Sip, Stroll and Savour Dublin’s 1700's Coffeehouse Culture

We begin at City Hall, once a bustling coffeehouse where ideas brewed as freely as the drinks. From there, we’ll stride to Dublin Castle, the epicenter of power and scandal in a city pulsing with wit and intrigue, known as the second city of the British Empire.

Despite slow transport and heavy censorship, Dublin was a hotbed of secrets, and we’ll uncover how the action thrived in hidden corners.Discover the coffeehouses, dubbed “penny universities,” where news was printed, commerce flourished, and Dublin’s social life buzzed. We’ll pass through the gated Hoey Lane and visit the site of the old Tholsel, the city’s toll booth, before heading to High Street and Cook Street, home to Dublin’s first coffeehouse, opened in the 1670s. Along the way, we’ll dive into the colorful world of Four Courts Marshalsea, a “hell” for lawyers’ clients or a strange heaven for some residents.

Meet the larger-than-life characters who shaped Dublin, like Jonathan Swift, whose sharp pen took on the city’s drapers, or was it curtains for them! There was a new rich in 1700s Dublin, who influenced art, public thought, and commerce still echoes. Through vivid quotes and dramatic tales, we’ll bring to life the publishers, auctioneers, and movers of a bygone era. Cap off the adventure with a coffee-tasting experience at Dublin’s oldest coffee shop, dating back to 1670.