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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin is the largest city by population on the island of Ireland; at the 2022 census, the city council area had a population of 592,713, while the city including suburbs had a population of 1,263,219, County Dublin had a population of 1,501,500. Various definitions of a metropolitan Greater Dublin Area exist.
A settlement was established in the area by the Gaels during or before the 7th century, followed by the . As the Kingdom of Dublin grew, it became Ireland's principal settlement by the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest in the British Empire and sixth largest in Western Europe after the Acts of Union in 1800. Following independence in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, renamed Ireland in 1937. , the city was listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as a global city, with a ranking of "Alpha minus", which placed it among the top thirty cities in the world.
The Middle Irish pronunciation is preserved in the names for the city in other languages such as Old English Difelin, Old Norse Dyflin, modern Icelandic Dyflinn and modern Manx language Divlyn as well as Welsh language Dulyn and Breton language Dulenn. Other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicised as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Variations on the name are also found in traditionally Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh ("the black pool"), which is part of Loch Linnhe.
It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, from which Dyflin took its name. Beginning in the 9th and 10th centuries, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The Viking settlement of about 841, Dyflin, and a Gaelic settlement, Áth Cliath ("ford of hurdles") further up the river, at the present-day Father Mathew Bridge (also known as Dublin Bridge), at the bottom of Church Street.
Baile Átha Cliath, meaning "town of the hurdled ford", is the common name for the city in Modern Irish, which is often contracted to Bleá Cliath or Blea Cliath when spoken. Áth Cliath is a place name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, currently occupied by Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church.
Ptolemy's map of Ireland, of about 140 AD, provides possibly the earliest reference to a settlement near Dublin. Ptolemy, the Greco-Roman astronomer and cartographer, called it Eblana polis ().
Dublin celebrated its 'official' millennium in 1988, meaning the Irish government recognised 988 as the year in which the city was settled and that this first settlement would later become the city of Dublin.
It is now thoughtClarke, Howard (1995). Medieval Dublin, the making of a metropolis. Irish Academic Press. p. 44. the Viking settlement of about 841 was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, from which Dyflin took its name. Evidence indicating that Anglo-Saxons occupied Dublin before the Vikings arrived in 841 has been found in an archaeological dig in Temple Bar.
Beginning in the 9th and 10th centuries, there were two settlements which later became modern Dublin. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay. The Dubhlinn was a pool on the lowest stretch of the Poddle, where ships used to moor. This pool was finally fully infilled during the early 18th century, as the city grew. The Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library within Dublin Castle. Táin Bó Cuailgne ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley") refers to Dublind rissa ratter Áth Cliath, meaning "Dublin, which is called Ath Cliath".
According to some historians, part of the city's early economic growth is attributed to a trade in slaves. Slavery in Ireland and Dublin reached its pinnacle in the 9th and 10th centuries. Prisoners from slave raids and kidnappings, which captured men, women and children, brought revenue to the Gaelic Irish Sea raiders, as well as to the Vikings who had initiated the practice. The victims came from Wales, England, Normandy and beyond.
The King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada, after his exile by Ruaidhrí, enlisted the help of Strongbow, the Earl of Pembroke, to conquer Dublin. Following Mac Murchada's death, Strongbow declared himself King of Leinster after gaining control of the city. In response to Strongbow's successful invasion, Henry II of England affirmed his ultimate sovereignty by mounting a larger invasion in 1171 and pronounced himself Lord of Ireland. Around this time, the county of the City of Dublin was established along with certain liberties adjacent to the city proper. This continued down to 1840 when the barony of Dublin City was separated from the barony of Dublin. Since 2001, both baronies have been redesignated as the City of Dublin.
Dublin Castle, which became the centre of Anglo-Norman power in Ireland, was founded in 1204 as a major defensive work on the orders of King John of England. Following the appointment of the first Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1229, the city expanded and had a population of 8,000 by the end of the 13th century. Dublin prospered as a trade centre, despite an attempt by King Robert the Bruce of Scotland to capture the city in 1317. It remained a relatively small walled medieval town during the 14th century and was under constant threat from the surrounding native clans. In 1348, the Black Death, a lethal plague which had ravaged Europe, took hold in Dublin and killed thousands over the following decade." The Story of Ireland ". Brian Igoe (2009). p.49." Black Death ". Joseph Patrick Byrne (2004). p.58.
Dublin was the heart of the area known as the Pale, a narrow strip of English settlement along the eastern coast, under the control of the English Crown. The Tudor conquest of Ireland in the 16th century spelt a new era for Dublin, with the city enjoying a renewed prominence as the centre of administrative rule in Ireland where English control and settlement had become much more extensive. Determined to make Dublin a Protestant city, Queen Elizabeth I established Trinity College in 1592 as a solely Protestant university and ordered that the Catholic St. Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals be converted to the Protestant church. The earliest map of the city of Dublin is John Speed's Map of Dublin (1610).
The city had a population of 21,000 in 1640 before a plague from 1649 to 1651 wiped out almost half of the inhabitants. However, the city prospered again soon after as a result of the wool and linen trade with England and reached a population of over 50,000 in 1700." Dublin: a cultural history ". Siobhán Marie Kilfeather (2005). Oxford University Press US. pp. 34–35. By 1698 the manufacture of wool employed 12,000 people.
