The official date of the founding of Dublin is the year 988 as a Viking settlement. There is, however, evidence of habitation dating back to the 2nd Century. The town changed several times between the Danes and the rebellious Irish before the Danes were expelled by Henry II, King of England. Dublin remained a small, medieval town until the 17th Century when Oliver Cromwell took the city and it became a magnet for Protestant settlers from all over Europe. Dublin enjoyed immense growth in the 18th Century until it became the second city (after London) of the British Empire.

The Act of Union in 1800 diminished the influence of Dublin to a great extent, which it did not regain until Irish Independence in 1922. Dublin was the scene of some of the most intense fighting of the 1916 Rebellion and the revolution of 1919 to 1921. Today it is the cultural, political, and economic center of the Irish Republic.

Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle was built on the site of an old Anglo-Norman fortress by order of the English King John. The Record Tower, built on the foundation of an older Viking fortress, is all that remains of the older fortress.

Dublin Castle served as the center of English rule and was the residence of the British Viceroys. The castle is now used by the Irish government for such state occasions as the inauguration of the Irish President.

One can visit the Castle and wonder about the gardens. A hired tour guide will show a visitor such places as the Garda Police Museum, the Chapel Royal, the undercroft, and the state apartments. One of the highlights of the tour is St. Patrick’s Hall, where the Irish Presidents are inaugurated, with it’s painting ceilings and Waterford crystal chandeliers.

Guinness Brewery and Storehouse

The Guinness Brewery is like a Mecca for beer lovers all over the world. The storehouse, which is located in an old grain storehouse, contains not so much a museum but a multi media extravaganza with high tech audio and visual displays that tell the story of Guinness. Not only the history of one of the most famous beers in the world is related, but how it is brewed and the unique role it had played in Irish history and economic life. The tour ends at the top floor at the Gravity Bar, which has a splendid view of Dublin, with a complimentary pint.

Trinity College

Trinity College, Ireland’s premier university, was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth 1st of England as an effort to promote the Protestant religion in Ireland. Catholics were only in theory permitted to enter in 1793, though the Catholic Church banned the faithful from doing so until 1970. Women were only allowed in since 1903.

Some of the most famous alumni include Edmund Burke, Wolfe Tone, Douglas Hyde, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Beckett, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde. A walking tour of the campus will take one past statues of these famous men, wonderful architecture, and works of art. The main attraction at Trinity College, is the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript of the Gospels dating from the ninth century and said to be the oldest book in the world. It is on display in the library. Also on display in the harp owned by Brian Baru, High King of Ireland in the 11th Century and leader of the resistance against the Vikings.

Christ Church Cathedral

Christchurch Cathedral is Dublin's oldest landmarks, dating back to 1038. The Cathedral was founded by Sitrvic, King of the Dublin Norsemen and Dunan, the very first Bishop of Dublin. The stone church itself was built on the site of the original wooden Viking Church under the auspices of the Anglo-Norman conqueror Strongbow.

The Choir, built in 1480, was the venue for the very first performance of Handel’s Messiah. The interior is beautifully decorated with stained glass windows, mosaic tiles, and statues. The crypt, a forest of pillars that bear the weight of the cathedral, is filled with artifacts. Also, don’t miss the Viking exhibition across the street.

The National Museum of Archeology and History

This museum contains the largest collection of Celtic artifacts in the world, ranging from 7000 BC to the present day. The antiquities include gold jewelry, carved stones, bronze tools, and weapons. Among the priceless relics on display are a late Bronze Age gold collar known as the Gleninsheen Gorget; the 8th-century Ardagh Chalice, a two-handled silver cup with gold filigree ornamentation; the bronze-coated, iron St. Patrick's Bell, the oldest surviving example (5th-8th centuries) of Irish metalwork; the 8th-century Tara Brooch, an intricately decorated piece made of white bronze, amber, and glass; and the 12th-century bejeweled oak Cross of Cong, covered with silver and bronze panels. The Road to Independence Room containts artifacts from the 1916 Easter Rising and the 1919-1921 War of Independence, including uniforms, weapons, banners, and a piece of the flag that flew over the General Post Office, held by the rebels during Easter Week 1916. There is also a Viking exhibit that includes weapons, leather work, a Viking skeleton, and a small Viking ship.

Dublin Writers Museum

This unique museum is in a magnificently restored 18th Century townhouse, once the home of John Jameson of the Jameson Whisky family, north of Parnell Square. The exhibition centers on the Gallery of Writers, an enormous drawing room gorgeously decorated with paintings, Adamesque plasterwork, and a deep Edwardian lincrusta frieze. Rare manuscripts, diaries, posters, letters, limited and first editions, photographs, and other mementos commemorate the lives and works of Ireland’s greatest writers. Those writers include Joyce, Shaw, J. M. Synge, Lady Gregory, Yeats, Beckett, and others. An 1804 edition of Swift's Gulliver's Travels, an 1899 first edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and an 1899 edition of Wilde's Ballad of Reading Gaol are included in the display. There's a "Teller of Tales" exhibit showcasing Behan, O'Flaherty, and O'Faoláin

National Gallery of Ireland

This museum is one of the finest smaller art museums in the world. It contains 2500 painting and 10,000 other works of art, including Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ, Reynolds's First Earl of Bellamont, Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid, Rembrandt's Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Poussin's The Holy Family and Lamentation over the Dead Christ, and Goya's Portrait of Doña Antonia Zárate. The highlight of a visit to the gallery is an exhibition of famous Irish painting from between the 17th and 20th Centuries, including works by Roderic O'Conor, Sir William Orpen, and William Leech.

Visiting Dublin

Dublin is accessible by plane or by ferry from Britain or the Continent. The city has a good bus service. However taxis are rare and expensive when they are available. Some people just walk through the city.

Dublin is filled with monuments. These include the Irish Famine Memorial, a bronze representation of six figures, the Molly Malone Statue (known as the “tart with a cart”), the statue of James Joyce across the street from the General Post Office, and the statue of Parnell on O’Connell Street.

No visit to Dublin is complete without at least one stop at one of the many pubs. It’s traditional to buy everyone a round of drinks, which will make a visitor quite a few instant friends.