Tower. The present building was constructed in 1220.