Dublin

From Free net encyclopedia

This article is about the city in Ireland. For other uses of the name, see Dublin (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox Irish Place Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath<ref>Baile Átha Cliath (or simply Áth Cliath) and Dubhlinn are the two names of the city, the former being the one currently in official and common usage.</ref>) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland (and largest city on the island of Ireland), located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region<ref name="r3">Irish Statute Book: Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order, 1993 - Dublin Region, "The area consisting of the (then) county borough of Dublin and the administrative counties of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin</ref>. Originally founded as a center for the Viking slave trade, the city has been Ireland's capital city since mediæval times.

The term "Dublin Region" has become a substitute for the traditional County Dublin, whilst "Greater Dublin Area" is accepted as including the city and all of counties Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, Kildare, Meath, South Dublin and Wicklow. The limits of the commuter belt stretch to a much greater distance than either of these areas.

The population of the city proper was 495,781 at the census of 2002. Beyond this, at the same census, the city and county population of the Dublin Region was 1,122,821 whilst the Greater Dublin Area had a figure of 1,565,446.

Contents

[edit]

Name

Image:Dublin-aerialsmall.jpg The name Dublin is an Anglicism of Dubh Linn (Irish, meaning "Black Pool"), though some doubt this derivation. Historically, in the old script used for the Irish language, 'bh' was written with a dot placed over the 'b' — thus appearing to be Dub Linn or Dublinn. The Norman-speaking English who arrived in Old Irish-speaking Ireland starting in 1169 omitted the "dot" (or séimhiú in Irish), and spelled the town's name as 'Dublin'.

Meanwhile, the city's name in Modern Irish — Baile Átha Cliath ("The Town of the Ford of the Reed Hurdles") — actually refers to the settlement, founded in 988 by High King Mael Sechnaill II, which adjoined the town of Dubh Linn proper, at the Black Pool.

Some have suggested that "Dublin" is of Scandinavian origin, cf. Icelandic: "djúp lind" ("deep pond"). However, the name "Dubh Linn" pre-dates the arrival of the Vikings in Ireland, and the Old Norse (and modern Icelandic) name for Dublin is simply the words "Dubh Linn" re-spelled as if they were Old Norse: Dyflinn (correctly pronounced "DUEV-linn" - indeed, the letter 'y' is still pronounced like the vowel in "ewe" in Modern Norwegian, Swedish, etc., just as it was in Old Norse; Icelandic, while keeping the spelling, has changed this sound to /i/).

[edit]

History

Template:Main

The earliest reference to Dublin is in the writings of Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), the Greek astronomer and cartographer, around the year A.D. 140, who calls it Eblana Civitas. The settlement Dubh Linn dates perhaps as far back as the first century BC; Baile Átha Cliath or simply Áth Cliath was founded in 988 near by. The two towns eventually became one. The modern city retains the Anglicised Irish name of the former and the original Irish name of the latter. After the Norman invasion of Ireland, Dublin replaced the Hill of Tara as Ireland's capital, with much of the power centring on Dublin Castle until independence. From the 14th century until the late 16th century, Dublin and the surrounding area -known as the Pale - was the only area of Ireland under English government control.

Image:Dcastlefourcourt.jpg

From the 17th century the city expanded rapidly, helped by the Wide Streets Commission. Georgian Dublin was, for a time, the second city of the British Empire after London. Much of Dublin's best architecture dates from this time. The Easter Rising of 1916 left the capital in an unstable situation and the Anglo-Irish War and Irish Civil War left the capital in ruins, with many of its finest buildings destroyed. The Irish Free State rebuilt much of the city's buildings and moved parliament to Leinster House, but took no bold tasks such as remodelling. After The Emergency (World War 2) Dublin remained a capital out of time, modernisation was slow and finally the 1960s saw change begin. In recent years the infrastructure of Dublin has changed immensely, with enormous private and state development of housing, transport, and business. (See also Development and Preservation in Dublin). Some well-known Dublin street corners are still named for the pub or business which used to occupy the site before closure or redevelopment.

