The face of Dublin

The face of Dublin

10 Jan 1963

THE worst castle in the worst situation in Christendom A was how one of the Duke of Ormonde’s relatives described Dublin Castle in the 17th century. In the middle ages when it was built, it was a badly sited castle defended on its landward side only by the mean trickle of the Poddle stream.

Today very few evidences survive of it being a castle at all and the whole complex is a rather sorry mess of building styles. Of the medieval portion only one tower, the Record Tower, remains fairly intact and that was recased and re-Gothicised by Francis Johnston early in the last century. Another of the corner drum towers, the Bermingham Tower, survives in an attenuated form and one of the gate towers is embedded as the core of the gracious cupola which crowns the Genealogical Office.

Otherwise the Castle we see today is very much a growth of the 18th century. Upper CastJe Yard coincides with the layout Of the medieval fortress but it is now surrounded by solid Hanoverian brick buildings, collegiate in their harmony of brick and stone dressings instead of by corner towers linked with curtain walls. The one really satisfying grouping is the north side centering on the Genealogical Office whose handsome rustic loggia, surmounted by a columned minstrels’ gallery and crowned with the cupola we have mentioned is flanked by two robust gateways, statue crowned like triumphant archways. The south range facing it is undistinguished on the outside save for a really ugly awning of glass and cast-iron. Inside, though, are the State Apartments which preserve some of the pomp and elegance of the viceregal age and have been handsomely furnished and adapted to the ceremonial uses of a democratic state.

Principal among these apartments is St. Patrick’s Hall, formerly the investiture hall of the Knights of St. Patrick and in medieval times it was the site of the original castle Hall and the original Irish parliament house; now it is used for the inauguration of the President of Ireland.

It is a high noble apartment with gilded Corinthian columns flanking the terminal galleries, and corresponding pilasters compartmenting the walls. The fine cornice and coved ceiling are rich with gilt and on the flat of the ceiling are three huge historical paintings by Vincent de Waldre of Vicenza, a noted painter of the 18th century:

The circular Supper Room in a delicate Gothic style occupies part of the Bermingham Tower and from it one passes through the delicate oval Wedgwood Room to the Picture Gallery, on its panelled walls hang portraits of past viceroys. Now it is used as a dining room for State functions. This group of apartments is closed by the Throne Room, a richly decorated apartment with the gilt throne and canopy still in situ. The classical pictures on the circular wall panels have been attributed to Angelica Kaufmann, but are probably the work of Vincent de Waldre.

The Chapel Royal, now the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Francis Johnston’s early Gothic essay, is so interesting that it deserves separate treatment. Its woodwork, exterior carving and interior plasterwork are all excellent and well worth the visitor’s attention.

The State Apartments are open to the public daily at 10′ a.m., 12 noon and 3 p.m. There is an admission charge of 6d. and the services of an informed guide are available to visitors. s the paschal fire at Slane,” Vincent de Waldre’s painting in St. Patrick’s Hall.

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