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Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
is Ireland's oldest known settlement. It is also the largest and most populous urban centre in the country, a position it has held continuously since first rising to prominence in the 10th century (with the exception of a brief period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it was temporarily eclipsed by
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
). The historic town grew up on the southern bank of the
River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...
, a few kilometres upstream from the river's outfall into Dublin Bay. The original settlement was situated on a ridge overlooking a shallow
ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
in the river, which had probably been a regular crossing-point since earliest times. The bedrock underlying the city is
calp Calpe () or Calp () is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foot ...
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
, a dark shaly
sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
which was once quarried locally and whose mottled grey appearance can still be seen today in some of the city's oldest buildings. Overlying this is a layer of much looser
boulder clay Boulder clay is an unsorted agglomeration of clastic sediment that is unstratified and structureless and contains gravel of various sizes, shapes, and compositions distributed at random in a fine-grained matrix. The fine-grained matrix consists o ...
of varying thickness. It is no accident that Dublin became the principal city in Ireland. It is located on the island's only significant coastal plain, which not only forms a natural gateway to the rest of the country but also looks out towards the country's closest and most influential neighbour, Great Britain. Furthermore, Dublin Bay provided early settlers with a substantial and easily defended harbour, protected to some extent by treacherous sandbanks, shallows and
mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...
s, and overlooked by the twin sentinels of
Howth Head Howth Head ( ; ''Ceann Bhinn Éadair'' in Irish) is a peninsula northeast of the city of Dublin in Ireland, within the governance of Fingal County Council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while the village of Howth and the harbour are ...
and
Killiney Hill Killiney Hill ( ga, Cnoc Chill Iníon Léinín) is the southernmost of the two hills which form the southern boundary of Dublin Bay, the other being Dalkey Hill. These two hills form part of Killiney Hill Park. Crowned by a monument, Killiney H ...
.


