This walking tour explores the architectural and social landscape of Rathmines and Ranelagh through the lives of four revolutionary women — Constance (Countess) Markievicz (1868–1927), Dr Kathleen Lynn (1874–1955), Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, and Grace Evelyn Gifford Plunkett (1888–1955) — who lived, worked, and resisted in Rathmines and Ranelagh during Ireland’s struggle for independence from 1916 on.

Blending storytelling with site-specific reflection, the tour visits key locations connected to these women, revealing how homes, churches, and streets became backdrops for radical action, cultural resistance, and feminist legacy. Participants will be invited to reflect on how these women’s contributions are remembered (or erased) in our built environment, and what it means to reclaim their stories as part of Ireland’s Future Heritage.

This guided walking tour brings to life the invisible heritage of women’s activism, placing it within the physical and civic architecture of Dublin. It asks: What histories are we preserving? Whose voices are missing from the buildings we pass every day? In highlighting these figures, the tour reclaims space for a more inclusive, living heritage. The tour stops historic homes, churches and civic landmarks and ends with a reflection on women’s representation in public memory and space. Notable women from Irish history who lived in Rathmines and Ranelagh are:

Constance Markievicz (1868-1927) was an Irish politician, revolutionary nationalist, suffragette and socialist Hanna Sheehy Skeffington (1877 1946) was a radical activist, feminist, pacifist and human rights campaigner and one of Ireland’s foremost suffragettes Dr Kathleen Lynn (1874–1955) lived and practised as a GP at 9 Belgrave Road, Rathmines from about 1904 onwards and served as Chief Medical Officer for the Irish Citizen Army in the 1916 Rising Grace Evelyn Gifford (1888-1955) was born and raised in Rathmines.

Meeting Point: Rathmines Square, 161 Rathmines Rd Lower, Dublin 6 (outside Swan Leisure Centre)

Pre-Book Only