villageyriverside

Drumcondra & the Tolka: the northern river village

The river through Griffith Park, Croke Park's shadow, and the avenues behind the old college walls.

Photo: Chris Rycroft / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

4 km

Time

~ 90 min

Difficulty

Moderate

Start

Drumcondra (DART / Dublin Bus 1/11/16)

End

Drumcondra (DART / Dublin Bus 1/11/16)

Best at

afternoon

Right now

24°C· Clear

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

The north side has its villages too, and Drumcondra is the riverside one — the Tolka running brown and quick through a long green park, the old Catholic colleges behind their walls, and Croke Park's vast bowl pressing on the streets to the south. Come on a dry afternoon and walk the river first, while the light is in the willows.

Start on Drumcondra Bridge, where the road crosses the Tolka and the village does its small business, then drop into Griffith Park and follow the river west past the weir and the willows. This is the heart of it. Loop back to the high walls on Clonliffe Road, hiding the Archbishop's House and the old seminary grounds, and on into the open paths of All Hallows, the 1842 missionary college now wrapped into DCU's campus. South, the curve of Croke Park rises over the terraces — 82,000 seats among the two-up-two-downs, the home of Gaelic games.

Wind home through the red-brick avenues off Grace Park Road, comfortable and tree-lined. The DART and the bus both leave from Drumcondra station, where you began.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 98 m·↓ 95 m·6–20 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
Drumcondra Bridge and the village
Start where Drumcondra Road crosses the Tolka — the bridge and the small parade of village shops, the church, the pubs. This is the spine of the old village; get your bearings on the bridge, watch the brown water go under, then turn off into the quiet.
01
Drumcondra Bridge and the village
Start where Drumcondra Road crosses the Tolka — the bridge and the small parade of village shops, the church, the pubs. This is the spine of the old village; get your bearings on the bridge, watch the brown water go under, then turn off into the quiet.
02
2
Griffith Park and the Tolka walk
Drop into the long linear park that follows the river west — willows over the water, the weir, dog-walkers and the green smell of a city river. Walk it as far as the bend; this is the reason the walk exists, and the reason to come on a dry afternoon.
02
Griffith Park and the Tolka walk
Drop into the long linear park that follows the river west — willows over the water, the weir, dog-walkers and the green smell of a city river. Walk it as far as the bend; this is the reason the walk exists, and the reason to come on a dry afternoon.
03
3
Archbishop's House and the Holy Cross grounds
Back toward the village, the high walls hide the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin's residence and the grounds of the old Clonliffe seminary. You can't go in, but walk the wall on Clonliffe Road and read the scale of it; this corner ran Catholic Dublin for a century.
03
Archbishop's House and the Holy Cross grounds
Back toward the village, the high walls hide the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin's residence and the grounds of the old Clonliffe seminary. You can't go in, but walk the wall on Clonliffe Road and read the scale of it; this corner ran Catholic Dublin for a century.
04
4
All Hallows / DCU grounds
The old All Hallows College, a missionary seminary from 1842, its grounds now part of Dublin City University's Drumcondra campus. The avenue of mature trees and the original house survive; wander the open campus paths and look for the old church behind the new buildings.
04
All Hallows / DCU grounds
The old All Hallows College, a missionary seminary from 1842, its grounds now part of Dublin City University's Drumcondra campus. The avenue of mature trees and the original house survive; wander the open campus paths and look for the old church behind the new buildings.
05
5
Croke Park's shadow
South toward the great curve of Croke Park — 82,000 seats, the home of Gaelic games, looming over the terraced streets that press right up to its walls. On a match day the whole quarter turns into one tide of people; on any other, just stand and feel the scale against the two-up-two-downs.
05
Croke Park's shadow
South toward the great curve of Croke Park — 82,000 seats, the home of Gaelic games, looming over the terraced streets that press right up to its walls. On a match day the whole quarter turns into one tide of people; on any other, just stand and feel the scale against the two-up-two-downs.
06
6
The red-brick avenues of upper Drumcondra
Wind back through the leafy avenues — Grace Park Road, the bay-windowed red-brick terraces that house the comfortable north side. A slow last stretch under the trees, then the DART or the bus back into town from Drumcondra station.
06
The red-brick avenues of upper Drumcondra
Wind back through the leafy avenues — Grace Park Road, the bay-windowed red-brick terraces that house the comfortable north side. A slow last stretch under the trees, then the DART or the bus back into town from Drumcondra station.

Drumcondra & the Tolka: the northern river village

On the map.

Things to notice.

Drumcondra Bridge and the village

Drumcondra Bridge and the village

Griffith Park and the Tolka walk

Griffith Park and the Tolka walk

Archbishop's House and the Holy Cross grounds

Archbishop's House and the Holy Cross grounds

All Hallows / DCU grounds

All Hallows / DCU grounds

Croke Park's shadow

Croke Park's shadow

The red-brick avenues of upper Drumcondra

The red-brick avenues of upper Drumcondra

Two more, on similar days.

The Quays: the Liffey bridges, the boardwalk and the Custom House

Stoneybatter: the village