Dublin Attractions

Venue: Dublin Castle    When: Daily

Dublin Castle was commissioned by King John in 1204 as a secure fortress in which to keep the taxes collected from Ireland. It is now a popular tourist attraction, with comprehensive tours of the most important sections.

It was King John's father, Henry II, who first laid his sights on colonising Ireland in 1171. He had built a temporary fortress here in the centre of what became the city of Dublin, but it was not until 1204 that an impregnable fortress was built.

In 1986 excavators discovered the base of King John's tower and the old back entrance into the castle. The walls were metres thick, fashioned from limestone quarried from the Wicklow Mountains and augmented with the earth which had been dug out to make the moat. When King John built the castle, boats were able to sail across the Irish sea, all the way up the Liffey river and into the moat.

The castle was, for nearly eight centuries, the home of a succession of Viceroys who governed Ireland in place of the English king. They lived there in elegant state apartments until 1684 when a huge explosion caused a terrible fire. The old castle was so badly damaged that it had to be demolished, except for one tower, which still stands.

The castle was rebuilt in the 1700s and the state apartments were furnished in high Georgian style. There is plenty of fine Louis XV furniture, four-poster beds and even a table commissioned for Queen Victoria in the 1840s. The story goes that the table was made by a prisoner during the famine of Ireland. Though ornately carved and inlaid with more than 14 different woods, Queen Victoria loathed the article because it was illustrated with tiny devils. She was convinced it was in fact a séance table and she left it at the castle.