Since the beginning of English rule in the twelfth century, the city has served as the capital of the island of Ireland in the varying geopolitical entities:

From 1922, following the partition of Ireland, it served as the capital of the Irish Free State (1922–1937) and now as the capital of the Republic of Ireland. (Many of these states co-existed or competed within the same timeframe as rivals within either British or Irish constitutional theory.)

[edit]

Climate

Image:ClimateDublinIreland.PNG

Dublin enjoys a maritime temperate climate characterized by mild winters, cool summers, and a lack of temperature extremes. Contrary to popular belief, Dublin does not experience high rainfall with the west of Ireland receiving twice that of the capital city. The average maximum January temperature is 8°C (46.4°F), the average maximum July temperature is 20°C (68°F). The sunniest months, on average, are May and June, with 6 hours of sunlight daily. The wettest month ,on average, is December, with 76mm of rain. The driest month is February, with 50mm of rain.

The city is not noted for its temperature extremes due to its mild climate. The lowest recorded temperature was -12°C (10.4°F). The other extreme was 30°C (86°F), being the highest recorded. The main precipiation in winter is rain, though the city experiences some snow showers during the months of November-March inclusive. Typically, the coldest months in Dublin are December, January and February.

See also - Met Éireann

Climate Table
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum temperature (°C) 7.6 7.5 9.5 11.4 14.2 17.2 18.9 18.6 16.6 13.7 9.8 8.4 12.78
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) 2.5 2.5 3.1 4.4 6.8 9.6 11.4 11.1 9.6 7.6 4.2 3.2 6.33
Mean total rainfall (mm) 69 50 54 51 55 56 50 70 67 70 65 76 733
Mean number of rain days 13 10 11 10 11 10 9 11 10 11 11 12 129
Source: Meteorological Organisation
[edit]

Culture

Dublin is a major cultural centre in Ireland.

Dublin is the origin of many prominent artists and writers such as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, Bram Stoker, and Roddy Doyle. Dubliners is a collection of short stories by James Joyce about incidents and characters typical of residents of the city in the early part of the 20th century. Ulysses, also by James Joyce, a novel set in Dublin, is full of topographical detail and is both acclaimed and controversial.

The National Print Museum of Ireland, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Ireland, the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, the Chester Beatty Library and three centers of the National Museum of Ireland are located in Dublin.

Along with a number of galleries and art centres such as The City Arts Centre, Four, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, The Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, The Project Arts Centre and The Royal Hibernian Academy all located in city centre.

Temple Bar is an important place for night life and often people from Great Britain and beyond visit for the weekend.

[edit]

Multicultural Dublin

Despite having a long tradition of emigration until the early 1990s, Dublin has a sizeable number of immigrants especially from the United Kingdom, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and continental Europe. More recently Dublin has also attracted significant Nigerian, Chinese, Korean, Indian, and Eastern European populations, largely attracted by Ireland's economic success since the mid-1990's.

[edit]

Education

Image:Henriettast.jpg Image:Trinity college.jpg

Dublin is the primary centre of education in Ireland, with three universities and several other higher education institutions. The University of Dublin is the oldest university in Ireland dating from the 16th Century. Its sole constituent college, Trinity College, was established by Royal Charter under Elizabeth I and closed to Roman Catholics until Catholic Emancipation. The National University of Ireland has its seat in Dublin which is also the location of the associated constituent university of University College Dublin (UCD), the largest university in Ireland; although it is located in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, just outside the city of Dublin boundary. Dublin City University (DCU) is the most recent university created in Dublin and specialises in business, engineering, and science courses, particularly with relevance to industry. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is an independent medical school located on St. Stephen's Green in the city centre. The National University of Ireland, Maynooth, another constituent university of the NUI, is located about 25 km from Dublin.

Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) is a modern technical college and is the country's largest non-university third level institution; it specialises in technical subjects but also offers many arts and humanities courses. It is soon to move to a new campus at Grangegorman. There are also smaller Institutes of Technology at Blanchardstown and Tallaght. The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (DLIADT) support training and research in art, design and media technology.

