We couldn't visit a city this full of history without learning some ourselves, so we thought we would share some of the things we've learned so far:
The name Dublin comes from the Gaelic dubh linn or “black pool” - where the Poddle stream met the River Liffey to form a deep pool at Dublin Castle. In the 837 A.D., Vikings attacked the churches around the Poddle and Liffey estuary, and made a permanent settlement a few years later. Dublin became the Vikings world's largest city, and later adopted Christianity. From the 1100's until now, many upheavals of power ensued, and many different people found and lost power over the city. We learned that much of the turmoil in Ireland (and still today in Northern Ireland) resulted from the conflict between the Irish Catholics and the English Protestants.
From 1845 through 1852, destitute victims of the Great Famine poured into Dublin. These victims suffered from mass starvation and disease after a potato disease, known as potato blight, wiped out a lot of the potato crop that one-third of the population was dependent on for food. The problem was exacerbated by a host of political, ethnic, religious, social, and economic factors. Approximately 1 million people died during the famine, drastically reducing the population. Today, this period in Dublin's history is depicted by statues representing victims of the famine as the emigrated to other countries.
The Jeanie Johnston, a replica of the original ship which sailed between Tralee in Co. Kerry and North America between 1847 and 1855, is docked at Custom House Quay in Dublin’s city centre. Ships like these carried millions of people crossing the Atlantic seeking survival and hope in the “New World” of North America.
We also learned that Ireland is a relatively new country. Ireland didn't become independent of Great Britain until 1948. After a long era of peace, with trade agreements with Britain in 1965 and the joining of the Common Market in 1973, Dublin experienced substantial city growth.
We learned a lot more about the country during our tour towards the Giant's Causeway, but we'll add that in a later post!
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