Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle has a long and interesting history. Built in 1204 by the Normans as a defensive fortress under the orders of King John of England. This would be the same King John of Robin Hood fame. The castle was built on the River Poddle where it flowed into the River Liffey. At the meeting of the two rivers there was a black pool of water which the Irish called Dubh Linn (Black Pool). And so, Dublin got its name.

Dublin Castle was a typical Norman castle with a central square, no keep, bound on all sides by tall defensive walls and protected on each corner with a tall circular tower. In 1684, there was a fire that started on the right side of the castle (in the photo) and quickly spread. The tower in the upper left corner was where the gunpowder was stored so in order to avoid an explosion, the two walls connected to that tower were destroyed ahead of the fire. That tower is the only part of the original castle still there.

After the fire, the castle was rebuilt in more of a Georgian Palace theme. I assume this was in place of that original entry. So this was the center of British government in Ireland. It was used by the Viceroy aka the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who was the representative of the English monarch.

Inside the courtyard. These buildings contain the state apartments. We're headed in for the guided tour of the castle. You can tour it unguided but then you have no context. We all know if there's one thing I need, it's context!

Remember when there was a fire in 1684? This was the powder tower that they had to disconnect from the rest of the building. It's the only part of the original castle. When the rebuilding took place, they actually built on top of the original castle. So this tower, for example, had to be built up. If you look at the upper set of windows, you can see how orderly they are and how symmetrical the bricks are versus the lower part of the tower the windows are smaller and randomly placed. There were also battlements placed on top of the tower.

The Chapel Royale was built in 1813 to emphasize the importance of the Viceroy to the British government. If you're not on the guided tour, you don't get to go in. 

Our guide (I think she said her name was Roisin - pronounced Roh-SHEEN) is telling us about the 90 heads of saints, kings, literary figures, etc. that adorn the face of the building. Over the door is St. Peter and he's holding the keys to heaven. The other faces are on either side of the various windows.

Further up over the window is the bust of Jonathan Swift who was an Irish author.

Inside the chapel is beautiful! It sits above the River Poddle so the whole thing is made of wood to look like marble. The fear was that it would be too heavy and would sink if it had been made of stone. In 1922, this became a Catholic church when the Irish Government took over. Then in 1980, it was deconsecrated and its now used for concerts and other events. A shame.

Along the upper level pews are various names and coats of arms of the viceroys along with the dates they served. This one in the prominent spot is the coat of arms of the Viceroy who was in power when the chapel was built, Charles Whitworth. That's where he would sit as well during the service.

The window depicts the following. At the bottom are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The next level up depicts the betrayal of Jesus. The top level shows the crucifixion and then the ascension of Jesus.

Back into the courtyard we are told that the two arched entryways have statues over them. The one of the left is fortitude and the one on the right is justice. The building in between is called the Bedford Tower, named for John Russell who was Viceroy during the reconstruction. The tower was built in 1760 and it replaced the medieval gatehouse. It became the ceremonial entrance to the castle. The copper tower with the clocks is one of the many visual symbols of Dublin.

When you look closers, you notice a few things like she's turned her back to Ireland. Her sword, normally pointing down is actually pointing up. And finally, she is NOT blind. Maybe that was England's way of letting the Irish know who was in charge? 

When you go inside the first thing you see is the Grand Staircase. It was completed in 1749 and then later remodeled in 1864 to add the handrails. During the "season", debutantes and members of the aristocracy ascended this staircase in court dress on their way to attend balls, dinners and presentation ceremonies.

A view of the Grand Staircase from the landing looking up. It's quite lovely. Note the harp on the transom window. It's facing left, which is the symbol of the Republic of Ireland. If you see the harp facing right, that's the symbol of Guinness. The other items are the coats of arms of previous presidents of the Republic. These are hung at the END of their terms. Each president can be elected to two seven-year terms.

We turned right and went into the James Connelly Room. During World War I, this room was used as a hospital room. Then in 1916, the Easter Uprising took place. Twenty-five members of the Irish Citizen Army were able to seize the entrance and guard room of the castle before being subdued. James Connelly, one of the leaders of the uprising, was gravely wounded and brought here. He was treated and then sent to Kilmainham Gaol where he was executed. Why cure him if...?

This is the State Corridor. The portraits here are of all the Irish Presidents. When the debutantes were presented to the crown, they would line up here. Our guide told us of one girl who waited in this hall for four hours to be presented. No thank you.

The Apollo Room. It was here in 1941 that a fire broke out. Luckily it destroyed only this room and partially damaged another. It was restored in 1964 as part of a bigger restoration project. This room had been rescued from a nearby Georgian townhouse in 1912 and was inserted to fill the space left behind by the fire. The room gets its name from the figure of Apollo at the center of the plasterwork in the ceiling. It dates back to 1746 and was moved to the castle in eleven separate pieces and then painstakingly reassembled.

The State Drawing Room so named because of the practice of "withdrawing" to a more private part of a house after formal dinners. It was usually the ladies that assembled here while the men went to smoke. The room was used by the Vicereines (wives of the Viceroy) to hold audiences with Irish courtiers. During Royal visits in 1907 and 1911, Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary received guests in this room. The chandelier was made of Waterford Crystal from Waterford Ireland.

This was called a "courting couch". The couple would sit on the settee while the chaperone would sit on the end. How's that for romantic?

The throne room. John looks like the calm in the midst of chaos. The Throne Room was also called the Presence Chamber and was created in 1788. It was the center of royal ceremony in Ireland. It was here that the Viceroy received addresses of loyalty on behalf of the British monarch. If the monarchs were here in person, this is where they would hold royal receptions.

This throne was made for the royal visit of King George IV in 1821. It was later used by Queen Victoria. She wasn't able to climb up there so the footstool was made for her. The last monarch to use the throne was George V in 1911.

The Dining Room. Rumor has it the best place at the table was the chair with the fireplace at your back. The round mirrors on the right are called Butler's Mirrors. This was so the butler's could see the whole room without having to hover. This is one of the oldest rooms in the castle and still has it's original decorations. It dates from the 1740s and is now used for dining when conferences take place in St. Patrick's Hall.

This amazing room is St. Patrick's Hall. The three panels in the ceiling depict the coronation of George III, Saint Patrick introducing Christianity to Ireland and King Henry II receiving the submission of the Irish Chieftains. This is the room where the presidential inauguration takes place. The banners are for the knights that have received the Order of St. Patrick.

These are the robes of the Knights of St. Patrick. They are pale blue which is the color that was originally associated with St. Patrick. Back in the day, this was the castle's ballroom. This is where our guided tour ended. We were then welcome to walk around the castle on our own and check out additional rooms, which we did...without context.

This is another one of the state apartments. Unfortunately, there wasn't any signage as to what we were looking at or what the room was used for. I tried google. The big portrait is most likely King William III or King George IV as they were both often painted on white horses, though it could also be a Lord Lieutenant (Viceroy). We don't really know.

This is another room that we were allowed to look in. Cool paintings but no idea what they were of.

An finally, we got so check out the Wedgwood room. I found on the internet that is room is named because of the color scheme, which is that of Wedgwood Pottery. It used to be a billiard room and, at other times, a place where an indoor garden was set up.

Cool, right? The whole thing was fantastic. I love all this stuff and highly recommend a guided visit. You may want to book in advance, though. We were there in the off season and the line was long and the guided options sold out.