Dublin Castle
Photos taken in August 2011
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland. The Castle served as the seat of English, then later British government of Ireland under the Lordship of Ireland (1171–1541), the Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800), and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1800–1922). Upon establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the complex was ceremonially handed over to the newly formed Provisional Government led by Michael Collins.
Dublin Castle fulfilled a number of roles through its history. Originally built
as a defensive fortification for the Norman city of Dublin, it later evolved
into a royal residence, resided in by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland or Viceroy
of Ireland, the representative of the monarch. The second in command in the
Dublin Castle administration, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, also had his
offices there. Over the years parliament and law courts met at the castle before
moving to new purpose-built venues. It also served as a military garrison. Upon
formation of the Free State in 1922, the castle assumed for a decade the role of
the Four Courts on the Liffey quays which had been badly damaged during the
Civil War.
Sand Art
It was decided in 1938 that the inauguration of the first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde would take place in the castle, and the complex has been host to this ceremony ever since. The castle is also used for hosting official State visits as well as more informal foreign affairs engagements, State banquets, and Government policy launches, as well as acting as the central base for Ireland's hosting of the European Presidency approximately every 10 years.
Dublin Castle was first founded as a major defensive work by Meiler Fitzhenry on
the orders of King John of England in 1204, some time after the Norman invasion
of Ireland in 1169, when it was commanded that a castle be built with strong
walls and good ditches for the defence of the city, the administration of
justice, and the protection of the King’s treasure. Largely complete by 1230,
the castle was of typical Norman courtyard design, with a central square without
a keep, bounded on all sides by tall defensive walls and protected at each
corner by a circular tower. Sited to the south-east of Norman Dublin, the castle
formed one corner of the outer perimeter of the city, using the River Poddle as
a natural means of defence along two of its sides. The city wall directly
abutted the castle’s north-east Powder Tower, extending north and westwards
around the city before rejoining the castle at its south-western Bermingham
Tower. The Poddle was diverted into the city through archways where the walls
adjoined the castle, artificially flooding the moat of the fortress's city
elevations. One of these archways and part of the wall survive buried underneath
the 18th century buildings, and are open to public inspection.
Through the Middle Ages the wooden buildings within the castle square evolved
and changed, the most significant addition being the Great Hall built of stone
and timber, variously used as Parliament house, court of law and banqueting
hall. The building survived until 1673, when it was damaged by fire and
demolished shortly afterwards. No trace of medieval buildings remains above
ground level today, with the exception of the great Record Tower (ca.
1228-1230); it the sole surviving tower of the original fortification, its
battlements an early 19th-century addition.
"Castle Catholic" was a pejorative term for Catholics who were considered to be
overly friendly with or supportive of the British administration.
United Irishmen General Joseph Holt, a participant in the 1798 Rising, was
incarcerated in the Bermingham Tower before being transported to New South Wales
in 1799.
During the Anglo-Irish War the Castle was the nerve centre of the British effort
against Irish separatism. On the night of Bloody Sunday in 1920, three Irish
Republican Army members Dick McKee, Conor Clune and Peadar Clancy, were tortured
and killed.
When the Irish Free State came into being in 1922, Dublin Castle ceased to
function as the administrative seat. It served for some years as temporary
Courts of Justice (the Four Courts, the home of the Irish courts system, had
been destroyed in 1922). After the courts vacated the premises, the Castle was
used for state ceremonial. As President of the Executive Council, Éamon de
Valera received credentials there from newly arrived ambassadors to Ireland on
behalf of King George V in the 1930s. In 1938, Douglas Hyde was inaugurated as
President of Ireland at the Castle. Inaugurations of subsequent presidents took
place there in 1945, 1952, 1959, 1966, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1983, 1990, and 1997.
President Erskine Hamilton Childers' lying-in-state took place there in November
1974, as did that of former President Éamon de Valera in September 1975.
The castle is a tourist attraction and, following major refurbishment, is also
used as a conference centre. During Ireland's presidencies of the European
Union, including most recently in the first half of 2004, it has been the venue
of many meetings of the European Council. The crypt of the Chapel Royal is now
used as an arts centre, and occasional concerts are held in the grounds of the
Castle. The complex of buildings is usually open to the public, except during
state functions.
The State Apartments, located in the southern range of buildings of the Upper
Yard, contain the rooms formerly used by the Lord Lieutenant for personal
accommodation and public entertaining during the Castle Season. Today these
richly decorated rooms are used by the Irish Government for official engagements
including policy launches, hosting of State Visit ceremonial, and the
inauguration of the President every seven years.
This is the grandest room of the State Apartments, and contains one of the most
important decorative interiors in Ireland. Formerly the ballroom of the Lord
Lieutenant's administration, today the room is used for presidential
inaugurations. It is one of the oldest rooms in the castle, dating from the
1740s, though its decoration largely dates from c. 1790, including the most
significant painted ceiling in Ireland executed by Vincenzo Valdre (c.
1742–1814). Composed of three panels, the ceiling depicts the coronation of King
George III, Saint Patrick introducing Christianity to Ireland, and King Henry II
receiving the submission of the Irish Chieftains.
Originally built as the Battleaxe Hall in the 1740s, it was converted to a
Presence Chamber around 1790. The regal decoration dates from that time and from
alterations in the 1830s. It contains a throne built for the visit of King
George IV to Ireland in 1821.
Built in the 1830s as the principal reception room of the Lord Lieutenant and
his household, today this room is reserved in use for the reception of foreign
dignitaries. Largely destroyed by fire in 1941, the room was reconstructed with
minor modifications in 1964–1968 by the OPW, making use of salvaged and
replicated furnishings and fittings.
Also called the Picture Gallery, and formerly known as the Supper Room, this is
the oldest room in the castle and largely retains its original decoration,
having escaped major modification and fire over the years. It dates from Lord
Chesterfield's building of the State Apartments in the 1740s, and was intended
for use as a supper room adjoining St. Patrick's Hall and as a personal dining
room. Today the room is still used for dining when conferences take place in St.
Patrick's Hall.
These former private quarters of the Lord Lieutenant were built as five
interconnecting rooms running along the back of the building, adjoining the
spine corridor that separates them from the State Drawing Room. Completely
rebuilt in the 1960s following fire in 1941, the rooms maintain the original
courtly sequence and today are used as ancillary drawing and meeting rooms to
the principal apartments. The last dignitary to stay in the royal bedrooms was
Margaret Thatcher, who spent a night there with her husband Dennis during one of
the European Council meetings held in the 1980s.
The most architectural space of the State Apartments, this expressive, deeply
modelled corridor was originally built c. 1758 to the designs of the Surveyor
General, Thomas Eyre. Based on the early 18th century corridor of Edward Lovett
Pearce in the former Parliament House on College Green, it features a marching
procession of vaults and arches which were originally top-lit. Regrettably an
office storey was built over the skylights following complete reconstruction of
the corridor in the 1960s as the result of differential settlement with the
reconstruction of the adjoining Drawing Room. The corridor features exact
plaster casts of the original arch detailing, and the original doorcases and
fireplaces salvaged prior to rebuilding.
Irish Government
Dublin Castle is currently maintained by the Office of Public Works, and houses,
among other things, offices of the Revenue Commissioners in a 20th century
building at the end of the Castle Yard, some elements of the Office of Public
Works itself in an old stables area, and some functions of the Garda Síochána.
Test from Wikipedia
King George II
Earl de Grey
Earl of Besborough
Duke of Northumberland
Lord Chesterfield
Marquis Anglesey
Earl Hardwick
Marquis Cornwallis
Duke of Richmond