DK Travel : Dublin : History & Culture

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The Children of Lir

The greatest of the Tuatha de Danann , or fairy folk, was the sea-god Lir. His four beloved children were turned into swans by their jealous stepmother Aoife, who condemned them to live forever in the waters off the Ulster coast. Some 900 years later, St Patrick broke the spell, baptizing them as they died.
The Easter Rising

On Easter Monday 1916 Patrick Pearse and others opposed to British rule proclaimed the Declaration of Independence from the General Post Office in O’Connell Street. An uprising ensued and 15 insurgents were executed. In May 1921 the Anglo-Irish treaty was signed, creating the Irish Free State.
The Great Famine

The potato famine dominated 19th-century Ireland. The crop failed first in 1845, then again in 1846–7. Over a million people died of starvation or emigrated in desperation. By 1849 the population had decreased by two million.
Theobald Wolfe Tone

Tone (1763–98) has been described both as the founder of Irish nationalism and as a frustrated imperialist.
Tom Murphy

A controversial playwright, Murphy’s (b.1935) work The Wake (1998) had a long run at the Gate Theatre.
Trinity College

Ireland’s premier institute of education was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I on the site of an Augustinian monastery. A Protestant-only college at its start, Trinity did open its doors to Catholic students in 1793, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that the Catholic Church relaxed its opposition to the college. Its quadrangles are peaceful havens, and its priceless Book of Kells a highlight.
Viking Ireland

The Vikings arrived in Ireland in the 10th century and established their own communities. In 1030 a wooden church was built where Christ Church Cathedral now stands.
Water Worship

Sacred springs, fairy wells, and holy water remain a large part of many Irish people’s religion.
William Butler Yeats

Willliam Butler (1865–1939), brother of the painter Jack B Yeats, was born in Dublin. His first volume of poetry The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems was well received and later volumes confirmed his status as a leading poet. His play On Baile’s Strand was chosen for the Abbey Theatre’s opening in 1904 (see Abbey and Peacock Theatres).
William Trevor

Trevor (b.1928) is a master of the short story genre.