Drumcondra Walking Tour Ruth McManus

Drumcondra’s fascinating past will be revealed during this walking tour led by Ruth McManus, author of the Drumcondra volume of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas suburbs series (Royal Irish Academy). The area’s evolving landscape and its changing relationship with the city of Dublin will be explored, from monastic farmland to elite rural retreat and ultimate incorporation as an inner suburb. Participants will investigate Drumcondra’s characteristic built fabric, see some of its oldest buildings, hear about ‘two weddings, many funerals’ and some aeronautical escapades!

Note: Most of the walking will be on city streets, although there may be some uneven ground at some sites. A moderate level of fitness is required. Be prepared for changeable weather.

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Meeting point: This tour will depart from the front of Belvedere House, DCU St Patrick’s Campus, Drumcondra Road Upper, Dublin 9

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Dr Ruth McManus is Associate Professor in Geography at Dublin City University. Her research focuses on the physical and social development of the urban and suburban landscape. She is the author of Dublin 1910-1940: shaping the city and suburbs (2002, new edition 2021) and Crampton Built (2008), co-author of Building Healthy Homes: Dublin Corporation’s first housing schemes 1880-1925 (2021) and Killester: from medieval manor to garden suburb (2025), and co-editor of Leaders of the City (2013) and Creativity from Suburban Nowheres (2023). She is an editor of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas and general secretary of the International Commission on the History of Towns. She is a past President of the Geographical Society of Ireland. She is the author of the IHTA Drumcondra suburbs atlas, which will be published in November 2026.