There are also various other smaller specialised colleges, including private ones, in the city. One example is The Gaiety School of Acting which hosts a two year intensive degree in acting.

[edit]

Exhibitions

[edit]

Northside vs Southside

Image:LiffeyDublin.JPG

Traditionally, a north versus south division has existed in Dublin with the dividing line provided by the River Liffey. The Northside is generally seen as working-class, while the Southside is seen as middle and upper middle class. This is also reflected by Dublin postal districts, with odd numbers being used for districts on the Northside, e.g: Phibsboro is in D7, and even numbers for ones on the Southside, e.g: Sandymount is in D4.

This division dates back centuries, certainly to the point when the Earl of Kildare built his residence on the then less regarded Southside. When asked why he was building on the South Side, he replied "Where I go, fashion follows me", and indeed he was promptly followed by most other Irish peers.

Image:Aras Front.JPG

The Northside/Southside divide is punctuated by examples of Dublin "sub-culture" stereotypes, with upper-middle class constituents seen as tending towards an accent and demeanour synonymous with (but not exclusive to) the D4 postcode on the Southside (see Dublin 4, Ross O'Carroll-Kelly), and working-class Dubliners seen as tending towards accents and demeanour associated with (but not exclusive to) Northside and inner-city Dublin neighbourhoods. (see Scanger)

This simplification of economic and social communities in Dublin ("southside rich, liberal and snobby"/"northside poor, industrial and common") does not survive more than a few real-world examples however. For example, the President of Ireland's residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, is on the Northside, although its postal district is D8, a Southside number. Three of Dublin's wealthiest suburbs, Howth, Malahide, and Castleknock are to be found on the Northside. The Southside similarly has many working-class suburbs, like Tallaght, Crumlin, and Ballyfermot.

The economic divide in Dublin is more east-west than north-south (the east side of the city generally being wealthier than the west side), however many natives to Dublin prefer to use the physical barrier of the River Liffey to divide the city up into different socio-economic groupings. In fact, a greater division in social terms is evident between the coastal suburbs in the east of the city, both north and south, and the newer developments further to the west, though this too is only a rough guide.

In 2006, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Dublin as the 16th most expensive city in the world.

[edit]

Sport

Image:From the hill.jpg

Dublin contains the headquarters of almost all of Ireland's sporting organisations. Croke Park, an 82,500-capacity stadium near Drumcondra and Phibsboro, is the base of the Gaelic Athletic Association and hosts Gaelic Football and Hurling games during the summer months and on St. Patrick's Day. The Dublin branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association play their league games at Parnell Park.

Lansdowne Road is a 48,000 capacity stadium owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and is also the venue for home games of the Republic's national football (soccer) team.

Dalymount Park, in Phibsboro and the traditional Home of Irish Soccer, is now used only for home games of local club Bohemian FC. Rivals Shelbourne FC play at nearby Tolka Park, while St Patrick's Athletic play in Richmond Park in Inchicore on the south west edge of the city. Shamrock Rovers are originally from Milltown but have spent the last two decades in search of a home, and hope to complete a new stadium in Tallaght by 2006. The other senior soccer clubs are University College Dublin F.C., based in Belfield, and Dublin City F.C. (formerly Home Farm F.C.).

The National Aquatic Centre, located in Blanchardstown, is the first building to open in the Sports Campus Ireland. There are several race courses in the Dublin area including Shelbourne Park (Greyhound racing) and Leopardstown (Horse racing). The world famous Dublin Horse Show at the RDS, Ballsbridge, which hosted the Show Jumping World Championships in 1982. There are also Basketball, Handball, Hockey and Athletics stadia within the city - most notably Morton Stadium in Santry, which held the athletics events of the 2003 Special Olympics.

[edit]

Infrastructure

[edit]

Communications & Media

Radio Telifís Éireann (RTÉ) is Ireland's national state broadcaster, and has its main offices and studios in Donnybrook, Dublin. Fair City is the broadcasters' capital based soap, located in the fictional suburb of Carraigstown. TV3, Channel 6, City Channel, Sky News Ireland and Setanta Sports are also based in Dublin. The main infrastructure and offices of An Post and the former state telephone company Eircom, as well as Vodafone and O2 are located in the capital. The capital is also the headquarters of important national newspapers such as The Irish Times and Irish Independent.

