Preface.

The seat of this citie is of all sides pleasant, comfortable and wholesome. If you would traverse hills, they are not far off. If champaign ground, it lieth of all parts. If you be delited with fresh water, the famous river called the Liffie, named of Ptolome Lybnium, runneth fast by. f you will take the view of the sea, it is at hand.” - Stanihurst. **

PREFACE**

Alike for the stranger within its gates and the lifelong resident, Dublin has an undoubted charm, compounded, perhaps, in equal measure of the genial character of its citizens, the beauty of its streets and buildings, the loveliness of its surroundings, its pleasant climate and its long and interesting history. The collection of the material for this book has been a labour of love, lightened considerably by the courteous assistance which I have received from all quarters, high and low.

Since the Danes first established themselves on the Liffey in 840, Dublin has been the largest and most important town in Ireland. The coming of the Anglo-Normans in 1169 gave it the status of a capital. Since then the city has pursued a career of progress, gradually losing its character of a mere colony in a hostile country, and becoming accepted as the centre of the national life. Its authentic records go back for twelve centuries, and every period has bequeathed some visible memorial of the past.

The topography of Dublin is easy to understand. The river, running east and west, bisects the city. There are two lines of main thoroughfare, Grafton, Westmoreland and Sackville Streets going north and south, Thomas, High, Lord Edward and Dame Streets, going east and west. These intersect at College Green, which is, to all intents and purposes, the centre of the town, and has been taken as the starting-point of most of the excursions in Part II.

Visitors, however, will do well to make use of the cheap and speedy electric trams, which penetrate to every corner of Dublin. Most of these start from Nelson’s Pillar and pass through, or close to, College Green. Again there is the national conveyance, the traditional sidecar, now become quite a luxurious affair with pneumatic tyres and other modern devices.

As the size of this book does not admit of footnotes, I may here acknowledge my indebtedness to the various authors from whom I have drawn the facts embodied in the work. Like everyone who enters this field, I am under a great debt to the researches of Sir John Gilbert, to whose “Viceroys of Ireland” and “History of Dublin” there are many references, especially in Part I. Chaps. 111.-VI. and Part II. Sects. IV. and VII.-XII. The remainder of Part I. is based on Todd’s “Gaedhil and Gaill,” Haliday’s “Scandinavian Kingdom of Dublin,” Giraldus Cambrensis’ “Expugnatio Hibernica,” Leland’s and Joyce’s Histories of Ireland and Lecky’s “Ireland in the 18th Century.”

For Part II., I have had recourse to works on Christ Church Cathedral by Mr Butler, S. Patrick’s by Dean Bernard, Trinity College by Profs. Macneile Dixon and Stubbs, Dublin Castle by “F. E. R.” and Mr O’Connor Morris, Royal Hospital by Lieutenant Grimbly, also to Mr Litton Falkiner’s “Illustrations of Irish History,” Mr Harrison’s ” Memorable Dublin Houses,” the fine county histories of Messrs D’Alton and Ball, and the series of “Ancient Records of Dublin” published by the Corporation.

My colleagues of the Public Record Office have also assisted me with information on several points. A good deal, however, of the matter is the result of my own personal research and may, therefore, be new to the wide public interested in Dublin history.

My sincerest thanks are likewise due to the following public bodies, institutions, firms and private individuals, who courteously permitted me to view ancient relics and records in their charge -The Lord Mayor and Corporation, the Deans of Christ Church and S. Patrick’s, the National Education Commissioners, Registrar-General, Chief Commissioner of Police, Mr Lanigan-O’Keeffe of Delville, S. Patrick’s, Mercer’s, Rotunda and Steevens’ Hospitals, The Royal Irish Academy, Bluecoat School, Christian Brothers (Marino), Yorkshire Assurance Company, Messrs Alexander and Ferrier, Pollock & Co.

The reproductions of pictures and of a page from the Book of Kells have been prepared from photographs taken by Mr W. Lawrence, Upper Sackville Street, with the kind permission of the authorities of the Irish National Gallery and Trinity College, Dublin.

Finally I must express my deep obligation to the officials of the National Library for the kind and unfailing help which they have rendered me on so many occasions.

Viking Dublin. 150-1169AD. To Chart Index.