Early history

The first known inhabitants of the Dublin region were hunter-gatherers living during the Later Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age, around 5500 BC. Shell
midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and eco ...
s,
fish trap A fish trap is a trap used for fishing. Fish traps include fishing weirs, lobster traps, and some fishing nets such as fyke nets. Traps are culturally almost universal and seem to have been independently invented many times. There are two ma ...
s and occupation debris, which have been found at a number of locations on and around the shores of Dublin Bay (most notably at Sutton, on Dalkey Island), at the Diageo site at Victoria Quay and at Spencer Dock, which is situated along the northern quays, near the mouth of the River Liffey, indicate that these early settlers lived off the sea. The first farmers appeared in the
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
, or New Stone Age, shortly after 4000 BC. These were the first to erect
megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...
ic monuments and evidence of their culture survives in the burial
cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehi ...
s,
passage tomb A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...
s, portal tombs and wedge tombs that can still be seen in the Dublin Mountains and on the coastal lowlands just to the south of the modern city. Stone axes made of
porcellanite Porcellanite or ''porcelanite'', is a hard, dense rock somewhat similar in appearance to unglazed porcelain. It is often an impure variety of chert containing clay and calcareous matter. Porcellanite has been found, for example, in Northern Irela ...
from
County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population ...
or porphyry from
Lambay Island Lambay Island ( ga, Reachrainn), often simply Lambay, is an island in the Irish Sea off the coast of north County Dublin, Ireland. The largest island off the east coast of Ireland, it is offshore from the headland at Portrane, and is the east ...
have also been discovered at a number of sites in the Dublin region. Pottery too was first manufactured in Ireland during the Neolithic, one of the most noteworthy finds being a funerary bowl which was found in a burial site at
Drimnagh Drimnagh () is a suburb in Dublin, Ireland to the south of the city between Walkinstown, Crumlin and Inchicore, bordered by the Grand Canal to the north and east. Drimnagh is in postal district Dublin 12. History Early to mediaeval Dri ...
,
County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
. Around 2400 BC metal working made its first appearance in Ireland. Archaeological excavations in Suffolk Street have uncovered prehistoric copper axe-heads – the copper axe being the principal metal artifact during the earliest phase of Irish metallurgy (the so-called Knocknagur Phase, or
Copper Age The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and  ''líthos'', " stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...
, which lasted from 2400 to 2200 BC). The
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, which in Ireland is dated from 2200 to 600 BC, also left its mark on the Dublin region. A variety of bronze and gold artifacts which have been discovered in the vicinity of the modern city – among them cauldrons, side-blown horns, lock rings, sleeve fasteners, striated rings, hair rings and penannular bracelets – indicate a continuous or intermittent settlement of the area. In Ireland the commencement of the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
around 600 BC is generally believed to coincide with the first appearance in this country of Celtic-speaking peoples. There is little archaeological evidence to support the theory of a large-scale Celtic invasion (or series of invasions), but it is quite possible that small groups of migrants, highly skilled in the art of war and armed with superior iron weaponry, were powerful enough to gain a foothold in the island and eventually succeeded in subjugating or absorbing the pre-Celtic natives; in the 12th century of the Common Era small bands of heavily armed
Anglo-Normans The Anglo-Normans ( nrf, Anglo-Normaunds, ang, Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Normans, French, Anglo-Saxons, Flemings and Bretons, following the Norman conquest. A sma ...
did just this, so there is no conceivable reason why it could not also have happened in the pre-Christian era. Iron ores are widely distributed throughout Ireland – one of the country's two richest deposits is to be found in
County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by ...
, just a few days' walk from the Dublin region – but there is little archaeological evidence for an urban settlement on the site of the modern city during the
Early Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
(or Athlone Phase). Excavations at various locations in the region, however, do indicate intermittent occupation at scattered locations throughout this period (e.g. at Taylor's Grange in Rathfarnham, and at
Cherrywood Cherrywood () is a developing suburb of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Cabinteely, Loughlinstown and Rathmichael. It is located to the southeast of the city, in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The development commenced on a greenfield site in 1998 an ...
near Loughlinstown). Once associated with the Iron Age is the
ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wale ...
, or ''ráth'', a defensive formation generally consisting of one or more circular earthen embankments surrounded by a ditch. The existence of ringforts in the Dublin region may be deduced from the names of several of the modern city's suburbs:
Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...
,
Rathgar Rathgar (), is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It was originally a village which from 1862 was part of the township of Rathmines and Rathgar; it was absorbed by the growing city and became a suburb in 1930. It lies about three kilometres south of ...
, Rathfarnham (on the south side of the city) and
Raheny Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 CE ( Mervyn Archdall). The district shares Dublin's two largest municipal parks, Saint ...
(on the north side). There is also the village of Rathcoole, which lies to the southwest of the modern city. Needless to say the growth of the modern city has all but obliterated these structures, but excavation of ringforts in other parts of the country has sometimes revealed traces of earlier, pre-ringfort occupation of the same sites. In the Dublin hinterland, surviving ringforts are too numerous to mention individually, though a univallate ringfort at
Rathmichael Rathmichael () is a suburb south-east of Dublin, in the administration of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, near the southern border of the historic County Dublin. It is situated west of Shankill from which it is, roughly, separated by the M50/ M11 ...
(near Shankill to the southeast of the city) may be noted. The lowlying area to the northwest of the city is particularly rich in ringforts. It is now thought, however, that most of Ireland's ringforts date from the Christian era.


