Dublin Castle (Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath)

For 700 years the seat of British rule, now a ceremonial heart of the State.

Founded by the Normans around 1204 on a Viking site, Dublin Castle was the centre of English and British power in Ireland until 1922. Today it hosts State ceremonies and presidential inaugurations amid its Georgian State Apartments.

At a glance

• Norman castle, founded c. 1204
• Seat of British rule until 1922
• Now used for State ceremonies

In County Dublin

Dublin Castle is in County Dublin, Baile Átha Cliath in Irish, which means “town of the hurdled ford (“Dublin” is from Dubh Linn, “black pool”)”.

More in Dublin

• The River Liffey (An Life): The river that flows through the heart of Dublin, spanned by the city's famous bridges.
• Howth Head (Binn Éadair): A rugged peninsula and fishing village guarding the north of Dublin Bay.
• Phoenix Park (Páirc an Fhionnuisce): One of the largest enclosed city parks in Europe, home to a wild deer herd.

Other places of this kind

• The Cliffs of Moher (Aillte an Mhothair): Sea cliffs located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region.
• Newgrange (Sí an Bhrú): A prehistoric monument in County Meath, older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
• The Giant's Causeway (Clochán an Aifir): Around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the Antrim coast, a UNESCO site wrapped in the legend of Finn McCool.
• Glendalough (Gleann Dá Loch): A beautiful glacial valley of two lakes, home to one of Ireland's most important early monastic settlements.
• The Rock of Cashel (Carraig Phádraig): A dramatic outcrop crowned with medieval buildings, once the seat of the kings of Munster.
• Clonmacnoise (Cluain Mhic Nóis): A great early monastery on the banks of the Shannon, once a renowned centre of learning.

The Irish name

The Irish form of Dublin Castle is Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.