Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle sits in the heart of the Old Town on Dame Street and looks back on a turbulent history that stretches all the way to the tenth century. After the Norman conquest in the twelfth century, the complex was expanded, and the Record Tower, dating to 1226, is the only medieval structure to survive. Most of the buildings you see today date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For a long time, the castle served as the seat of British administration and also housed prisons. Today, the grand State Apartments are the setting for official state ceremonies, while the former Chapel Royal serves as a Roman Catholic church and cultural center. Here you'll experience an impressive blend of historic fortress and state pageantry.