Dublin Part 3: Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle was one of the highlights of Dublin. We enjoyed it so much we went twice. We did a tour of the Castle one time and then went back for a magic show. It is not a large castle, but a castle none the less. The inside was very beautiful. We probably took way to many photos, but that is what you do on trips, especially abroad.

Right as we entered the castle gates Cosette looked up at the tower and said "Rapunzel". She knows her Disney Princesses. It made it a little more exciting for her thinking she was going to Rapunzel's Castle.



Inside the Castle courtyard. Five minutes after this picture was taken Cosette fell and scraped her forehead on the cobblestones. So she will have a scab on her forehead for the rest of our Ireland trip. Luckily it was just a scrape.

Better picture of the courtyard. I love the Christmas tree. There were Christmas trees all over the city. Loved it. The architecture reminded me of Versailles when you first walk in. There are the similar archways going around the bottom of both manors, if I remember correctly.

 

The Irish Constitution.

 

 

 Love those ceiling designs.

 

We did not get a chance to explore the grounds. Ireland is wonderful but the weather is not. I now understand the song "rain, rain, go away". At least we were able to see the grounds from the windows. Maybe we will get to explore them in the spring.



The ceiling on that hallway was beautiful. Lyndon tried to convince me he looked like the bust of this man. See the similarities?

 



Selfie with my boy. I love this kid! I need to put more pictures up of him. He is always asleep when we are out though.

 



This was one of my favorite rooms in the Castle. The portraits on the walls are of Queen Vicotira and Prince Albert. The Christmas tree made it feel homey and I just wanted to sit down and relax. We learned about the term "wall flower" in this room. According to our tour guide, at parties the ladies would have to stand up against the wall until a gentleman asked them to dance. Then when the dance was over the lady would go back to her place in line against the wall. Hence the term wall flower.

 

The throne room. We learned that while Ireland was still a part of the English Empire the English monarchs would come visit Ireland and stay at Dublin Castle. King George III was a very tall man, especially for that time  The next English monarch was Victoria who apparently was very small. The foot stool had to be added because her feet dangled halfway down. She was so small that she had to be lifted up onto the throne.

 

Other half of the throne room. It was beautiful.



Love this chandelier!

 

Have I mentioned how much she loves Christmas trees? Well she loves, loves, loves them. She was in awe at all the different ones she saw. The especially enjoyed this one because she could touch it, even though she probably should not. She was very careful with the ornaments, so no harm.

The portrait room.

 

 

The picture on the left is a portrait of General Cornwaills who is known for his surrender to the Colonies at Yorktown. Our tour guide thought it was funny to point that out to all us Americans.

 

 

The Castle was collaborating with the Nutcracker ballet this year, hence the nutcracker décor. At certain times there was a meet and greet with the cast. Clara did a book reading on Sunday, but we were not able to attend that.

 

The left is the ceiling of the ballroom. Amazing! It is kind of unfathomable to have ceilings like that in modern buildings.

 

After touring the Georgian era palace, Cosette and Lyndon took a tour of the Old Castle foundations. Here is a representation of what Dublin looked like during the Norman times. After conquering England, the Normans also conquered Ireland, and they brought their Modern forms of government and war including Castles. Dublin Castle was the first Norman castle in the area.

 

Here are the original foundations of Dublin Castle constructed by the Normans.

 

Norman castles always had a back entrance facing the river to bring supplies into the castle. Knowing that this was the weakest point in the castle, they made the steps very narrow and steep so only one warrior could approach at a time. Also, the heavy wooden door at the top only opened outward. Any attacking warriors would be thrown twenty feet down to the ground when the door swung open. The steps are just the right size for Coco to sit upon!

 

 

Outer wall with the original moat!

 

Here you can see Dublin during the Norman era. Dublin Castle is in the upper right and Trinity Cathedral is on the right.

 

And then we went back again for the magic show!

 

I would not mind going back again this spring and explore some more. We missed out on the Castle's cathedral and I would very much like to see it. Lyndon says always leave a place with something undone so you have a reason to come back.