The Final Handover
In a year full of commemorative centenary events, 17 August is not one date that stands out immediately. However, it was significant in the life of Dublin Castle and for Ireland as a whole. On that day, 100 years ago, the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) finally...
Johann Sigismond Cousser: a Hungarian Musician in Ireland
'Sing an English aria from time to time. This pleases them very much’- Johann Sigismond Cousser: a Hungarian Musician in Ireland by Peter Whelan, Artistic Director, Irish Baroque Orchestra Although almost entirely unknown today, Johann Sigismond Cousser was probably...
The Destruction of the Public Record Office, 1922 – a view from Dublin Castle
Text by William Derham. The Bedford Tower dominates the Upper Castle Yard of Dublin Castle and in 1922 it was home to the Office of Ulster King of Arms, the heraldic authority of all Ireland. The Office comprised myriad functions connected to genealogy, heraldry, pomp...
16 January 1922: Remembering the Handover of Dublin Castle to Michael Collins
by William Derham, Research & Collections One hundred years ago, on 16 January 1922, an event that The Irish Independent described as ‘certainly the most significant event in Irish history for hundreds of years’, took place on a cold Monday at...
A Prisoner’s Christmas at Dublin Castle, 1920
One hundred and one years ago this month, as the War of Independence continued to unfold across the island of Ireland, Christmas approached. It may seem strange to consider Christmas during a time of conflict, not least an historic one that has left such bitterness...
The Forgotten Visit
by Bronagh Dempsey, Curator of 'Famous Faces' For centuries now, Dublin Castle has played host to many visitors from around the world. These visitors included royalty, presidents, prime ministers, poets, writers, athletes and other key figures. The exhibition ‘Famous...
What Colour Is Metal?
What Colour is Metal? exhibition captures a vital time in studio metalsmithing and patination. Long-time leaders who have wholly altered the terrain continue to push boundaries of their materials, as the mid-career metalsmiths whom they trained forge new directions, and new generations of makers bring fresh approaches to the conversation.
Look Who’s ‘Rumping’ Now
By Antonella Guarracino, Guide & Information Officer Dublin Castle houses a unique and varied art collection that often surprises its visitors. Most of the historic artworks are exhibited in the State Apartments, originally built as a residence for the British...
21 November 1920 – Bloody Sunday
By William Derham, Collections, Research & Interpretation It can be hard to gain a good picture of Dublin Castle sometimes. Metaphorically speaking, it looms large in the story of Ireland’s struggle for independence and yet relatively little has been written about...
A Bag From 100 Years Ago
For persons with dementia, their families, friends and carers. Countess Markievicz’s despatch bag – Engaging people with dementia An object that speaks volumes, in more ways than one… This object, the first in our on-line series of engagement for persons with...
Halloween in Old Ireland
By Caoimhe Creed, Guide & Information Officer Farmers and Druids Halloween has its roots in the Celtic Festival of Samhain. This was the division between the lighter half of the year and the darker half of the year. Samhain is the Irish word for the month of...
1920 and beyond – Irish Trailblazers, National and Transnational
With Dr Kate O’Malley and Dr Ann Marie O’Brien With an introduction and closure by Dr Sinead McCoole, curator of the Pop up Museum ‘100 Years of Women in Politics and Public Life’ at the Coach House of Dublin castle, currently running on line. Listen to...
Social Distancing at Dublin Castle, 1832
By William Derham, Collections, Research & Interpretation In these times of Covid-19, with its restrictions and lockdowns, it can be easy, when searching for a word to describe the uncharted situation we find ourselves in, to reach for “unprecedented” – never...
“Brilliant Star, Brilliant badge, Gold Badge, ORDER OF ST PATRICK, for the use of The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.”
By William Derham, Curator of 'Splendour & Scandal: The Office of Arms at Dublin Castle'. So reads the engraved lettering on the oval brass plate of an otherwise nondescript mahogany and brass-bound box. It is no bigger than a biscuit tin, and to some eyes little...
100 Years of Women in Politics and Public Life: Objects in Focus
Countess de Markievicz’s Despatch Bag Audio-description of Countess Markievicz’s Despatch Bag. Commentary by the curator Sinéad McCoole. Commentary by curator Sinéad McCoole interpreted in Irish Sign Language I had no idea that she belonged to “the...
The Clock Tower Building & The State Stables
By Dr Aidan O’Boyle, Guide & Information Officer The Clock Tower Building, now the Chester Beatty Library. The Clock Tower Building is located directly behind the State Apartments, it is bounded to the east by the Castle Gardens and to the west by the Ship Street...
The Bedford Tower, Castle Gates & Guard House
By Dr Aidan O’Boyle, Guide & Information Officer By the middle of the 18th century most the Upper Castle Yard either had already been, or was in the process of being, rebuilt. In February 1750 the Surveyor General, Arthur Jones Neville, sent a memorial to the...
Ship’s Biscuits in Ship Street Barracks
By Anna Caffrey, Guide & Information Officer Ship Street Barracks and the Rising Nestled in the south-west corner of Dublin Castle are the brick clad buildings of Ship Street Barracks. Four of the buildings were originally built around the 1750s and were converted...