[edit]

Dublin Newspapers

  • A list of Dublin based newspapers can be found here.
  • Note - Most national newspapers are also based and/or printed in Dublin.
[edit]

Dublin Radio Stations

[edit]

Transport

Image:PIA01804 SpaceRadarImage Dublin-NASA.jpg

Dublin is the centre of the transport system in Ireland (see Transport in Ireland). Dublin Port is the country's most important sea port. Dublin Airport is the most important airport in the republic and the bulk of passenger traffic travels through the airport. Heuston Station and Connolly Station are the city's major railway stations, Heuston connects with the towns and cities in the south and west of the Republic while Connolly serves the Sligo, Wexford and Dublin-Belfast routes.

[edit]

Road network

Dublin is also the main hub of the country's road network. The M50 motorway (the busiest road in Ireland), a semi-ring road runs around the south, west and north of the city, connecting the most important national primary routes in the State that fan out from the capital to the regions. A toll of €1.80 applies on what is called the West-Link, two adjacent concrete bridges that tower high above the River Liffey near the village of Lucan. Construction of the M50 took almost 20 years, with the final section opening in June 2005. A court case regarding the destruction of medieval ruins at Carrickmines Castle delayed the final completion of the route. The M50 currently has two traffic lanes going either direction but plans are afoot to increase that to three. The National Roads Authority also intends to increase capacity at many of the motorway's busiest junctions by building triple-grade interchanges instead. Image:Liffeyeast.jpg

To complete the ring road, an eastern bypass is also proposed for the city of Dublin. The first half of this project is currently under construction, the Dublin Port Tunnel. It is scheduled to open in early 2006 and will mainly cater for heavy vehicles. When finished, Dublin City Council hopes to ban all unnecessary trucks and lorries from the city quays. The second half of the project would involve another tunnelling project, linking Dublin Port to the road network on the southside of the city. Plans for this have never been formalised.

The capital is also surrounded by what have been termed by Dublin City Council as an inner and outer orbital route. The inner orbital route runs roughly around the heart of the Georgian city from St. Stephen's Green to Mountjoy Square and from the King's Inns to St Patrick's Cathedral. The outer orbital route runs largely along the natural circle formed by Dublin's two canals, the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal, as well as the North and South Circular Roads.

[edit]

Public transport

Image:Ireland - Dublin - Tram.jpg

The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system is the only electrified railway in the country and serves stations at regular intervals on the railway line along the east coast. A two-line light rail system called Luas opened in 2004 and has proved popular in the (limited) areas it serves, although the lack of a link between the two lines is widely criticised. It is hoped a metro system linking Dublin Airport to the city will be the next major infrastructural project.

The bulk of the public transport system in Dublin is made up of bus services operated by Bus Átha Cliath (Dublin Bus), which operates a network of nearly 200 daytime routes (identified by number and sometimes suffixed with a letter, e.g. 40, 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D) and 24 "Nitelink" overnight services which run on Monday to Saturday nights, which are identified by a number suffixed with "N" e.g. 40N). Apart from some tourist buses, all Dublin Bus' services are one-man operated, and daytime fares are determined by the number of fare stages travelled through — fares are payable in coin and only the exact fare is acceptable — if passengers overpay, they are issued "change tickets" which must be presented at the Dublin Bus office in O'Connell Street to be converted to cash. Alternatively, various pre-paid tickets and passes can be bought from Dublin Bus or its agents, and are processed by a validating machine on the right of the entrance door of the bus. Nitelink buses charge a flat fare regardless of the distance travelled.

A number of other bus companies provide services in Dublin, including Bus Éireann which provides services to the more distant parts of Dublin's ever-widening commuter belt. In the absence of an overall transport authority in Dublin, obtaining information about all public transport options available for a particular journey can take some time.

