State Apartments: Hall, Stairs & Landing

What Is Behind These Closed Doors?

By Dr Aidan O’Boyle, Guide & Information Officer Prior to the 19th century, the Staircase Hall was the Entrance Hall to the State Apartments, while the present Entrance Hall with its screens of Doric columns, was originally an open vestibule. The central...

11 June 1924: Opening Ireland’s Law Courts

Dublin Castle Exhibitions

By Evan McGuigan, Guide & Information Officer When it comes to Dublin landmarks, none are more synonymous with the Irish judicial system than the Four Courts. Located on Inns Quay, it has housed Ireland’s law courts since 1802 and remains a key feature of the...

The Birth of Modernism in Irish Art 1920 – 1960

Dublin Castle Exhibitions

By David Britton, Curator of ‘The Birth of Modernism in Irish Art 1920 – 1960’ Isolated on the Western fringes of Europe it took time for the influence of early 20th century European developments in art to reach these shores. This exhibition explores the...

Why does the Surface Matter?

Dublin Castle Exhibitions

By Liz Cooper, Independent curator and Development Manager for Design-Nation Every two years the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland convenes an international panel of craft and design experts to select the best contemporary craft and design of Irish origin. In...

Our Profound Politician: Charlotte, Countess Spencer and the (Victorian) Glass Ceiling

Collections and research

By Emily Ternent, Dublin Castle Collections Intern, 2018 In the days before Irish independence, the vicereines of Ireland were the wives of the country’s Lords Lieutenant, or viceroys, who represented the British monarch at Dublin Castle. An understanding of the role...

A Look Back at 2018 – A Busy Year at Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle Events

By Aisling Gaffney, Event Manager, Dublin Castle 2018 was one of the busiest years we have had to date, with over 431,000 visitors, 8 exhibitions and 300 + events taking place throughout the Dublin Castle complex. Before we plunge in to 2019 – this blog entry will...

The Neapolitan Crib at the Chapel Royal: Interview with artist Bruno Perchiazzi

Dublin Castle Exhibitions

By Antonella Guarracino, Guide & Information Officer This Christmas season, visitors to Dublin Castle will once again be able to see an eighteenth-century-style Neapolitan Crib in the peaceful surroundings of the Chapel Royal. In October I interviewed Bruno...

Presidential Inaugurations at Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle Events

By Evan McGuigan, Guide & Information Officer Next month, Ireland’s 14th presidential inauguration will take place in Dublin Castle, with the victor of the forthcoming election due to be officially sworn into office in St Patrick’s Hall. This venue has been used...

From Presentation to Pioneer – Averil Deverell and Dublin Castle

Collections and research

By Liz Goldthorpe Averil Katherine Statter Deverell (1893-1979) was the first woman to practise as a barrister in Ireland, but what was she doing in Dublin Castle? As the Anglo-Irish daughter of William Deverell, Clerk of the Crown and Peace for Co. Wicklow, it was to...

The Pope in Ireland, Then and Now

Dublin Castle Events

By Christiaan Feehan, Event Manager, Dublin Castle  I remember when I moved to Dublin in 2006 I would go running in the Phoenix Park and think to myself how strange that they had randomly erected a cross in its centre. It was only a few years later I found out about...