Dublin Castle

  In the ten months of travel on this adventure, we have seen close to two dozen castles and palaces. It almost seems that medieval Europe was constructed of nothing but castles and palaces as the people of that time were quite warrior-like, and very much aware of class distinctions. And that is not necessarily a bad thing, at least for those like us who enjoy exploring these ancient sites. Not to be outdone by its European neighbors, Dublin has an impressive castle of its own. While most of the current buildings of Dublin Castle date from the 18th century, a castle structure of some sort has been on this site since the time of King John, the First Lord of Ireland (1204). Originally built as a Norman defensive fortification, in later years the complex evolved into a royal residence. Since its beginnings in 1204, Dublin Castle had been the seat of British Rule in Ireland. British Viceroys (representatives of the monarchy) resided here until 1922 when Ireland achieved Independent nation status. The inauguration of Ireland's President has been held here since 1938. Today, the castle is a major government complex as well as an important tourist attraction.

Dublin Castle with the State Apartments on the left, the Powder Tower in the middle, and the chapel on the right.

The chapel and Powder Tower.

The formal entrance to the Castle's courtyard.

Drawing of how the Castle complex would have looked in it's heyday.

Drawing of the Powder Tower with the surrounding moat flooded.

Early excavations that discovered remnants of the original Powder Tower.

Going below the courtyard, we saw the ruins of the original complex.

This stairway led from the original Powder Tower up to the city wall.

The river Poddle still fills parts of the original moat.

Entrance to the State Apartment building.

The central stairway up to the State Apartments. This is one of the more elegant stairways we have come across.

Awash with vibrant colors is the Drawing Room.

St.Patrick's Hall was used for many State occasions.

This picture does not do justice to the elegance of this hallway.

The Throne room. We found the gold leaf decorations around the perimeter to be superb.

This portrait gallery is still used for diplomatic functions and ceremonies.

This glorious Wedgewood Room had jasper ware added to the walls to give it this exquisite look. Lorraine's favorite room.

The Viceroy's sitting Room.

Unbelievably beautiful ceiling frescoes.

This three-tiered chandelier was specifically designed to depict the relationship between Ireland, Scotland, and Great Britain. The lower tier is made of Roses to represent Britain. The middle tier has Thistles to represent Scotland. The upper tier is made of Shamrocks to represent Ireland.