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Dublin Live
Dublin Live
Entertainment
Aakanksha Surve

New augmented reality app to bring history of Dublin's Docklands to life

History lovers, this one's for you. If you're looking to explore the history of Dublin's Docklands, Dublin City Council is launching a brand new app "Doors into Docklands".

This mobile app includes immersive trails that use augmented reality (AR) to merge the old and the new, combining history and technology to guide the user in the discovery of some of the Docklands' most loved sites and attractions. The public can uncover compelling stories of Dublin’s culture, heritage, and history.

You can experience the Guinness barges sailing down the River Liffey, the Crimean Banquet held in the CHQ, and the story of the famine statues. Along the trail, you can see the "history come to life with a 360-degree view of the Custom House fires blazing in 1921, the Scherzer Bridges in 2D animation and Port workers in the Diving Bell toiling at the bottom of the sea.

Read more: Things to do in Dublin in 2023: The ultimate bucket list for the capital

You will also meet many AR characters telling their stories from Captain Bligh who surveyed Dublin Bay in the 1800s to Maggie Doyle telling her tale as a Docker’s daughter. Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy said: "This is amazing technology, bringing a part of Dublin alive that most of us have never seen!

"It’s really exciting innovation and as Lord Mayor, I’m proud to see Dublin at the forefront of smart tourism technology joining the past and the future together. I’d like to take the opportunity to encourage visitors and Dubliners alike to download the App and try out this immersive new experience."

The "Doors into Docklands" app has been co-funded by Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland and developed by Peel X. The app uses a Wi-Fi or data connection to download the initial content including the geo-enabled landmarks and map.

These landmarks will be a prompt for visitors to point their phones where the images and videos will then appear. There is no need for a live data connection while using the app, as everything is stored on your phone after the initial content download, so users won’t be charged for expensive data roaming during their experience.

You can download the app here

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