Press release: July 4th, 2013
Dublin’s newest walking tour has an air raid shelter, elephants, earthquakes and chocolate!
On an air raid shelter deep in Dublin, are the geeky guides for Dublin’s newest and most unusual walking tour: Ronan Lyne (left), director Mary Mulvihill, with the Irish equation that helped to land a man on the Moon, and Patrick Roycroft. Photo: Barry Cronin
Not so much Men in Black . . . as Men in White Coats! Dublin’s quirkiest new walking tour celebrates great Irish inventions and ideas, and it’s surely the only tour in the world that combines an air raid shelter with chocolate.
Starting at Science Gallery every morning, the 90-minute odyssey boasts several surprising stories, including that air raid shelter (hidden deep in a quiet corner of the city), two elephants, some earthquakes, postage stamps and a delicious Butler’s chocolate, and even the engine that electrified the modern world.
‘Big ideas’ tour
There are some big ideas in the Ingenious Dublin tour — like, the Irish equation that helped to land a man on the Moon — as well as little inventions like the stethoscope, which changed our everyday lives… All with an Irish connection, and all to be found on the city streets.
The new daily tour is the brainchild of science writer Mary Mulvihill, who admits she is “… on a bit of a mission! I’d love more people to knew that some of the great ideas that have shaped the world came from Ireland and Irish people, and that these are things we can be proud of.”
Her company, Ingenious Ireland, has a range of tours, family trails, apps and downloads, all with a geeky twist. Alongside the new ‘big ideas’ tour, these include a ‘Blood and Guts’ tour of horrible histories, and Dublin Rocks, a geology and fossil tour (both from Christ Church Cathedral on Sundays at noon).
The new Ingenious Dublin guided tours are every Monday-Saturday from Science Gallery at 11am. Tickets €12, and afterwards, you can enjoy 10% off in the excellent Science Gallery cafe.
Ends.
The science walking tour is terrific! Who knew that Dublin is so full of wacky, downright amazing links to major, life-changing science of the past – and the future!! Not to mention fascinating insights into the lives of scientists – they’re not just plaster statues (with wigs on)!