Dublin City Centre is Relatively Compact and Easy to get Around on Foot
All of the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival venues are in the city centre within walking distance of each other and within easy reach of the main tourist attractions and city hotels and hostels.
Getting to know Dublin:
The city centre is divided by the River Liffey into two main areas – ‘Dublin 1’ north of the river (known to Dubliners as ‘the Northside’) and ‘Dublin 2’ south of the river (‘the Southside’).
The main north-south axis is from Parnell Square and O’Connell Street (the city’s main street) on the ‘Northside’ to Trinity College, Temple Bar and Grafton Street (the main shopping street) on the ‘Southside’. All of our venues are close to these streets.
Before your visit we recommend printing our online venue map to become familiar with our venue locations.
Tourist Information:
Your first stop should be to the Dublin Visitors’ Centre at 14 Upper O’Connell Street Upper, D01 WP59 or on-line at www.visitdublin.com. There you will be able to collect maps of Dublin and other information with staff on hand to answer any queries.
Getting to and from the Airport
There are a range of options to travel to and from Dublin Airport. While there is no direct rail link to the city centre there are frequent buses and taxis available for travel to/from the city centre (the ‘Aircoach’ and ‘Airlink’ being the fastest options). The journey takes approximately 30-40 minutes. Click here for details.
For the city centre: tell the bus driver that you want to get out at Trinity College/College Green stop for the south city centre or O’Connell Street for the north city centre.
Other transport:
Leap Cards, which are available at many convenience stores and post offices, cost €5 plus the fare you wish to add. Leap Card fares are generally 20% lower than cash fares and may be used on all local Dublin bus services (yellow and green double-deck buses), Luas, and Dart. For €2 you can take unlimited rides on any service for 90 minutes, a benefit not available with cash or single-ticket fares. Daily and weekly fare caps are also applied automatically for Leap Card users. Leap Cards may also be used on some other bus services and in most local bus services in cities around Ireland. The Leap Card phone app will let you check your balance and add money to your Leap Card without gong into a shop or station. See the Leap Card website at www.leapcard.ie
The main train stations are Connolly Station (trains to/from the north and southeast) and Heuston Station (trains to/from the south and west). Rail information can be found here. The main bus station with connections across the country is ‘Busaras’ which is beside Connolly Station.
The Luas is a tramway with two lines (Red and Green). The Red line connects Heuston Station, Connolly Station and Busaras and is good for short hops from east to west (Red Line) or north to south (Green Line) in the city centre. It is also convenient to the Festival venues such as The Outhouse, The Teacher’s Club Main Hall, and The Teacher’s Club Theatre@36. The DART is an urban railway which travels along Dublin Bay from north to south and is recommended for slightly longer journeys in and out of the city (Connolly Station is the closest stops to most of our venues, especially north of the river). Transport for Ireland provides bus transport across the city – most main city centre bus stops are around Trinity College and O’Connell Street.
Taxis are reasonably easy to find in the city centre (although you may have to wait at peak times such as 3-3:30a.m. when night clubs close). Large taxi ranks include St. Stephen’s Green north and on Dame Street near Trinity College. If you have a smartphone you can use FreeNow or Uber to easily book a taxi on the go. (Note: only licensed taxis may carry passengers; ride-sharing services like Uber will summon a licensed taxi.)
Traveling on foot:
The good news! All of our venues are within walking distance of each other in Dublin’s relatively compact city centre. However … please leave sufficient time to get from venue to venue, particularly if the area is not familiar. During the Festival you can always ask our box office and front of house crew for directions.
Check out our venue map here.
Since traffic can be heavy in Dublin City centre we suggest travelling on foot for short distances. Dubliners are generally quite friendly so don’t be afraid to ask for directions. Our front of house staff at venues are also available to help you if you have any questions. Do give yourself enough time to travel between venues if you are unfamiliar with the city or choose shows that are in the same, or nearby, venues. The time needed to walk from one venue to another varies between 5 and 20 minutes.
Please note that streets in Dublin have a tendency to change names suddenly (!) so look for blue street signs on buildings at intersections. Also note that streets with similar names may not be beside each other. For example South Great George’s Street (the location of ‘The George’ gay bar) is south of the river while North Great George’s Street is a 15-20 minute walk away, north of the river.
Note that travel on foot is quite safe in Dublin city centre, comparable to other European cities. However as with any city we recommend applying common sense regarding personal belongings and stick to busy well-lit busy streets at night time. If in doubt take a taxi.
Going Out:
We will host a Festival Club every night after the evening’s shows. The nightly venues (all centrally located) will be announced in our newsletters or ask our front of house staff for details.
Information on Gay Dublin can be found at gay community centre ‘Outhouse’ which also has a small café. Popular gay bars include:
Pantibar – one of our Festival venues, Pantibar on Capel Street is open seven evenings a week. It is the ideal place to have a drink before or after a show in the nearby Teacher’s Club or Outhouse. It hosts a range of events throughout the week.
Street66 – another popular gay-friendly bar in Temple Bar, serving food during the day and drinks in the evenings. Open late at weekends. (Note: venue previously known as ‘The Front Lounge’).
The George – a well-known Dublin gay bar and club and Festival Club venue. Particularly busy at weekends and famous for its Sunday evening drag bingo and show.
Oscar’s Christchurch – Oscar’s is also home to some Festival Club nights and is situated in Temple Bar west close to Christchurch Cathedral.
Bars are shown on our venue map. For more information on LGBT venues drop into Outhouse – Dublin’s LGBT community Centre (and Festival venue) at 105 Capel St, Dublin D01 R290.
Literary Dublin:
Did you know that Dublin is one of only four UNESCO Cities of Literature? While you are visiting for the Festival we recommend a number of places with links to Dublin’s famous authors and playwrights:
- Trinity College: alma mater of Oscar Wilde as well as other literary greats such as Samuel Beckett
- Merrion Square: visit the popular statue to Oscar Wilde in this city park, overlooking the house where he grew up.
- The James Joyce Cultural Centre: find out about the life and works of James Joyce
- Dublin Writers’ Museum: close to the Teachers’ Club, and the James Joyce Cultural Centre
- The Abbey Theatre: Ireland’s national theatre, the Abbey is famous for staging many of the great Irish plays of the 20th and 21st centuries.
- The Gate Theatre: internationally renowned theatre founded by legendary theatrical couple Hilton Edwards and Micheal MacLiammoir
- The National Library, Kildare Street: hosts exhibitions on literary greats connected to Dublin, including W.B. Yeats
There are numerous other places to visit as well as tours and literary pub crawls! Check out dublin.ie and visitdublin.com for more.