The Best Things To See And Do In Dundrum Dublin

Dundrum was once a relatively sedate south Dublin suburb, a quiet corner home to future Tour De France stars Nicholas and Stephen Roche. Things changed dramatically with the construction of the city’s popular luas (tram) system running right through Dundrum’s heart, as well as the Dundrum Town Centre, which opened in 2005 as Ireland’s biggest shopping centre. It’s now a shopping heartland, a modern-feeling spot that’s in demand with new arrivals to the city, and frequented regularly by a huge number of locals. The shopping centre is at the very core of Dundrum’s offering, naturally, but it’s not the only thing to do in Dundrum. Read on to find out more.

Send the kids on a survival course

Surprisingly, Dundrum is a great spot to give your children an outdoor-living education. OWLS Survival Experience in Fitzsimons Wood in Dundrum challenges kids as young as four to build shelters from limited material, light a fire and then cook on it (marshmallows, naturally). It’s designed for parties, but a great experience for anyone who can get together a small group of kids to head for the less boutique side of Dundrum, wellies in hand. Book early, as these courses are in extremely high demand.

Check out the fairy tree in Marlay Park

Marlay Park is just outside Dundrum, but easily walkable from the suburb. The chunky south-city park isn’t quite on the scale of Phoenix Park to the north of the city, but does have a number of assets worth exploring, from Ireland’s biggest weekly Parkrun (every Saturday morning) to regular pop-up Irish-speaking zones, and huge summer concerts. Our favourite, though, is to be found there every day. Deep in the park, you’ll find a decorative fairy tree, carved with fairy doors and windows and decorated in beautiful strips of fabric and with notes from children. A little glance into Ireland’s mystical past, it’s charming and heartbreaking (the latter through reading some of the emotional wishes) at the same time.