Showing 1-14 of 14 results
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Campanile
Through the Regent House entrance of Trinity College, past the Students Union, are Front Sq and Parliament Sq, the latter dominated by the 30m-high Campanile, designed by Edward Lanyon and erected from 1852 to 1853 on what was believed to be the centre of the monastery that preceded the college. Students who pass beneath it when the bells toll will fail their exams, according to superstition.
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Casino at Marino
No, not that kind of casino; perhaps it's the images of blackjack and slot machines that make so many visitors overlook this bewitching 18th-century architectural folly, which is a casino in the Italian sense of the word, as in a 'house of pleasure' or summer home. Off Malahide Rd, it was built for the Earl of Charlemont (1728-99), who returned from his grand European tour with a huge art collection and a burning passion for the Italian Palladian style of architecture. He appointed the architect Sir William Chambers to build the casino, a process that spanned three decades and was never really concluded because the earl frittered away his fortune.
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Chimney
As part of the ongoing development of the Smithfield area, an old distillery chimney (nicknamed 'the flue with the view'), built by Jameson's in 1895, has been converted into Dublin's first and only 360-degree observation tower. A glass lift shuttles you to the top, where you get unique views of historic north Dublin. The commentary from the knowledgeable and humorous guide is excellent, which is a good job because Dublin's no oil painting.
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Christ Church Cathedral
Its hilltop location and eye-catching flying buttresses make this the most photogenic by far of Dublin's three cathedrals as well as one of the capital's most recognisable symbols.
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Custom House
Georgian genius James Gandon (1743-1823) announced his arrival on the Dublin scene with this magnificent building (1781-91), constructed just past Eden Quay at a wide stretch in the River Liffey. When it was being built, angry city merchants and dockers from the original Custom House further upriver in Temple Bar were so menacing that Gandon often came to work wielding a broadsword.
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Fitzwilliam Square
South of St Merrion Sq, the smallest and the last of Dublin's great Georgian squares was completed in 1825. It's also the only one where the central garden is still the private domain of the square's residents. William Dargan (1799-1867), the railway pioneer and founder of the National Gallery, lived at No 2, and the artist Jack B Yeats (1871-1957) lived at No 18. Look out for the attractive 18th- and 19th-century metal coal-hole covers. The square is now a centre for the medical profession by day and a notorious beat for prostitutes at night.
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Fusiliers' Arch
The main entrance to St Stephen's Green today is beneath Fusiliers' Arch, at the top of Grafton St. Modelled to look like a smaller version of the Arch of Titus in Rome, the arch commemorates the 212 soldiers of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who were killed fighting for the British in the Boer War (1899-1902).
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Iveagh Gardens
Our favourite gardens in Dublin may not have the sculpted elegance of the other city parks, but they never get too crowded and the warden won't bark at you if you walk on the grass. They were designed by Ninian Niven in 1863 as the private grounds of Iveagh House, and include a rustic grotto, cascade, fountain, maze and rosarium.
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Kilmainham Gaol
One of Dublin's most sobering sights, Kilmainham Gaol oozes centuries of pain, oppression and suffering from its decrepit limestone hulk. The scene of countless emotional episodes along Ireland's rocky road to independence, the jail was home to many of the country's political heroes, martyrs and villains.
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Kilmainham Gate
The Kilmainham Gate was designed by Francis Johnston (1760-1829) in 1812 and originally stood at the Watling St junction with Victoria Quay, near the Guinness Brewery, where it was known as the Richmond Tower. It was moved to its current position opposite the prison in 1846 as it obstructed the increasingly heavy traffic to the new Kingsbridge station (now Heuston station), which opened in 1844.
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Merrion Square
Merrion Square, with its immaculately trimmed central park, dates back to 1762 and has the National Gallery on one side, while the other three sides are lined with stately Georgian buildings whose doors, peacock fanlights, ornated door knockers and foot-scrapers epitomise the elegance of the era.
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Regent House Entrance
The elegant Regent House entrance on College Green was built between 1752 and 1759, and is guarded by statues of the writer Oliver Goldsmith (1730-74) and the orator Edmund Burke (1729-97). The railings outside the entrance are a popular meeting spot.
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Spire
Soaring 120m over O'Connell St - and the rest of the city - this gigantic needle is impossible to miss, a risqué homage to the fight against one of Dublin's greatest social ills, heroin addiction. Yeah, right. Dubs excel at gallows humour, but the Spire is neither a joke nor a commemoration of anything in particular, except maybe the notion that for a spell in the 1990s the sky was the limit.
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St Patrick's Tower
The 40m-tall St Patrick's Tower, built around 1757, is the tallest surviving windmill tower outside the Netherlands.
Showing 1-14 of 14 results
