Tripadvisor

"DERMOT REALLY KNOWS HIS STUFF"

He takes history and makes it fascinating. He injects humorous anecdotes and bits of trivia to the actual tour. His photographs, documents and artifacts add even more to the stories of Kinsale's past. He is a treasure trove of information. A bargain for the price!...BSC, Ohio.... more

"HIDDEN GEM OF KINSALE"

I found a gem; Dermot Ryan; he was so informative and well educated about the area and showed me things I would have never have found on my own walks of the town; .....I.J. Cork...more.

"WONDERFUL OVERVIEW OF KINSALE"

Dermot Ryan is so knowledgeable, and gave such an entertaining tour. I highly recommend it for anyone visiting Kinsale!........ BF, Virginia....more.

"BEST VALUE IN KINSALE"

The tour is comprehensive informative and interesting. We walked for over an hour and every bit of it was enjoyable and excellent value at 5 euros. M.H. Leeds. more

HE BRINGS ALIVE THE WHOLE HISTORY OF THE TOWN

He gave a group of us his undivided attention and held us captivated in the freezing cold but we did not mind as he brings alive the whole history of the town in his own unique way with stories and photos of past times G.D.Tramore,more

WALKING TOUR WAS ENTERTAINING, INDIVIDUAL

Dermot Ryan's walking tour of Kinsale, was the best of its kind I have had anywhere, even in constant rain. Much better than just wandering about on our own. Dermot managed to keep us all happy, a great morning and well worth the small fee. W.S., Atlanta…..more

FASCINATING ILLUSTRATED TOUR

Kinsale turned out to be the high point of our short trip, mainly because we were lucky to meet what must be the best guide around, a local historian called Dermot Ryan, rated as the top guide there by the London Times and the Irish Times. His walk, illustrated with old photographs and maps, had a story relating Kinsale to each country represented on our particular tour! A fantastic tour of a beautiful little town. A.B.,SanFrancisco....more

A VERY ENRICHING WAY TO GET INTO THE HEART OF KINSALE

We were delighted we did this walking tour of Kinsale with Dermott before leaving this beautiful town steeped in history. Dermott certainly knows his stuff and has a great manner and humour that we felt we were being guided by a friend. We had a fantastic insight into its colourful and very interesting past. Highly recommended. S.B., London.....more

MADE OUR VISIT TO KINSALE VERY SPECIAL

We enjoyed a tale of Kinsale that was rich in history, trivia, folklore, architecture, archaeology, and culture. Dermot is engaging and fascinating to listen to, and his sense of humor made the experience all the more special. We spent a fascinating morning with him, and I left Kinsale learning more about it 90 minutes than I had in the previous 16 years of visiting it combined! And the price was absolutely unbeatable! 5 euro per person for great entertainment and education. R.S., New York more

Pat Preston, Ireland Expert

One of the best introductions to Kinsale is a "Heritage Walk", an informative and enjoyable walking tour led by local historian, educator, and writer Dermot Ryan. A native of Kinsale, Dermot conducts an "illustrated town walk" using old photos and original maps, dating back to the 1600's, to meld history with the present. Dermot also provides added insight by describing the changes he has seen in the town over the past 60 years.

Sunday Times

Scion of the Kinsale History Society,... the best five euro value in Ireland

Irish Times

The ideal way to explore Kinsale and learn its history..

Liverpool Echo

Dermot Ryan offers excellent historical walking tours of Kinsale for around £4.

