Growing up in Belfast in the Seventies, Halloween will be forever associated with memories of stabbing yourself in the hand while attempting to carve out a raw turnip into a lantern, the smell of candles burning into said turnips, and costumes based on bin bags and sweaty plastic false faces. Oh, and indoor fireworks. We weren't allowed the real ones, for obvious reasons.
It might surprise you to learn that Belfast’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade is a relatively recent invention, with the first one only taking place in 2006. Grab yourself a multicoloured shamrock and find out why.
The spectre of assassination was probably not envisaged as being in the form of a mentally ill, 50-year-old Dublin woman clothed in a black shawl and armed with a rock and a revolver. This however was how Violet Gibson appeared as she shot and wounded Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
Sir Walter Devereux 1st Earl of Essex may not be as (in)famous as Sir Arthur Chichester, the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell or King William of Orange amongst those to visit Ireland and leave an indelible historical mark on the land, but he certainly deserves a mention.
Dr. William Drennan, a United Irishman centuries ahead of his time in many ways, comes under the microscope of our lead guide Paul Donnelly.
We would like to introduce Django, the newest member of the DC Tours team!
Mark Wylie celebrates St Patricks Day with a glass of Jamesons and a look back over a year of Covid, Crowdfunding and virtual tours.
Belfast tour guide Jamesy reveals another secret crush while exploring the place of rugby in Irish sport in his latest blog.
DC Tours' guide Mark uncovers the forgotten history of the Irish ether addicts (or etheromaniacs) of the nineteenth century.
DC Tours' guide Jamesy discovers the story behind one of the most rebellious police officers ever to serve in Belfast - Willie Barrett.