The Irish Government has launched a national transport plan which is expected to cost the government €34.4 billion over the next 10 years. Most of this will go towards the Dublin Port Tunnel, seven new LUAS projects, two Metro lines, DART extensions and an underground station at St Stephen's Green integrating all services. However Irish transport plans tend to go massively over-budget. The best example is the Port Tunnel which has gone over-budget all the way in to the record books.

The Port Tunnel was originally envisaged as a single bore, two lane road to cater primarily for trucks, and charging no toll on trucks, but a toll on cars to deter their custom, would not need substantial tolling infrastructure. However, it has been built to motorway standard as two separate tunnels to cater for all traffic and all traffic will be tolled. The tunnels are significantly deeper than originally planned to reduce disturbance to residential areas, and had to be built one kilometre longer to reach this depth and requiried many more ancillary works to facilitate this, such as demolition and rebuilding of existing bridges.

[edit]

Entertainment

Image:The Helix.jpg There is a vibrant night life in Dublin — the most internationally notorious area for these activities is the Temple Bar area south of the Liffey. This area has become synonymous with stag and hen parties and tourists, causing many locals to steer clear of the area.

There are several theatres within the city centre, the largest of which include the Abbey Theatre, the Gate Theatre, the Olympia Theatre, and the Gaiety Theatre, which opens its doors after the evening theatre production to host a variety of live music, dancing, and films. The Gaiety's bars are open later than any others in the city. The largest theatre in the city is the Mahony Hall in The Helix at Dublin City University in Glasnevin.

There are two large cinemas in the city centre; The Savoy Cinema and the Cineworld Cinema (formerly UGC) are located north of the Liffey. Alternative and special-interest cinema can be found in the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar, and in the Screen Cinema on d'Olier St. Numerous larger cinemas can be found in the city's suburbs.

[edit]

Industry

Probably the most famous industry in Dublin is brewing: Guinness has been brewed at the St. James's Gate Brewery since 1759.

During the Celtic Tiger years of the mid to late nineties a large number of pharmaceutical and information technology companies have located in Dublin and its suburbs and the large volume of computer industry in Dublin has led to it being referred to as the Silicon Valley of Europe. Microsoft's EMEA Operations Centre is located in Sandyford Industrial Estate to the south of the city and Google and Amazon have established operational bases in the city. Intel and Hewlett-Packard have large manufacturing plants in Leixlip, Co. Kildare to the west of Dublin. Google, Yahoo! and PayPal also have their European headquarters in Dublin.

[edit]

Government

[edit]

City Government

Image:Dublincityhall.jpg

Dublin City is governed by Dublin City Council (formerly called Dublin Corporation) which is presided over by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, who is elected for a yearly term and resides in the Mansion House, which first became the residence of the Lord Mayor in 1715. Dublin City Council is based in two major buildings. Its headquarters is in Dublin City Hall, the former Royal Exchange taken over for city government use in the 1850s. Many of its administrative staff are based in the controversial Civic Offices, built on top of what had been one of the best preserved Viking sites in the world. The Corporation's (as it was then) decision to bulldoze the historic site proved one of the most controversial in modern Irish history, with thousands of people, including medieval historian Fr. F.X. Martin and Senator Mary Robinson (later President of Ireland) marching to try to stop the destruction. The destruction of the site on Wood Quay and the building of a set of offices known as The Bunkers (because of their ugly appearance) is generally seen as one of the most disastrous acts against Ireland's heritage since independence, with even Dublin Corporation admitting subsequently that it was ashamed of its action. Originally, there were to be four of these 'bunkers' built but only two were ever completed. Instead the river frontage is a less brutal office block designed by the firm Scott Tallon Walker. Completed in 1994, it boasts a leafy atrium and fine views from many of its offices. Council meetings take place in City Hall, one of Dublin's finest buildings and located on Dame Street. It was built to the winning design of Thomas Cooley. In an architectural competition, James Gandon was the runner-up with a scheme that many people favoured. Originally from England, Gandon is one of Ireland's favourite adopted sons and designed both the Four Courts and the Custom House, two of the city's most magnificent classical buildings.

