Dublin began as a Viking harbour, spent seven centuries as the seat of English and then British rule, and became the capital of an independent Ireland in 1922. Two medieval cathedrals and a castle sit within a few minutes' walk of each other, and almost every street has a writer attached to it. Here are the facts and stories behind the city.
10 fun facts about Dublin
- A name from a black pool: Dublin comes from the Irish Dubh Linn, meaning black pool, after a dark tidal pool where the River Poddle met the Liffey. Vikings set up a settlement here in 841.
- A Viking king's cathedral: Christ Church Cathedral was founded around 1030 by the Norse king Sitric Silkbeard. Its crypt is one of the largest medieval crypts in Britain and Ireland.
- A cat and a rat, frozen in a chase: the crypt of Christ Church displays the mummified bodies of a cat and a rat said to have been found stuck in an organ pipe. James Joyce mentions the pair in Finnegans Wake.
- Gulliver's dean: St Patrick's Cathedral was founded in 1191. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, was its dean from 1713 until his death in 1745 and is buried inside, next to his companion Stella.
- Seven centuries of power: King John ordered a castle to be built in Dublin in 1204. On 16 January 1922 Dublin Castle was handed over to Michael Collins and the Provisional Government of the new Irish state.
- Justice with her back to the people: the statue of Justice above the castle's main gate faces into the castle yard, turning her back on the city, and unusually she wears no blindfold.
- A very long lease: in 1759 Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on a small brewery at St James's Gate.
- A bridge named after its toll: the cast-iron Ha'penny Bridge opened in 1816. Its nickname comes from the halfpenny toll once charged to cross the Liffey.
- A spire where a pillar stood: the Spire on O'Connell Street, completed in 2003, is 120 metres tall. It stands on the site of Nelson's Pillar, which was blown up in 1966.
- A city of writers: Dublin became a UNESCO City of Literature in 2010. Every 16 June, fans celebrate Bloomsday, the day in 1904 on which Joyce set his novel Ulysses.
The Door of Reconciliation
In 1492 two powerful Irish families, the Butlers of Ormond and the FitzGeralds of Kildare, were feuding over who would hold the office of Lord Deputy. After a skirmish outside the city walls, the Butlers fled into the chapter house of St Patrick's Cathedral and barred the door. Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare, followed and called on them to come out and make peace, but they feared a trap. To prove his good faith, he had a hole cut in the door and pushed his arm through it, offering his hand. Instead they shook it, came out, and the families made peace. The battered old door now stands in the cathedral, and the story is the origin of the Irish expression to chance your arm.
Dublin Castle, explained
For about 700 years Dublin Castle was the centre of English and later British government in Ireland. Little of the medieval fortress survives above ground apart from the Record Tower; most of what you see is Georgian. Irish presidents are inaugurated in its St Patrick's Hall. Behind it, the Dubh Linn Garden lies roughly where the original black pool was, and the Chester Beatty library and museum stands in the castle grounds.
What to eat in Dublin
- Dublin coddle: a slow-cooked stew of sausages, bacon, potatoes and onions, the city's own comfort food.
- Irish stew: lamb or mutton with potatoes, onions and carrots, served in many pubs around the cathedrals.
- Guinness: the stout has been brewed at St James's Gate since 1759. The Gravity Bar at the top of the Guinness Storehouse has views across the city.
- Brown soda bread: a dense, slightly sour bread made with buttermilk and baking soda instead of yeast.
- Seafood chowder: a creamy soup of fish and shellfish from the Irish Sea, often served with brown bread.
Good to know before you go
- To see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, book a timed ticket in advance. The Old Library and its Long Room are due to close for restoration at the end of 2027.
- St Patrick's and Christ Church charge an entry fee for sightseeing. Services are free.
- The courtyards of Dublin Castle are free to walk through; the State Apartments need a ticket and can close for official events.
- For a day by the sea, take the DART train north to Howth for its cliff walk and fishing harbour, or south to Dún Laoghaire for its long piers.
Explore Dublin with World City Trail
Our Dublin scavenger hunt turns these sights into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around three hours, with about 59 minutes of walking. Along the way you visit St Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral and Dublin Castle.
At each stop you solve a puzzle and hear a short story, at your own pace. You can start whenever you like.
Play the Dublin scavenger hunt →
Facts checked in October 2026.