Pre-Viking Dublin

Although the site of the modern city of
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
has been occupied intermittently since the
Mesolithic The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...
era, it is not known when the first permanent settlement was established.
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
's description of Ireland, which was compiled around 140 AD but which may draw on much earlier accounts, was once thought to contain a reference to Dublin in
Eblana Eblana () is an ancient Irish settlement that appears in the ''Geographia'' of Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), the Greek astronomer and cartographer, around the year 140 AD. It was traditionally believed by scholars to refer to the same site as ...
, the name of a settlement on the east coast; this, however, is no longer thought likely and the similarity of the two names is probably coincidental. Early Dublin is also referred to in a number of native sources. ''
The Book of Invasions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', a largely fabulous compilation of myths and legends, mentions Dublin when describing how two legendary kings of Ireland,
Conn of the Hundred Battles Conn Cétchathach (; "of the Hundred Battles"), son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was a semi-legendary High King of Ireland and the ancestor of the Connachta, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Irel ...
and
Mug Nuadat In Irish mythological history Mug Nuadat (servant of NuadaDictionary of the Iri ...
, divided the country between them. The line of demarcation, which cut the island into two symbolic halves (known as ''Leth Cuinn'', or "Conn's Half", and ''Leth Moga'', or "Mug's Half") ran along the
Esker Riada The Esker Riada ( ga, Eiscir Riada) is a system of eskers that stretch across the middle of Ireland, between Dublin and Galway. Geography The Esker Riada is a collection of eskers that passes through the counties of Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Wes ...
from
High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
in Dublin to
Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
on the west coast. According to another work which draws on early sources, the ''
Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...
'', Fiachu Sraibtine, the king of Tara, quelled the rebellious inhabitants of
Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
in a battle fought at Dublin in 291 AD; the ''Annals of Dublin'' also record that Alphin mac Eochaid, King of Dublin, was converted to Christianity by
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints b ...
in 448 AD. But these entries were only added to the ''Annals, or the sources from which they were compiled, many centuries after the events they purport to record, and no reliance can be placed on them. The simple fact is that we do not know for certain when the city of Dublin was founded. When contemporary records begin in the 5th century, there is a thriving community of farmers and fishermen in existence in the vicinity of Cornmarket and
High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
. A ringed pattern of streets and laneways which can still be discerned in this part of the modern city may be a relic of the original boundary of an early settlement. Located on a prominent ridge overlooking the
River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...
(previously known as the ''Ruirthech'', "running swiftly"), this settlement was easily defended and ideally situated to take advantage of the
ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
, which lay just 100 metres away. The name ford of hurdles – ''Áth Cliath'' in Irish – suggests that, to facilitate travellers who wished to cross the river dry-shod during low tide, the inhabitants of this settlement constructed a lattice-work of interlaced osiers – ''
hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...
'' – and secured it to the muddy bed of the river, perhaps making use of the fortuitously placed Usher's Island in the middle of the stream. It is also possible that a series of hurdles used as fish-traps were placed along the banks of the river. The hurdles were probably located about 100 metres west of the point where
Father Mathew Bridge Father Mathew Bridge () is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland which joins Merchants Quay to Church Street and the north quays. It occupies the approximate site of the original, and for many years the only, Bridge of Dubli ...
now crosses the Liffey, but in the absence of archaeological evidence both its nature and precise location must remain matters of speculation. In ancient times the lower course of the Liffey is believed to have formed part of the boundary between the provinces, or ''overkingdoms'', of
Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
and
Mide Meath (; Old Irish: ''Mide'' ; spelt ''Mí'' in Modern Irish) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island. At its greatest extent, it included all ...
(though there is some conflicting evidence which suggests that the boundary was actually marked by another river, the Tolka, which now discharges into Dublin Bay about a kilometre north of the Liffey). Áth Cliath, which belonged to Leinster, must have been an important trading place thanks to its strategic location on this political boundary.


