Tourist attractions Dublin

This sober library (1712-1732) is by Thomas Burgh, chief engineer and surveyor general. The wonderful treasury includes some of the library’s most important works including the extraordinary Book of Kells , and illuminated manuscript on vellum (c 80..

Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968) established one of the most beautiful collections of Islamic and Far Eastern art in the world. A small part of it is permanently exhibited in a building on the edge of the gardens of Dublin Castle. It includes ..

The castle was the seat of power of the British Crown for seven centuries until 1922; many prisoners languished in its dungeons and severed heads were displayed at is gates. At the urban heart of Dublin, it has evolved from an imposing fortress into ..

With its combination of Romanesque and Early English Gothic styles, the cathedral, the seat of the Anglican archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough, and the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Southern Province of the Church of Ireland, second only to Armagh,..

The old Irish Parliament was bought by the Bank of Ireland . The customer counters are in the old House of Commons , its ceiling decorated with lion heads; the old House of Lords has remained as Inigo Jones designed it with its beautiful coffere..

Trinity College , sometimes referred to by the initials TCD, was founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I, and was exclusively for Anglicans until the end of the 18C. Women were admitted in 1903. Among its famous students are the writers Swift, Wilde, Stocke..

Not much remains of the original 12C church built close to the fountain (rediscovered in 1901) where the patron saint of Ireland is said to have baptised his first followers. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), the most famous Dean of Saint Patrick's, lies ..

The first public library in Ireland was built in 1701 by archbishop Narcissus Marsh . There are 25 000 volumes here: four benefactors including the founder himself allowed works relating to the sciences and mathematics to be kept here, along with te..

The delicate cast-iron footbridge uniting the two banks of the Liffey was named Wellington Bridge when it was built in 1816, but the people referred to it as Halfpenny Bridge due to the toll which was levied until 1919.

The most elegant of Dublin's shopping streets is now a pedestrian precinct. In the 19C it was paved with pine blocks to soften the noise of the carriage wheels. Bewley's Oriental Café with its mosaic façade and stained glass windows by Henry Clarke..

The two restored 18C houses are named after Cardinal Newman , the first rector of University College, who lived here when the college was founded in 1854. The smaller house has a marble tiled floor and a Cuban mahogany staircase and the original dec..

The centre dedicated to music ( Ceol in Gaelic) is surprising for its abundance of interactive resources and electronic systems applied to traditional music. All regions are represented with their own traditions, musicians and instruments. Make sure..

Purpose-built in 1890, the museum houses the country's archaeological collections. An audiovisual presentation helps put into context the masterpieces of Irish art displayed in the Treasury , with precious objects ranging from the Bronze Age to the ..

The National Gallery has one of Europe’s best collections displayed in a building which has been successively extended since its opening in 1864. The Irish art (17C-20C) is of course exceptional (see the room devoted to Jack Yeats, brother of the poe..

One of the two sites of the National Museum of Ireland (the other being on Kildare Street ), Collins Barracks (1700) used to house 3 000 men and 1 000 horses, and was in its time the largest barracks in the British Isles. The displays cover decora..

With its dome and its long façade, the old Custom House, built in 1791 by James Gandon, is one of Dublin’s great monuments. The building was severely damaged by fire in 1921 but was subsequently restored. Behind the south portico, virtually unchanged..

A touching reminder of the days of the Great Famine, this is an exact replica of the tall ship, which was initially built in Quebec in 1847. Owned by a family of timber merchants, it transported timber across the Atlantic from Canada and brought back..

The old Kilmainham prison is a place of remembrance symbolising English oppression and the Irish spirit of resistance. Most nationalists were imprisoned here between 1792 and 1924. Souvenirs, photographs, letters and press cuttings, exhibited in th..

This castle was granted in 1777 to Richard Talbot, who arrived in Ireland with Henry II. It remained in the Talbot family for 791 years, except for a seven-year period (1653-1660) when it was taken over by Cromwell. The mansion grew from a 14C tower,..

The first great Palladian mansion to be built in Ireland (1722), Castletown House faces south over the Liffey Valley towards the Wicklow Mountains. The central building (13 bays), was designed by the Florentine Alessandro Galilei (1691-1737) and is c..