Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle. In 1204 King John issued a mandate for the construction of a fortress suitable for the administration of the city and, if necessary, for its defence. Until 1922 this castle was the citadel of British authority in Ireland, and official home to the lord lieutenant or lord deputy. It was the seat of state councils and was, on occasion, used for meetings of parliament and the courts of law.

The original castle was built between 1204 and 1268, situated on a hill overlooking the city and flanked on two sides by the rivers Poddle and Liffey. A curtain wall was punctuated with large drum towers, with a rectangular tower in the south‐west corner where the castle impinged on the city walls. The whole castle was surrounded by a moat.

Following a fire in 1684 the castle underwent extensive renovations. The medieval fabric was largely replaced with the red brick arcaded buildings of the Upper Castle yard, but retained roughly the layout of the original castle. The Genealogical Office, the Bedford tower (built on the base of one of the original gate towers), the gateways, and the state apartments remain essentially as built in the mid‐18th century. Modifications to the last remaining medieval tower (the Record tower), and the construction of a church (the chapel royal, designed by Francis Johnston), took place during the first two decades of the 19th century.

In spite of its defensive role, the castle never had to withstand a major siege or assault. In 1534 it was unsuccessfully attacked by ‘Silken’ Thomas FitzGerald (see kildare rebellion), and a plot to seize it as part of the rising of 1641 was betrayed. It saw some minor skirmishes in the rising of 1916 and was officially handed over to the Provisional Government of Ireland in January 1922.

Rachel Moss