Gerry started as a Heritage Officer with the OPW IN 2008. He guided at The Royal Kilmainham Hospital & Kilmainham Jail itself. ” I really enjoyed my season up in Kilmainham ” Gerry explains “Both sites have such rich histories tied in with our modern history, in particular, the Jail.To bring people through a building that is literally dripping in History was such an honour for me, working with a dedicated crew and a captive audience, if you pardon the pun. To enter the courtyard where the 1916 leadrers were executed, always caught me and inspired me, especially delivering my talk underneath the Irish Tricolour..great stuff..by far the best tour in Ireland”. A year later he joined Pat Liddy’s world famous Walking Tour team and still does some walks with him. The bigger companies, however, like Abbey Tours and Gullivers (GTA) took an interest in Gerry’s unique personal style and these now make up most of his tours. His recent appearance on RTE Television regarding the best Pub Snugs in Dublin has also opened up opportunities for specialised and small private tours. To book gerry just contact him by email.
Testimonials
“Hi Gerry,
Thank you for the wonderful walking tour of Dublin. We enjoyed all the inside stories and historical perspectives. We felt like we had a very special experience.
We went to the Guinness Storehouse the Sunday after our tour and had a great time in Arthur’s Pub there, where they had live music by a great trad group. Later we went to Burdock’s for fish-and-chips. We greatly enjoyed eating outside the take-out shop with the locals. We felt like real Dubliners. Best of all, we stopped in at Hartigan’s on our last night in Dublin, had some lovely Guinness, and talked a bit with Evelyn. When we reminded her that you had introduced us, she
gave Kathy a Hartigan’s t-shirt!! The regulars were jealous. She said they don’t have many women stopping in.” Kathy F. USA
“After a wonderful Irish breakfast at our hotel (yes, they really will put Irish whiskey in your porridge!), we met our guide Gerry Cooley who took us on a tour of Dublin. Gerry is a quintessential Dubliner. He told stories, recited poems and even sang songs. The only thing he
didn’t do was dance a jig in the aisle on the bus! He knows everyone in Dublin and has a radio program in which he interviews some of the ”behind the scenes” people who make the city so special.” Godspeed Musicals USA
“Hey Gerry, we really enjoyed our tour with you….especially the pub tour! We did go back and have a tour of the prison. It was very interesting — thanks for the tip. Everyone knew you up in the Jail.” Diane G. USA