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IRISH ARCHITECTURE
taken from: Irish-architecture.com,tourism board and many source |
Early Irish
Ireland is an archipelago , number of islands littered with thousands of old stone remains. Stone age building techniques continued throughout the Bronze Age and Iron Age, and in some cases, up until the mediaeval era. Many stone structures are found in fields, with little or no advertisement. Some are noted as National Monuments, and a select few are tourist attractions. Others have remained untouched for centuries, or indeed millennia.
Grange stone circle is the largest such megalithic construction in IrelandThe earliest date from the Neolithic or late stone age. Megalithic tombs are relatively common, with court graves or court tombs being the oldest, some dating back to around 3500 BC. Such tombs consisted of a long chamber, with a large open area (or court) at the entrance. This "court" was generally marked out with standing stones, with the rest of the structure also built in stone.
Related structures include portal tombs and wedge tombs. The former consisted of a large stone slab supported on smaller stones, with the structure banked in earth. Exposed to the elements, only the stone now remains, leading to them being termed dolmens or stone tables. Wedge tombs were of a similar design, but with a wedge-shaped chamber.
Newgrange is a particularly interesting passage tomb.Although these are the most common structures, a rather more striking artifact is the passage tomb. Newgrange in County Meath is older than the pyramids in Egypt and is perhaps the best-known of these, although it has a number of less usual features as well (having served possibly as a solar calendar weighing 250,000 tons). In general, passage tombs consisted of a central burial chamber, with a long passageway to the entrance. Again, standing stones were often used for the walls, with slabs of stone over the roof. Newgrange in particular is more interesting in that the inner chamber uses corbelling to span the roof. The chamber and passageway were usually contained in an earthen mound, with the chamber at the centre (Newgrange is again notable in having exterior stonework on the mound). Other notable passage graves are Knowth and Dowth, also in the Boyne Valley near Drogheda.
From some time beginning around the Iron Age, Ireland has thousands of ring forts, or "raths". These consist of an earthen embankment around a central enclosure, sometimes sited on a raised mound. In some cases a souterrain (tunnel) forms part of the structure. These were built also as hill forts depending on the local terrain, or indeed promontory forts. Dún Aengus on the Aran Islands one of the best examples of these forts, which may have been occupied at various times, even in the mediaeval era.
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Dublin Street Names
Everyone knows that O'Connell Street is named for Daniel O'Connell, but who was the Nassau in Nassau Street, or the Grafton in Grafton Street? Why is Winetavern Street so called or Usher's Island or Temple Bar? Why is Parliament Street nowhere near any parliament, old or new? Why is there an Of Lane in Dublin 1?
 Dublin Bay, with its great sweep of coast from the rocky brow of Howth in the north to the headland of Dalkey in the south, is a fitting introduction to one of Europe's finest capitals. The city is spread over the broad valley of the River Liffey, with the Wicklow Hills sheltering it on the south. In addition to its splendid public buildings, Dublin is particularly rich in domestic architecture of the 18th century. Fine Georgian mansions, many of them with historical association, lends elegance to the city's wide streets and spacious squares.
 The Dublin Region consists of the City of Dublin and the area which was formerly known as County Dublin, and covers an area of 922 sq km and contains over a million inhabitants. In 1994 County Dublin (the area excluding the city) was sub-divided into three, each new area with county-level status and its own administration, namely: Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown; Fingal; and South County Dublin; Administration of the Dublin Region as a whole is now co-ordinated by the Dublin Regional Authority.
Note: We have divided the city centre into North City and South City. We have also used the boundaries of the Grand and Royal Canals as the boundaries of the city centre.
Dublin Streetnames
Guide to the derivation of many Dublin streetnames. more |
Unbuilt Dublin
A section with competition entries for architectural competitions in the Dublin area that have never been executed. more |
Memorable Dublin Houses
The writer has been induced to undertaken this little work in the hope that it may meet with a reception as favourable as that extended to his Handy Guide to "Memorable London Houses," the popularity of which has created a demand for a third edition within a year. more |
Development of the city
An introductory guide to the development of the city plan from medieval times to the present day including the text of the 1941 Abercrombie report. more |
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