provides offices for the Local Government Board, Boards of Trade and of Public Works and other bodies.
It is, however, to the south of the river that the most interesting buildings are found. Crossing O’Connell bridge, the short Westmoreland Street strikes into a thoroughfare which traverses the entire city parallel with the river, and is known successively (from west to east) as James, Thomas, High, Castle, Dame, College and Great Brunswick streets. At the end of Westmoreland Street a fine group of buildings is seen—Trinity College on the left and the Bank of Ireland on the right. Barely half a mile westward down Dame Street, rises the Castle, and 300 yds. beyond this again is the cathedral of Christ Church. These, with the second cathedral of St Patrick, are more conveniently described in the inverse order.
The cathedral of Christ Church, or Holy Trinity, the older of the two Protestant cathedrals in the possession of which Dublin is remarkable, was founded by Sigtryg, a Christianized king of the Danes of Dublin, in 1038, but dates its elevation to a deanery and chapter from 1541. It was restored in Christ Church.1870–1877 by G. E. Street at the charge of Mr Henry Roe, a merchant of Dublin, who also presented the Synod House. The restoration involved the complete rebuilding of the choir and the south side of the nave, but the model of the ancient building was followed with great care. The crypt embodies remains of the founder’s work; the rest is Transitional Norman and Early English in style. Among the monuments is that of Strongbow, the invader of Ireland, to whom the earlier part of the superstructure (1170) is due. Here the tenants of the church lands were accustomed to pay their rents. The monument was injured by the fall of one of the cathedral walls, but was repaired. By its side is a smaller tomb, ascribed to Strongbow’s son, whom his father killed for showing cowardice in battle. Synods were occasionally held in this church, and parliaments also, before the Commons’ Hall was destroyed in 1566 by an accidental explosion of gunpowder. Here also the pretender Lambert Simnel was crowned.
A short distance south from Christ Church, through the squalid quarter of Nicholas and Patrick streets, stands the other Protestant cathedral dedicated to St Patrick, the foundation of which was an attempt to supersede the older foundation of Christ Church, owing to jealousies, both ecclesiastical and St Patrick’s.political, arising out of the Anglo-Norman invasion. It was founded about 1190 by John Comyn, archbishop of Dublin; but there was a church dedicated to the same saint before. It was burnt about two hundred years later, but was raised from its ruins with increased splendour. At the Reformation it was deprived of its status as a cathedral, and the building was used for some of the purposes of the courts of justice. Edward VI. contemplated its change into a university, but the project was defeated. In the succeeding reign of Mary, St Patrick’s was restored to its primary destination. The installations of the knights of St Patrick, the first of which took place in 1783, were originally held here, and some of their insignia are preserved in the choir. This cathedral contains the monuments of several illustrious persons, amongst which the most celebrated are those of Swift (dean of this cathedral), of Mrs Hester Johnson, immortalized under the name of “Stella”; of Archbishop Marsh; of the first earl of Cork; and of Duke Schomberg, who fell at the battle of the Boyne. The tablet over Schomberg’s grave contains what Macaulay called a “furious libel,” though it only states that the duke’s relatives refused the expense of the tablet. In the cathedral may be seen the chain ball which killed General St Ruth at the battle of Aughrim, and the spurs which he wore. The cathedral was restored by Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness (1864), whom a fine statue by John Henry Foley commemorates, and the work was resumed by his son Lord Iveagh in 1900. Attached to the cathedral is Marsh’s library, incorporated in 1707, by a request of Primate Marsh, archbishop of Armagh. It contains a good number of theological works and of manuscripts, and is open to the public; but is deficient in modern publications.
Dublin Castle stands high, and occupies about ten acres of ground, but excepting St Patrick’s Hall, the apartments are small, and the building is of a motley and unimposing appearance, with the exception of the chapel (a Gothic building of the early 19th century) and great tower. The castle was originally built The Castle.in the first two decades of the 13th century; and there are portions of this period, but nearly the whole is of the 16th century and later. In St Patrick’s hall where the knights of St Patrick are invested, are the banners of that order. Opposite the castle is the city hall (1779), in the possession of the corporation, with statues in the central hall of George III., of Grattan (a superb work by Sir Francis Chantry), of Daniel O’Connell, and of Thomas Drummond by John Hogan and several others.
The Bank of Ireland (see Architecture, fig. 85) occupies five acres, and was formerly the House of Parliament. There are three fronts; the principal, towards College Green, is a colonnade of the Ionic order, with façade and two projecting wings; it connects with the western portico by a Bank of Ireland.colonnade of the same order, forming the quadrant of a circle. The eastern front, which was the entrance of the House of Lords, is, by their special wish, of the Corinthian order, made conformable with the rest of the building not without difficulty to the architect. The House of Lords contains tapestry dating from 1733, and remains in its original condition, but the octagonal House of Commons was demolished by the bank directors, and replaced with a cash-office. The building was begun in 1729, but the fronts date from the end of the century; the remodelling took place in 1803.
Trinity College, or Dublin University, fronts the street with a Palladian façade (1759), with two good statues by Foley, of Goldsmith and Burke. Above the gateway is a hall called the Regent House. The first quadrangle, Parliament Square, contains the chapel (1798), with a Corinthian portico, Trinity College.the public theatre or examination hall (1787), containing portraits of Queen Elizabeth, Molyneux, Burke, Bishop Berkeley and other celebrities, and the wain-scotted dining hall, also containing portraits. A beautiful modern campanile (1853), erected by Lord John George Beresford, archbishop of Armagh and chancellor of the university, occupies the centre of the square. Library Square takes its name from the library, which is one of the four scheduled in the Copyright Act as entitled to receive a copy of every volume published in the United Kingdom. There is a notable collection of early Irish manuscripts, including the magnificently ornamented Book of Kells, containing the gospels. The building was begun in 1712. In this square are the oldest buildings of the foundation, dating in part from the close of the 17th century, and the modern Graduates’ Memorial buildings (1904). These contain a theatre, library and reading-room, the rooms of the college societies and others. The schools form a fine modern pile (1856), and other buildings are the provost’s house (1760), printing house (1760), museum (1857) and the medical school buildings, in three blocks, one of the best schools in the kingdom. Other buildings of the 20th century include chemical laboratories. The College Park and Fellows’ Garden are of considerable beauty. In the former most of the recreations of the students take place; but the college also supports a well-known rowing-club. The college observatory is at Dunsink, about 5 m. north-west of Dublin; it is amply furnished with astronomical instruments. It was endowed by Dr Francis Andrews, provost of Trinity College, was erected in 1785, and in 1791 was placed by statute under the management of the royal astronomer of Ireland, whose official residence is here. The magnetic observatory of Dublin was erected in the years 1837–1838 in the gardens attached to Trinity College, at the expense of the university. A normal climatological station was established in the Fellows’ Garden in 1904. The botanic garden is at Ball’s Bridge, 1 m. S.E. of the college.