Early roads

It is also hardly a coincidence that four of the five great highways, or of ancient Ireland converged on the site of the medieval city, and not on Tara, as early Irish historians spuriously claimed: * Slige Midluachra – this road ran southeast from
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
, and passed through Tara, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland in
County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
. It crossed the Liffey at the ford of hurdles, and came to an end just south of Áth Cliath. Parts of the Slige Midluachra may still be made out in some of Dublin's modern streets: e.g.
Bow Street Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles to Waterloo Bridge. The street was developed in 1633 by Francis Russell, 4 ...
on the north side of the city, and St Augustine Street and Francis Street on the south side. * Slige Mhór – this was the "great highway" that ran from east to west across the entire country, dividing it into two symbolic halves (''Leth Cuinn'' and ''Leth Moga''). Its eastern terminus lay just beyond Áth Cliath. In the modern city, James's Street and Thomas Street still follow its course. * Slige Chualann – this road ran south from Áth Cliath. It took its name from Cualu, the district in which Dublin was situated and which lay between the mouths of the Liffey and the Avoca (in
County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by ...
). Long stretches of the Slige Chualann survive to this day. In the modern city its early course is followed by New Street,
Clanbrassil Street Clanbrassil Street (; ) is a street in Dublin south of the city centre. It runs from Robert Emmet Bridge on the Grand Canal to New Street. It is served by several bus routes. It is divided into Clanbrassil Street Upper (south end) and Clanbrassi ...
, Harold's Cross Road and Terenure Road North, it then carries on past
Rathfarnham Castle Rathfarnham Castle ( ga, Caisleán Rath Fearnáin) is a 16th-century fortified house in Rathfarnham, South Dublin, Ireland. The earlier Irish castle was occupied by the Harold family, who held it as tenants of the le Bret family. It was replac ...
, returns to its original mountain tract beyond
Marlay Park Marlay Park () is an suburban public park located in Rathfarnham in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Lying about nine kilometres (5.5 miles) from Dublin city centre, the parkland comprises woodlands, ponds and walks. Recreational spaces incl ...
, today known as The Wicklow Way, a
long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...
inaugurated in 1980, follows much of the course of Slige Chualann. * Slige Dála – the fourth great highway was the "highway of the assemblies". It approached Áth Cliath from the southwest, following the course of the Commons' Water, a small tributary of the river Poddle, which in turn is a tributary of the Liffey. Its terminus was at the southern end of the ecclesiastical settlement of Dubhlinn (see below). It survives today in
Cork Street Cork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England, with many contemporary art galleries, and was previously associated with the tailoring industry. It is part of the Burlington Estate, which was developed from the 18th centu ...
, Ardee Street and
The Coombe The Coombe (; ga, An Com) is a historic street in the south inner city of Dublin, Ireland. It was originally a hollow or valley where a tributary of the River Poddle, the Coombe Stream or Commons Water, ran. The name is sometimes used for the b ...
. These four highways linked Dublin with the five provinces of ancient Ireland:
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
and
Mide Meath (; Old Irish: ''Mide'' ; spelt ''Mí'' in Modern Irish) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island. At its greatest extent, it included all ...
to the north,
Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and ...
to the west,
Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...
to the southwest and
Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
to the south. Although it is not known when these roads were first constructed, a tract dating from around 700 testifies to their early existence. A fifth, unnamed road may have linked Áth Cliath with Tara,
County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland. It is possible that traces of this road are preserved in the modern thoroughfare that runs northwest from
Stoneybatter Stoneybatter, historically known as Bohernaglogh (), is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside of the city between the River Liffey, the North Circular Road, Smithfield Market, and Grangegorman. It is in the D7 postal district. T ...
(i.e. the Stoney ''bóthar'', or "cow-track") through Ratoath Road in the general direction of Tara. The existence of this unnamed road suggests that the Slige Midluachra originally by-passed Tara, running north from Dublin to Emain Macha. Áth Cliath was centred on the crossroads formed by the intersection of the Slige Midluachra and Slige Mhór. After the introduction of Christianity a wayside chapel dedicated to St Mo Lua appears to have been erected at this junction, though the earliest reference to such a church is of a much later date. Another early church, dedicated to St Columba, occupied the site of the present Church of St Audoen, which is thought to be the city's oldest surviving church site. The existence of a market place to the east of the junction is suggested by the modern street name of Cornmarket. The southwestern approaches of Áth Cliath may have been protected by a ditch, which is mentioned in two 13th century documents. In addition to the urban settlement at Áth Cliath, the early inhabitants of Dublin may also have constructed a
ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wale ...
, or ''ráth'', on the present site of
Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the s ...
. This would have been a relatively easy place to defend, being the highest point in the area and surrounded by water on three sides. It could also explain why the eastern terminus of the Slige Mhór lay several hundred metres beyond Áth Cliath. If such a rath did exist, it may have been the source of the placename ''Druim Cuill-Choille'', or "Hazelwood Ridge": according to Harris (1736), this was the city's original name, though no ancient references to such a name are now extant. The name ''Baile Átha Cliath'' itself was first written down in the
Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...
in 1365, some 200 years after the
Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...
in 1169, and the Irish word "baile" (meaning a town), often anglicized as "bally", derives from Norman-French "bailee" or "ville". It remains unproven that it was called Áth Cliath before 795, but for convenience the western of the two settlements is usually referred to by historians and archaeologists as "Áth Cliath" to distinguish it from "Duiblinn" (see below). The existence of other early ringforts in the vicinity of Áth Cliath may be deduced from the names of several of the modern city's suburbs:
Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...
,
Rathgar Rathgar (), is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It was originally a village which from 1862 was part of the township of Rathmines and Rathgar; it was absorbed by the growing city and became a suburb in 1930. It lies about three kilometres south of ...
, Rathfarnham and
Raheny Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 CE ( Mervyn Archdall). The district shares Dublin's two largest municipal parks, Saint ...
, though no firm dates can be assigned to any of these.


