What Is Behind These Closed Doors?
By Dr Sinéad McCoole, Curator of '100 Years of Women in Politics and Public Life'
What Is Behind These Closed Doors?
We will be bringing you insights into this layered building with the complicated history, where nothing is as it seems… State Apartments Hall, Stairs & Landing By Dr Aidan O’Boyle, Guide & Information Officer Prior to the 19th century, the Staircase...
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...
Why Was James Connolly’s Family Prevented from Emigrating to the United States in 1916?
By Dr James Curry, Guide & Information Officer Photograph of Lillie Connolly with four of her daughters featured on a display in the James Connolly Room at Dublin Castle’s State Apartments, which was formerly part of the 2016 In the Shadow of the Castle: Dublin...
The Theft of the Irish Crown Jewels
By Jennifer Duffy, Guide & Information Officer The Irish Crown Jewels consist of a star (decorated with Brazilian diamonds, its centre featuring an emerald trefoil and ruby cross on a blue enamel background), a diamond badge and five gold jewel-encrusted collars....
Dublin Castle and the Great Hunger
By Dervilia Roche, Guide & Education Officer Here at Dublin Castle, we have been delighted to host the Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger exhibition over the last few months, with visitors enjoying the exhibition in their hundreds every day. The collection,...
What Did James Connolly Have in his Pockets after the Easter Rising?
By Dr James Curry, Guide & Information Officer The James Connolly Room at Dublin Castle’s State Apartments, March 2018 (Photograph by James Curry) Dedicated as it is to the life and death of one of the leaders of the Easter Rising, the James Connolly...
The Irish Sword of State
By William Derham, Collections, Research & Interpretation The Irish Sword of State that we know today is a remarkable object, both as a work of craftsmanship and as a tantalising witness to history. As representations of power, derived from military ability,...
St Patrick’s Day 1789: The ‘Fancy Ball’ at Dublin Castle
By Dr Myles Campbell, Collections, Research & Interpretation As darkness fell over Dublin on 17 March 1789, the inhabitants of the city were getting ready for a spectacle. According to reports, it would be a night they would never forget. The mastermind behind...
From the Crown Jewels to the Liam MacCarthy Cup
By Dr Myles Campbell, Collections, Research & Interpretation On 9 November 1849, Queen Victoria awoke to a surprise. Waiting to be unwrapped were two gifts from her husband, Prince Albert, which he had purchased during their visit to Dublin three months earlier....
16 January 1922: Remembering the Handover of Dublin Castle to Michael Collins
by William Derham, Research & Collections Ninety-six 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...
