H I S T O R I C   T R A I L

St. Patrick's Cathedral

St Patrick's Cathedral built in 1191 is about 400 yards from Christchurch. It is the largest church in Ireland, with a 143ft tower.The 100ft spire was added in the 17th Century by George Simple. In 1901, a well was discovered in the grounds.The well was where St. Patrick baptised people. Today it is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland.

St.Patricks Park & Well

The well was rediscovered in renovationof1901. It was believed that St. Patrick baptized people here and that is why the church was built and named after him. Saint Patrick's Park was created at the end of the 19th century. It replaced a lot of tenament houses that were in very bad repair. The people were moved to the Iveagh Buildings.

Archbishop Palace

Kevin Street Garda Station originally the palace of St Sepulchre,the building was the formal residence of the Archbishop of Dublin up until 1806. The magnificent gate piers are about all that remains of the old Liberty Court.

Beside St. Patrick's Cathedral stands Ireland's oldest library founded by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh. The collection of 25,000 books and 300 manuscripts contains Marsh's own books of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. The library has a scholarly atmosphere, heavy with the scent of leather and age. At the far end of the building are the three famous wired alcoves or "cages". The books were so precious that people were locked into the cage when reading . Jonathan Swift was governor of the Library for many years.

The Iveagh Trust

The Iveagh Trust was set up by Sir Edward Cecil Guinness in 1890 for the purpose of providing housing and amenities for the poor of Dublin and London . The main concentration of the Trust's building work was in Kevin Street and in the area between St. Patrick's Cathedral and Bride Alley. The reconstruction of the area was begun in 1890 and was completed by about 1915. It consisted of two five story residential complexes, public baths, hostel and a play centre called the "Beano". The maze of tenements between Bride and Patrick's Street were demolished and the traders were moved under cover to the Iveagh Market.

Wine Tavern Street

This is the site of Viking Dublin. The area was full of small houses and narrow streets. Wine Tavern Street was the place where wine was sold. Nearby Cook Street had medieval takeaways. Because the houses were made of wood and straw there was always a danger of fire. People preferred to have their food cooked in Cook Street. The Civic offices were built on the original Viking town. Some patterns on the ground trace the shapes of the houses. It was relatively easy to find out what these houses looked like because of the Medieval habit of constructing new houses on the ruins of the old ones.

St Audeon's Arch

This is St. Audeon's, the oldest parish church in Dublin, founded in 650. A flight of 40 steps leads you down to St. Audeon's Arch, the only surviving gate and stretch of wall of medieval Dublin. A part of the wall also remains along the south side of Cook Street. In 1552, the county butchers were directed to sell their meat under the tower next to St. Audeon's Church. The City Council in 1880 condemned the tower, and would have demolished it, had it not been for the public outcry. It was subsequently restored, but without much regard for the original design.

Christchurch Cathedral

The first Cathedral of Christchurch was built in 1038 by Sitric, King of Norse Dublin. In 1173, the Cathedral was rebuilt and was restored in the 1870's, so that it is difficult to recognize the present building from old prints. The most famous Bishop was Laurence O'Toole, whose heart is buried inside. There is a monument to Strongbow, whose original tomb was damaged in the 16th Century by the collapse of a wall.

Cornmarket-Section of Old City Walls

It cost a lot of money to maintain walls. When times were hard other materials were put in to shore it up. This was the site were public executions were held. Maintenance of the walls caused endless headaches for the town council. The mayor often asked for permission to collect an additional tax called a murage or wall tax which had to be paid along with ordinary duties. People built their houses right up against the walls and even cut holes in the walls to use as back doors. The council regularly orderd that these gaps be blocked and fitted with iron gratings.

John's Lane Church

In 1171, King Henry 2nd, during a visit to Dublin, granted the lands around the present day Thomas street to the Victorine Canons.The citizens who settled in the district were to owe no allegiance to any local authority but only directly to the Crown. Thus the concept of a Liberty was born.The King named the main thoroughfare after Thomas A Beckett, whom he had ordered to be killed.The present fine church of St. John and St. Augustine was built between 1862 and 1911.

Tailor's Hall

This is one of the very few surviving buildings of the Queen Anne period,and sits in Back Lane. Originally the headquarters of the tailors, it must be entered through a huge gateway. After a cramped laneway you will confront the redbrick home of Wolfe Tones "Back Lanes Parliament". This is where he started his campaign to establish Catholic Emancipation, the right to vote. Later the Dublin Society of the United Irishmen met here. Napper Tandy and Hamilton Rowan frequented Tailors' Hall.

Iveagh Market

There is a long tradition of street selling in the Liberties. The Iveagh Market was built in 1902 by the Earl of Iveagh to give the people a dry place to sell their goods. The market stands on a site that had once been taken up by an important brewery. A major restoration project for the Iveagh market was proposed by Dublin City Council and the building has now been leased to a developer. The market itself is a fine piece of architecture, with its Queen Anne-style facade on Francis Street and spacious galleried interior. The keystones of the several arches at the front of the building are ornamented with carved heads, which represent the various trading nations of the world.

St Nicholas of Myra Church

St Nicholas of Myra, was built in 1833 by John Leeson, the bell Tower and cupola were added in 1860 by Patrick Byrne, one of the leading church architects of the first half of the 19th century. The copper dome is visible over a large area and serves as a reference point within the Liberties. The colourful interior has an impressive Pieta over the altar carved by the Irish sculptor John Hogan.

Mill Street

Mill street derives it's name from a millpond to the south of the street, which was fed by the Poddle River and is a reference to the number of mills in the area. Around 1700 there were seven Huguenot Families living in Mill Street, including a family called Disney who were the ancestors of the cartoonist Walt Disney.

Blackpitts

Some people maintain that Blackpitts was named from the mass graves recalling a medieval plague. It was more likely named after the dark stained vats the tanners used when curing hides. The Poddle runs under the Warrenmount convent.

Presentation Convent Warrenmount

Warrenmount was originally the home of Nathaniel Warren, who became High Sheriff of Dublin in the late 1700's. He named his residence "Warrenmount". On December 1st 1813, the Georgian House had become a Carmelite convent. At this time there was dreadful poverty in the area. The Carmelites started a school for children. In 1889 they asked the Pope for permission to return to full contemplative life. They were granted this request on the condition that the school be handed over to a community of Irish nuns. On May 6th 1892 seven Presentation Sisters came to Warrenmount. The Presentation Sisters have served the local area since 1892.

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