Duiblinn

By the early 7th century Áth Cliath had acquired a neighbour in the form of a large and important ecclesiastical settlement about half a kilometre to the southeast. Referred to in various annals and martyrologies as Duiblinn (Modern Irish ''Dubhlinn'', or "Blackpool"), it took its name from a dark tidal pool in the
River Poddle The River Poddle ( ga, An Poitéal) is a river in Dublin, Ireland, a pool which (', "black pool" or "dark pool" in Irish) gave the city its English language name. Boosted by a channel made by the Abbey of St. Thomas à Becket, taking water fro ...
a short distance to the north. (This pool no longer exists, but its location is marked by the site of the Coach House and Castle Gardens at the rear of
Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the s ...
.) Covering an area of about 5 hectares, Dubhlinn was one of the largest settlements of its kind in the country, and shared its distinctive pear-shaped outline with hundreds of other ecclesiastical or quasi-ecclesiastical enclosures of the time. This outline can still be discerned in the morphology of the modern city, especially in the oval configuration of St Peter's Row, Whitefriar Street, Upper and Lower Stephen Street, and Johnson's Place. In later centuries, this area was served by the local parish church of St Peter's on The Mount, which may have replaced a much earlier church. However, recent archaeological excavations at the site of another church, St Michael le Pole, between
Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street situated in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It has formed the western boundary of the City since 1994, having previously been divided between the City of Westminster and the London Boro ...
and Ship Street, have led some historians to surmise that the ecclesiastical settlement of Dubhlinn was located here rather than at St Peter's. As its name suggests, St Michael le Pole – that is, "St Michael of the Pool" – overlooked the "Black Pool" from which Dubhlinn took its name. It lay some 300 metres to the west of St Peter's, ''outside'' the latter's pear-shaped enclosure. In common with many other early sites, St Michael's had a round tower, and it is known to have been in existence by the late seventh century. Graves going back to the 8th century have been unearthed at the site of another early church, St Bride's (or St Bridget's), on the corner of Bride Road and Bride St. This site may have been part of the same ecclesiastical complex as St Michael le Pole's, though the church of St Bride itself seems to belong to a later period. Whatever its precise location, Dubhlinn probably served as the chief place of worship of the Uí Fergusa, a small and politically insignificant
sept A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ...
of the
Uí Dúnlainge The Uí Dúnlainge, from the Old Irish "grandsons (or descendants) of Dúnlaing", were an Irish dynasty of Leinster kings who traced their descent from Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada. He was said to be a cousin of Énnae Cennsalach, eponymous ances ...
(an important confederation of Gaelic septs which monopolised the kingship of
Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
from 738 to 1042). A number of early sources refer to Abbots and Bishops of Dubhlinn, with little distinction between the two offices. Among these the following may be noted: * St Beraidh (†650) – Beraidh's death in 650 is recorded in the ''
Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...
'', where he is described as Abbot of Dublin. * St Livinus (†663) –
Livinus Saint Livinus (''c''. 580 – 12 November 657), also Livinus of Ghent, was an apostle in Flanders and Brabant, venerated as a saint and martyr in Catholic tradition and more especially at the Saint Bavo Chapel, Ghent. His feast day is 12 Novemb ...
, or Lebwin, was the son of a Scottish nobleman and an Irish princess. He was raised in Ireland and studied there and in England. He was ordained by
St Augustine of Canterbury Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century – probably 26 May 604) was a monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church.Delaney ''D ...
. He led a successful mission to
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
with three companions and became
Bishop of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels ...
