Dublin Castle

Address	Castle Street and Dublin West (Best entrance is Cork Hill Gate, just west of City Hall)
Admission	€4.50
Hours	Open 10am–5pm M–F / Open 2–5pm
Phone	+353-1-677-7129

Dublin Castle symbolizes Britain’s rule over Ireland for nearly seven centuries until it was handed over to the new Irish Free State in 1922. Built by a Norman king in 1204, the castle stands in the heart of the city on the site of an old Viking settlement with its murky black pool of water which gave its name to the city, “Dubh Linn.” Much of the Castle was rebuilt after a fire in 1684.

Surrounded by high walls and a moat, Dublin Castle was built to withstand a major battle. Fortunately, the Castle grounds only saw minor attacks like the Kildare Rebellion and the Easter Rising in 1916, when 50 insurgents died at the Castle’s walls.

Visitors can tour a portion of the former Viking fortress, called Undercroft, the Royal Chapel, and The State Apartments. Originally used as the court’s residential quarters, it is now the main venue for official functions like the Presidential Inauguration.

The best views of Castle are behind the complex on the Irish-knot lawn near the Chester Beatty Library. There is no fee to tour the grounds so take a look around and keep your eye out for sculpted faces that adorn doorways and the Scales of Justice, a statue that symbolically has its back turned on city.