Personal Messages

"Thank you so much for the lovely and interesting tour of Kinsale Town today. We are so glad we ran into you. You made our day." L. M., New Jersey

"Dermot Ryan is an absolute gold mine of information. Like the best tour guides I have listened to, he never feels the need to over sell his subject, and has a wonderfully subtle delivery that leaves you hanging on his every word, and wanting more. All the time Dermot compellingly managed to put little old Kinsale right in the heart of much bigger history." A. de V., London

"Susan and I want to say thanks so much for making our visit to Kinsale so enjoyable. Your tour was terrific and we loved talking with you about the Ruddock family history." S. R. California

"Heritage tour of Kinsale - Very well informed: scholarship that goes deep but is carried lightly. Brilliant presentation on the walk. I have been on the many others, but this heritage tour is in a class of its own." D.S., Bristol

"Thank you for a most interesting tour of an equally interesting town. Your historian’s perspective helped define the evolution of the current area while your local insight showed the life and times of the people who lived through it. Your knowledge and love of the area was self evident. We got a kick out of how many times you had to stop your talk to return a town folk’s greeting. We really enjoyed the stroll..." D. & J. Dublin

"Are you any relation to Garrison Keillor? We took your walk in Kinsale and very much enjoyed it. Thank you for a pleasant afternoon." K& M., Skerries

"We took your walk last week, and thoroughly enjoyed it!!! We are a family of 6, all ages, and every one of us had a great time listening to your stories and learning so much history as we walked the streets of Kinsale. Please keep the walks going - it would truly be a shame to lose such a wonderful venue of education in Kinsale." The Bs, Florida.

"One of the many highlights of our trip was your Heritage Town Walk in Kinsale, which turned out to be rich in DeCourcy heritage Thanks for a great tour today. You really brought Kinsale to life for us." Paul deC., London

"What a wonderful morning I had with the rest of your tour party as we ambled around Kinsale. Your easy, expert, entertaining knowledge of the town and amusing anecdotes were surpassed only by your ability to switch off the rain as we embarked ! Your style is effortless and it is a tribute to you that, although you have been doing this for over 40 years, you had the enthusiasm today of one on his first walk. May you have many more ahead!" D. Chicago

"Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed the walking tour. I have been to Kinsale many times but did not appreciate the wealth of history that you graciously shared with us on the tour. I will appreciate Kinsale so much more now. Your depth of knowledge is amazing", S. H. Kenya.

"My wife, Brigitte and I wish to thank you once again for a most informative and highly amusing tour of Kinsale. Excellent, considering you've been doing it for 44 years only!" G.L.Wales

"Just dropping you an email to tell you how much we loved your tour of Kinsale. That was one of the best things we did in Ireland. I love history and you have set me on a course to explore a lot more of history unknown to me". W & J, N.Y.

"During our recent visit to Kinsale, we joined you on the town walk, one of the highlights of our holiday. Very informative and humorous." John D, Dublin

"We wanted to thank your foundation and especially Dermot for a most informative, extremely enlightening Heritage Walk around lovely Kinsale. Without Dermot, we would have been blindly plodding through the streets of Kinsale overlooking so much that we would have had no idea about (without some extensive studies in Kinsale History)! A superb, intellectual tour. Our many thanks and much gratitude to our excellent guide!" D&T. Bloomington.

"Whilst we learnt that there are no happy endings to Irish tales; Dermot’s tour was personal, informative, amusing, inspiring, and ended with laughter; perhaps that wasn’t the real end to our story with Kinsale..." Ellie, U.K.

"Of course the guided tour you gave us through Kinsale was one of the highlights of our trip. Thank you very much for a very informative tour of Kinsale. We certainly learned a lot about the History of Ireland from you." G. G., Belfast

"Dermot and Deirde we still remember how we shared with your Heritage Town Walk through Kinsale...It is nice beautiful historic place I will keep in my mind, especially the lovely stories..." TTK, Hong Kong

"My husband and I were on one of your walks about a month ago. We loved your stories of Kinsale. Your devotion to the area and the rich history is certainly came through to us." D.K., Maine

"We enjoyed the tour around Kinsale enormously with DeIrdre, just the answer after all the eating we had on the Gourmet Weekend. A very environmentally and carbon friendly way to spend time in Kinsale!" J. H., Powys

"We really enjoyed our discovery walk with you, It opened up Kinsale and its history for both of us, and was a highlight of our few days in Kinsale and Cork. It was satisfying to have a native who is steeped in the history of the area and obviously loves to impart it to a wider audience as our guide." T& N, Ireland.