. He was martyred on 12 November 663 by pagans, who tore out his tongue to stop him preaching – according to legend his tongue continued to preach on its own. His martyrdom is depicted in a famous painting by
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradit ...
* St Disibod (619–700) –
Disibod Saint Disibod (619–c.700) was an Irish monk and hermit, first mentioned in a martyrologium by Hrabanus Maurus (9th century). Hildegard of Bingen around 1170 composed a ''Vita'' of Saint Disibod He is commemorated on 8 September. According to ...
, or Disens, was Livinus's successor; he was allegedly driven from Dublin by violence in 640; he emigrated to the
Continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
with three disciples; in 653 he moved to the confluence of the Nahe and Glan rivers in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, where he founded a community which he led for more than 40 years; a monastery which was later founded on the same site was called
Disibodenberg Disibodenberg today Disibodenberg ruins Disibodenberg ruins Disibodenberg picture Disibodenberg is a monastery ruin in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was founded by Saint Disibod. Hildegard of Bingen, who wrote Disibod's biography "Vita Sanc ...
, or Mount Disbod (subsequently Disenberg), in his honour. Disibod's life was written by
Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...
in the 12th century. * St Wiro – Wiro also led a mission to the
Continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
; he is generally associated with two
Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
n saints,
Plechelm Plechelm, O.S.B. (Plechelm of Guelderland, Plechelm, also Pleghelm or Plechelmus; died 730), is honoured as a saint in both the Catholic Church and the Old Catholic Church as a patron saint of the Netherlands. Plechelm was an Irish Benedictine m ...
and
Otger Otgar, Otger or Odgar is a Germanic masculine given name (from Proto-Germanic *''Audawakraz''). It may refer to: * (fl. 8th century), missionary *Autchar (fl. 8th century), Frankish nobleman * Otgar of Mainz, archbishop (826–847) *, bishop of Ei ...
, with whom he made a pilgrimage to Rome. Around 700 he settled at
Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Ro ...
in the Netherlands at the request of
Pippin of Herstal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the ...
; his relics are preserved in the local cathedral, which is named after him. * St Gualafer (''fl.'' 740) – Gualafer is mentioned as
Bishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ir ...
in 740; he is said to have baptised and instructed his successor, Rumold, but otherwise nothing is known of him. * St Rumold (†775) – Rumold, or Rumbold, was an Irish or English monk who is described in some sources as Bishop of Dublin. He made a pilgrimage to Rome; later he preached at
Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...
,
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...
and in
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
. He was martyred near Mechelen, of which he is the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
; St. Rumbolds Cathedral in Mechelen is dedicated to him and contains his relics. He is sometimes said to be the son of a Scottish king. * St Sedulius (†785) – Sedulius, or Siadhal, was Bishop or Abbot of Dublin. His death in 785 is recorded in the ''
Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...
'', where he is described as Abbot of Dublin. * Cormac (''fl.'' 890) – A certain Cormac is also described by at least one source as Bishop of Dublin in the 9th century. According to D'Alton's ''Memoirs of the Archbishops of Dublin'' (1838), he was Bishop in 890 when Gregory (i.e.
Giric Giric mac Dúngail ( Modern Gaelic: ''Griogair mac Dhunghail''; fl. c. 878–889), known in English simply as Giric and nicknamed Mac Rath ("Son of Fortune"), was a king of the Picts or the king of Alba. The Irish annals record nothing of ...
), King of Scotland, supposedly besieged and captured Dublin – a story that is now regarded as chimerical. According to Harris (1736), St Sedulius was the last Abbot of
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
to be mentioned in the ''Annals''. In 795, just ten years after his death, the
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
, or
Norsemen The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the ...
, launched their first raid on Irish soil: a new era in the history of Dublin was about to begin.


