While Dublin is the Irish capital and for many years it was considered the second city in the British empire, Dublin was actually founded by the Vikings. In 838, a large Viking fleet under the Norwegian sea king Turgeis (Thorgils) entered the River Liffey and established a land base for their operations. By 841 they had established a permanent base in the area. Turgeis arranged marriages and alliances with the Irish rulers.
The Irish called the Viking bases longphorts. This is a word which was created by the Irish monks who combined the Latin words “longus” (long boat or ship) and “portus” (harbor). The longphorts were originally built to serve as camps for raiding parties. These fortified camps would usually be established along rivers at sites which were sheltered, easily defended, and provided immediate access to the sea.
In 852, a large Norwegian fleet under Olaf the White arrived in Ireland. Olaf defeated the Danes and sealed an alliance with the Irish royal family of Meath. Olaf and his brother Ivar consolidated an effective Scandinavian kingdom in Dublin. This new kingdom was focused primarily on sea trade and did not expand inland. At this time the primary exports from Ireland were hides, salted meat, and slaves. Dublin became a permanent and important Viking trading place in Ireland. For nearly three centuries, the Vikings, or Ostmen as they called themselves, ruled Dublin.
There is some evidence of a pre-Viking Christian ecclesiastical settlement in the area which was known as Duiblinn. In 841, the Viking settlement was known as Dyflin, the Norse version of Duiblinn. The name referred to the dark tidal pool where the River Poddle entered the Liffey. Somewhat farther up river was a Celtic settlement known as Áth Cliath. In Irish (Gaelic) today, the city is called Baile Átha Cliath which means “Town of the Hurdled Ford.”
Modern Dublin:
During the 1990s, the Celtic Tiger economic boom transformed the city with the construction of new office blocks and apartment buildings.
Today, Dublin is a modern city with a population of 1.6 million people—about one-fourth of the total population of the republic.
Architecture and Buildings:
Since the 1980s, there has been a greater awareness of the need to preserve Dublin’s architectural heritage. This includes the Georgian style which was popular from 1720 to 1840 during the reigns of George I, George II, George III, and George IV. Some of Dublin’s finest Georgian architecture was destroyed in the twentieth century as this architecture was a reminder of the past British imperialism.
One of the preserved and revitalized areas is the Temple Bar area which has maintained its original medieval street plan. Today this is Dublin’s cultural quarter and its center for small arts productions, artists’ studios, and street performers. Temple Bar takes its name from the fact that 300 years ago this was the city’s waterfront: a bar was a loading dock along the river and the Temple family was a prominent merchant family.
The photograph above shows part of the Temple Bar area.
Public Art:
Like many cities, Dublin has a great deal of public art, including statues of historic figures such as Oscar Wilde (one of many noted writers associated with the city), Daniel O’Connell (founder of the Catholic Association), Phil Lynott (from the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy), and James Larkin (a trade unionist). These statues are often tourist attractions with many tourists posing for pictures with them. The 390-foot tall, stainless steel Millennium Spire on O’Connell Street is not a memorial to anything, but is the tallest work of public art in the word. Shown below are some examples of Dublin’s public art.
River Liffey:
Modern Dublin is still defined by the River Liffey. In general the area north of the river is seen as working class, while the area south of the river is seen as middle to upper middle class.
Traffic, Streets:
By 1700, Dublin had a population of 60,000, making it the second largest city in the British Empire. Dublin began the 18th century with a street system similar to that of Paris, but during this century it underwent major rebuilding. During this time, the Wide Streets Commission demolished many of the narrow medieval streets and replaced them with larger Georgian Streets. O’Connell Street was widened into a 45-yard-wide promenade.
Today, it is still apparent that Dublin’s streets were not laid out for automobiles, but for pedestrians and ox carts. The streets today are narrow by American standards, they twist and turn as they follow the ancient foot trails and cow trails, and they are crowded with busses, cars, and pedestrians. Many of the long Dublin Streets change their names every few blocks. In referring to driving in Dublin, the travel guide Dublin reports:
“Driving in Dublin is not recommended for much of the day, particularly in the city centre. Traffic can be heavy and there is an extensive one-way system, which some say is explicitly designed to make it very difficult for cars to enter the city centre.”
Rick Steves’ Ireland puts it this way:
“Trust me: You don’t want to drive in downtown Dublin.”
Street Performers:
Street musicians—buskers—are common in Dublin. Below are some photos of some of the musicians.