[edit]

Twinned Cities

[edit]

The Dublin Region

The Dublin Region<ref name="r3" /> consists of the City of Dublin and the area which was formerly known as County Dublin, and covers an area of 922 km² and contains over a million inhabitants. In 1994 County Dublin (the area excluding the city) was sub-divided into three, each new area with county-level status and its own administration, namely:

Administration of the Dublin Region as a whole is now co-ordinated by the Dublin Regional Authority.

[edit]

National Government

Image:Leinsterhouseirl.jpg

The Republic of Ireland's National Parliament (called the Oireachtas) consists of the President of Ireland and two houses, Dáil Éireann (the House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (Senate). All three are based in Dublin. The President of Ireland lives in Áras an Uachtaráin, the former residence of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State in the city's largest park, Phoenix Park. Both houses of the Oireachtas meet in Leinster House, a former ducal palace on the south side of the city. The building has been the home of Irish parliaments since the creation of the Irish Free State on December 6, 1922.

Image:Gbuildings.jpg

The Irish Government is based in the Irish Government Buildings, a large building designed by Sir Aston Webb, the architect who created the Edwardian facade to Buckingham Palace. Initially what is now Government Buildings was designed for use as the Royal College of Science, the last major building built by the British administration in Ireland. In 1921 the House of Commons of Southern Ireland met there. Given its location next to Leinster House, the Irish Free State government took over part of the building to serve as a temporary home for some ministries. However both it and Leinster House (originally meant to be a temporary home of parliament) became the permanent homes of the government and parliament respectively. Until 1990, the Irish government shared the building with the Engineering Faculty of University College Dublin, which retained use of the central block of the building, However following the building of a new Engineering Faculty at the UCD campus in Belfield, the Government took entire control, and remodelled the entire building for governmental use.

The previous old Irish Houses of Parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland is located in College Green.

[edit]

Footnotes

<references />

[edit]

See also

Image:Dublin custom house 2.jpg Image:Oconnellstdublin.jpg

[edit]

Additional reading

  • Pat Liddy, Dublin A Celebration - From the 1st to the 21st Century (Dublin City Council, 2000) (ISBN 0946841500)
  • Maurice Craig, The Architecture of Ireland from the Earliest Times to 1880 (Batsford, Paperback edition 1989) (ISBN 0713425873)
  • Frank McDonald, Saving the City: How to Halt the Destruction of Dublin (Tomar Publishing, 1989) (ISBN 1871793033)
  • Edward McParland, Public Architecture in Ireland 1680-1760 (Yale University Press, 2001) (ISBN 0300030641)
  • Hanne Hem, Dubliners, An Anthropologist's Account, Oslo, 1994
  • John Flynn and Jerry Kelleher, Dublin Journeys in America (High Table Publishing, 2003) (ISBN 0954469410)
[edit]

External links

Template:Commons


Cities in Ireland
Republic of Ireland: Dublin | Cork | Limerick | Galway | Waterford | Kilkenny
Northern Ireland: Belfast | Derry | Armagh | Newry | Lisburn

Template:Coor title dmsaf:Dublin ar:دبلن ast:Ciudá de Dublín bg:Дъблин be:Дублін bs:Dublin ca:Dublín cs:Dublin cy:Dulyn da:Dublin de:Dublin et:Dublin es:Dublín eo:Dublino fr:Dublin ga:Baile Átha Cliath gl:Dublín - Baile Átha Cliath ko:더블린 hr:Dublin io:Dublin id:Dublin is:Dyflinn it:Dublino he:דבלין kw:Dulynn lv:Dublina lt:Dublinas hu:Dublin nl:Dublin ja:ダブリン no:Dublin nn:Dublin nrm:Dublîn pl:Dublin pt:Dublin ro:Dublin ru:Дублин sh:Dublin scn:Dublinu simple:Dublin sk:Dublin sl:Dublin sr:Даблин fi:Dublin sv:Dublin th:ดับลิน tpi:Dublin tr:Dublin zh:都柏林

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/Dublin"