1916 In and around Dublin Castle: People and Places that made History
In our work, the business of buildings is inextricable from the business of history. In 1916, fighting broke out at the castle gates and the adjacent City Hall. James Connolly and Kathleen Lynn were brought here after their arrest and other key figures of the Rising...
The Royal Exchange, now Dublin City Hall
By Dr Aidan O’Boyle, Guide & Information Officer Dublin City Hall, previously known as the Royal Exchange, was built between 1769 and 1779. It stands on the site formerly occupied by Cork House and Lucas’s Coffee-House. Following the death of the Great Earl of...
Beware of the Risen People
By Muireann Walsh, Guide & Information Officer This year Poetry Day Ireland is inviting us to share, read and celebrate poetry at home and online. Here at Dublin Castle we have decided to put our own twist on the theme ‘There will be time’. Seeing as Poetry Day...
State Apartments: The State Drawing Room
By Dr Aidan O’Boyle, Guide & Information Officer The State Drawing Room has a complex architectural history. The north facing rooms of the south east range overlooking the Upper Castle Yard were originally built by the Surveyor General, William Molyneux, in...
Viceregal Apartments & Apollo Room
By Dr Aidan O’Boyle, Guide & Information Officer As previously stated, during the late 1750s the last great phase of rebuilding work at Dublin Castle was begun. It doubled the depth of the south east range and included the State Corridor and all the rooms to the...
State Apartments: State Corridor, Connolly Room & Annex
By Dr Aidan O’Boyle, Guide & Information Officer Leaving the Battle-Axe Landing the visitor turns right and enters a small annex lit by an oval lantern decorated with a frieze of delicate husk garlands in the Neoclassical Style. From the lantern hangs an...
100 Years of Women in Politics and Public Life
By Dr Sinéad McCoole, Curator of '100 Years of Women in Politics and Public Life' Curated by Dr Sinéad McCoole, the Commemorations Unit shines a light on the major influence that women have had on the formation of modern-day Ireland, acknowledging and raising...
State Apartments: Hall, Stairs & Landing
By Dr Aidan O’Boyle, Guide & Information Officer Prior to the 19th century, the Staircase Hall was the Entrance Hall to the State Apartments, while the present Entrance Hall with its screens of Doric columns, was originally an open vestibule. The central...
11 June 1924: Opening Ireland’s Law Courts
By Evan McGuigan, Guide & Information Officer When it comes to Dublin landmarks, none are more synonymous with the Irish judicial system than the Four Courts. Located on Inns Quay, it has housed Ireland’s law courts since 1802 and remains a key feature of the...
The Birth of Modernism in Irish Art 1920 – 1960
By David Britton, Curator of 'The Birth of Modernism in Irish Art 1920 – 1960’ Isolated on the Western fringes of Europe it took time for the influence of early 20th century European developments in art to reach these shores. This exhibition explores the development...
Why does the Surface Matter?
By Liz Cooper, Independent curator and Development Manager for Design-Nation Every two years the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland convenes an international panel of craft and design experts to select the best contemporary craft and design of Irish origin. In...
Our Profound Politician: Charlotte, Countess Spencer and the (Victorian) Glass Ceiling
By Emily Ternent, Dublin Castle Collections Intern, 2018 In the days before Irish independence, the vicereines of Ireland were the wives of the country’s Lords Lieutenant, or viceroys, who represented the British monarch at Dublin Castle. An understanding of the role...
A Look Back at 2018 – A Busy Year at Dublin Castle
By Aisling Gaffney, Event Manager, Dublin Castle 2018 was one of the busiest years we have had to date, with over 431,000 visitors, 8 exhibitions and 300 + events taking place throughout the Dublin Castle complex. Before we plunge in to 2019 – this blog entry will...
The Neapolitan Crib at the Chapel Royal: Interview with artist Bruno Perchiazzi
By Antonella Guarracino, Guide & Information Officer This Christmas season, visitors to Dublin Castle will once again be able to see an eighteenth-century-style Neapolitan Crib in the peaceful surroundings of the Chapel Royal. In October I interviewed Bruno...
Presidential Inaugurations at Dublin Castle
By Evan McGuigan, Guide & Information Officer Next month, Ireland’s 14th presidential inauguration will take place in Dublin Castle, with the victor of the forthcoming election due to be officially sworn into office in St Patrick’s Hall. This venue has been used...
From Presentation to Pioneer – Averil Deverell and Dublin Castle
By Liz Goldthorpe Averil Katherine Statter Deverell (1893-1979) was the first woman to practise as a barrister in Ireland, but what was she doing in Dublin Castle? As the Anglo-Irish daughter of William Deverell, Clerk of the Crown and Peace for Co. Wicklow, it was to...
The Pope in Ireland, Then and Now
By Christiaan Feehan, Event Manager, Dublin Castle I remember when I moved to Dublin in 2006 I would go running in the Phoenix Park and think to myself how strange that they had randomly erected a cross in its centre. It was only a few years later I found out about...
Understanding the Derek Hill Collection
By Adrian Kelly, Curator of ‘Derek Hill and the view from Donegal’ The Glebe Art Museum in Co. Donegal opened in 1984 and is a wonderful place to work. Curators have a strange old life, it’s quite vocational and we talk about ‘our’ collections as if we own them. As...