See also

*
History of Dublin The City of Dublin can trace its origin back more than 1,000 years, and for much of this time it has been Ireland's principal city and the cultural, educational and industrial centre of the island. Founding and early history The earliest refe ...
* Early Scandinavian Dublin


References

* * * * * * * * * *


Notes

#Clarke (2002), p. 1. #Clarke (2002), p. 1. #Waddell (2000), p. 19. #Waddell (2000), pp. 47–48. #Waddell (2000), pp. 42–44.
Dublin Castle Website
#Waddell (2000), pp. 229–253. #Waddell (2000), pp. 288–290.
Database of Irish Excavation Reports: Taylorsgrange
an
Database of Irish Excavation Reports: Cherrywood
#Mitchell & Ryan (2007), p. 256. Ó Cróinín (2005), pp. 238–249. #Ptolemy's ''
Geographia The ''Geography'' ( grc-gre, Γεωγραφικὴ Ὑφήγησις, ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'',  "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, com ...
''. The traditional theory that
Eblana Eblana () is an ancient Irish settlement that appears in the ''Geographia'' of Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), the Greek astronomer and cartographer, around the year 140 AD. It was traditionally believed by scholars to refer to the same site as ...
is a corruption of a
Primitive Irish Primitive Irish or Archaic Irish ( ga, Gaeilge Ársa), also called Proto-Goidelic, is the oldest known form of the Goidelic languages. It is known only from fragments, mostly personal names, inscribed on stone in the ogham alphabet in Ireland ...
name for Dublin (e.g. ''Duiblinn'') still has its adherents, but it is contradicted by the complete lack of other Gaelic placenames or tribal names in the ''Geographia'' and by the fact that Duiblinn was originally the name of a Christian settlement, and not the nearby town. Furthermore, some early versions of the ''Geographia'' give the variant Ebdana, which could be the original form. The true identity of Eblana is still a matter of conjecture. Ptolemy's coordinates would seem to place it in the north of
County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
in the vicinity of Skerries. # The conversion of Alphin mac Eochaid first appears in
Jocelin of Furness Jocelyn of Furness ( fl. 1175–1214) was an English Cistercian hagiographer, known for his Lives of Saint Waltheof, Saint Patrick, Saint Kentigern and Saint Helena of Constantinople. He is probably responsible for the popular legendary associa ...
's ''Vita Patricii'' ('' Life of Saint Patrick''), which was written in 1183, though this particular episode may be an even later interpolation, as it contradicts a passage just one page earlier in which Jocelin describes how the saint came to a small village a mile from the ford of hurdles and prophesied that one day it would be a great city – see Harris (1736). The earliest entries in the ''Annals of Dublin'', which are appended to ''Thom's Official Directory'', derive from the work of the 17th century historians
Sir James Ware Sir James Ware (26 November 1594 – 1 December 1666) was an Irish historian. Personal details Born at Castle Street, Dublin on 26 November 1594, James Ware was the eldest son of Sir James Ware (1568–1632) and Mary Bryden, daughter of Ambrose ...
(1594–1666) and his son
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
. Walter Harris, author of ''The History and Antiquities of the City of Dublin'' (1766) was a nephew of Sir James. #Clarke (2002), p. 2. #A ''slige'' (''slí'', pronounced "shlee", in modern Irish) was defined as a road on which two chariots (''carpait'', or in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''carpenta'') could pass abreast. #Harris (1736), pp. 10–11. See also Haliday (1884), pp. 209–210. #''Ancient records'', iii, 56 (1615), where the saint's name is Anglicised as Molloye. #The stone church and tower, which survived until 1778, are thought to have been built around 1100, but they were undoubtedly preceded by a much earlier wooden structure – Peter Pearson, ''The Heart of Dublin'' (Dublin, 2000); M. Gowen, "Excavations at the church and tower of St Michael le Pole, Dublin", ''Medieval Dublin II'', pp. 13–52 (Dublin, 2001) #''
Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...
''; Harris (1736); Ware (1764); D'Alton (1838)


External links


Ireland's history in mapsDatabase of Irish Excavation Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Dublin To 795 History of County Dublin