Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Georgian Dublin & the Golden Age
Following the Restoration of 1660 and the coronation of Charles II (r 1660-85), Dublin
embarked upon a century of unparalleled development and essentially waved two fingers at
the rest of Ireland, which was being brought to its knees. In 1690 the rest of Ireland backed
the losing side when it took up arms for the Catholic king of England, James II (r
1685-1688), who was ultimately defeated by the Protestant William of Orange at the Battle
of the Boyne, not far from Dublin, in 1690.
William's victory ushered in the punitive Penal Code, which stripped Catholics of most
basic rights in a single, sweeping legislative blow. Again, however, the country's misfor-
tune proved the capital's gain as the city was flooded with landless refugees willing to
work for a pittance.
With plenty of cash to go around and an eagerness to live in a city that reflected their
new-found wealth, the Protestant nobility overhauled Dublin during the reigns of the four
Georges (1714-1830). Speculators bought up swaths of land and commissioned substantial
projects of urban renewal, including the creation of new streets, the laying out of city parks
and the construction of magnificent new buildings and residences.
It was impossible to build in the heart of the medieval city, so the nouveau riche moved
north across the river, creating a new Dublin of stately squares surrounded by fine Georgi-
an mansions. The elegantly made-over Dublin became the second city in the British Empire
and the fifth largest in Europe.
Dublin's teeming, mostly Catholic, slums soon spread north in pursuit of the rich, who
turned back south to grand new homes around Merrion Sq, St Stephen's Green and Fitzwil-
liam Sq.
The end of the 17th century saw an influx of Huguenot weavers, who settled in Dublin after fleeing anti-
Protestant legislation in France and established a successful cloth industry, largely in the Liberties, that
helped fuel the city's growth.
