Dublin Castle was founded in 1204 by order of King John who wanted a fortress built for the administration of the city. The castle was placed on high ground to the east of the city. It was originally protected by the Poddle river (now underground) which was later used to fill a moat around the walls. Most of what's left of the castle, however, was built (or rebuilt) in the 18th century. The Castle served as the seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922. Now it's used primarily as an international conference venue and tourist spot, although all Irish presidents are inaugurated there, in the State Apartments.
I started with a walk around the outer areas:
Norman Record Tower and Chapel Royal,
last intact original tower in the Castle
Coach House and Dubh Linn Garden
("dubh linn" = "sheltered dark pool", once located here)
Bedford Tower
Bedford Tower statue (right)
Bedford Tower statue (left)
Then I headed into the State Apartments for a guided tour:
| one of many decorative chairs | ceiling of the Apollo Room |
| decorative table (made with 16 kinds of wood, if memory serves) | the Clock Room |
| State Corridor | State Drawing Room |
| Throne Room (throne was out) | 1.5-ton gold chandelier |
| gold chandelier closeup | Portrait Gallery, left |
| Potrait Gallery, right (convex mirrors so king could see all diners at dinner from seat in front of fireplace) | |
| St. Patrick's Hall | ceiling painting 1, St. Pat's Hall |
| ceiling painting 2, St. Pat's Hall | ceiling painting 3, St. Pat's Hall |
| Undercroft (base of Powder Tower) | sealed water gate in Undercroft (to prevent rats from getting in during plague times) |
Following the tour, I headed out to meet up with JP for lunch.