Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lection of books, including some carved from jade. A graceful Sumatran book, written on
tree-barkpages,isboundsothatitunfoldslikeanaccordion—yetanotherexampleofgreat
ingenuity in presenting the written word.
The first Georgian building in this very Georgian city stands proudly overlooking Dame
Street, in front of the gate to Dublin Castle. Built in 1779 as the Royal Exchange, it intro-
duced the Georgian style (then very popular in Britain and on the Continent) to Ireland.
Step inside (it's free) to feel the prosperity and confidence of Dublin in her 18th-century
glory days. In 1852, this building became the City Hall. Under the grand rotunda, a cycle
of heroic paintings tells the city's history. (The mosaics on the floor convey such homilies
as “Obedience makes the happiest citizenry.”)
Pay your respects to the 18-foot-tall statue of Daniel O'Connell, the great orator and
liberator who, in 1829, won emancipation for Catholics in Ireland from the much-despised
Protestants over in London. The body of modern Irish rebel leader Michael Collins lay in
state here after his assassination in 1922. The greeter sits like the Maytag repairman at the
information desk, eager to give you more information. Downstairs is the excellent
Story of
the Capital
exhibition, which has storyboards and video clips of Dublin's history.
Cost and Hours:
€4, free audioguide, coffee shop, Mon-Sat 10:00-16:00, closed Sun,
tel. 01/222-2204,
www.dublincity.ie
.
Because of Dublin's English past (particularly Henry VIII's Reformation, which led to the
dissolution of the Catholic monasteries in both Ireland and England in 1539), neither of
its top two churches is Catholic. Christ Church Cathedral and nearby St. Patrick's Cathed-
ral are both Church of Ireland (Anglican). In the late 19th century, the cathedrals under-
went extensive restoration. The rich Guinness brewery family forked out the dough to try
to make St. Patrick's Cathedral outshine Christ Church—whose patrons were the equally
rich, rival Jameson family ofdistillery fame. However,in Catholic Ireland, these Anglican
sights feel hollow, and they're more famous than visit-worthy.
Occupying the same site as the first wooden church built on this spot by King Sitric in late
Viking times (c. 1030), the present structure is a mix of periods: Norman and Gothic, but
mostlyVictorianNeo-Gothic(1870srestorationwork).Insideyou'llfindthereputedtomb
of the Norman warlord Strongbow, who led the thin edge of the English military wedge
that eventually dominated Ireland for centuries. This oldest building in Dublin has an un-