Dublin grew even more dramatically during the 18th century, with the construction of many new districts and buildings, such as Merrion Square, Parliament House and the Royal Exchange. The Wide Streets Commission was established in 1757 at the request of Dublin Corporation to govern architectural standards on the layout of streets, bridges and buildings. In 1759, the Guinness brewery was founded, and would eventually grow to become the largest brewery in the world and the largest employer in Dublin. During the 1700s, linen was not subject to the same trade restrictions with England as wool, and became the most important Irish export. Over 1.5 million yards of linen was exported from Ireland in 1710, rising to almost 19 million yards by 1779.
The Easter Rising of 1916, the Irish War of Independence, and the subsequent Irish Civil War resulted in a significant amount of physical destruction in central Dublin. The Government of the Irish Free State rebuilt the city centre and located the new parliament, the Oireachtas, in Leinster House. Since the beginning of Normans rule in the 12th century, the city has functioned as the capital in varying geopolitical entities: Lordship of Ireland (1171–1541), Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800), as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), and the Irish Republic (1919–1922). Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, it became the capital of the Irish Free State (1922–1937) and now is the capital of Ireland. One of the memorials to commemorate that time is the Garden of Remembrance.
Dublin was also a victim of the Northern Irish The Troubles, although during this 30-year conflict, violence mainly occurred within Northern Ireland. A Loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force, bombed the city during this time – notably in an atrocity known as the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in which 34 people died, mainly in central Dublin.
Large parts of Georgian Dublin were demolished or substantially redeveloped in the mid-20th century during a boom in office building. After this boom, the recessions of the 1970s and 1980s slowed down the pace of building. Cumulatively, this led to a large decline in the number of people living in the centre of the city, and by 1985 the city had approximately 150 acres of derelict land which had been earmarked for development and of office space.
Since 1997, the landscape of Dublin has changed. The city was at the forefront of Ireland's economic expansion during the Celtic Tiger period, with private sector and state development of housing, transport and business. Following an economic decline during the Great Recession, Dublin has rebounded and has close to full employment, but has a significant problem with housing supply in both the city and surrounds.
Government Buildings house the Department of the Taoiseach, the Council Chamber, the Department of Finance and the Office of the Attorney General. It consists of a main building (completed 1911) with two wings (completed 1921). It was designed by Thomas Manley Dean and Sir Aston Webb as the Royal College of Science. The First Dáil originally met in the Mansion House in 1919. The Irish Free State government took over the two wings of the building to serve as a temporary home for some ministries, while the central building became the College of Technology until 1989.Department of the Taoiseach: Guide to Government Buildings (2005) Although both it and Leinster House were intended to be temporary locations, they became the permanent homes of parliament from then on.
For elections to Dáil Éireann, there are five constituencies that are wholly or predominantly in the Dublin City area: Dublin Central (4 seats), Dublin Bay North (5 seats), Dublin North-West (3 seats), Dublin South-Central (4 seats) and Dublin Bay South (4 seats). Twenty TDs are elected in total. The constituency of Dublin West (4 seats) is partially in Dublin City, but predominantly in Fingal.
At the 2024 general election, the Dublin city area elected 5 Sinn Féin, 4 Fianna Fáil, 4 Social Democrats, 3 Fine Gael, 2 Labour and 2 Independents.
Two secondary rivers further divide the city: the River Tolka, running southeast into Dublin Bay, and the River Dodder running northeast to near the mouth of the Liffey, and these and the Liffey have multiple tributaries. A number of lesser rivers and streams also flow to the sea within the suburban parts of the city. (2025). 9780956636362, Rath Eanna Research. ISBN 9780956636362
Two canals – the Grand Canal on the southside and the Royal Canal on the northside – ring the inner city on their way from the west, both connecting with the River Shannon.
The highest temperature officially recorded in Dublin is on 18 July 2022, at the Phoenix Park. A non-official record of was also recorded at Phoenix Park in July 1876.
Dublin's sheltered location on the east coast makes it the driest place in Ireland, receiving only about half the rainfall of the west coast. Ringsend in the south of the city records the lowest rainfall in the country, with an average annual precipitation of , with the average annual precipitation in the city centre being . At Merrion Square, the wettest year and driest year on record occurred within 5 years of each other, with 1953 receiving just of rainfall, while 1958 recorded . The main precipitation in winter is rain; however snow showers do occur between November and March. Hail is more common than snow. Strong Atlantic winds are most common in autumn. These winds can affect Dublin, but due to its easterly location, it is least affected compared to other parts of the country. However, in winter, easterly winds render the city colder and more prone to snow showers.
The city experiences long summer days and short winter days. Based on satellite observations, Met Éireann estimates that Dublin's coastal areas typically receive over 1,600 hours of sunshine per year, with the climate getting progressively duller inland. Dublin airport, located north of city and about from the coast, records an average of 1,485 hours of sunshine per year. The station at Dublin airport has been maintaining climate records since November 1941. The sunniest year on record was 1,740 hours in 1959, and the dullest year was 1987 with 1,240 hours of sunshine. The lowest amount of monthly sunshine on record was 16.4 hours in January 1996, while the highest was 305.9 hours in July 1955.
In the 20th century, smog and air-pollution were an issue in the city, precipitating a ban on bituminous fuels across Dublin. The ban was implemented in 1990 to address black smoke concentrations, that had been linked to cardiovascular and respiratory deaths in residents. Since the ban, non-trauma death rates, respiratory death rates and cardiovascular death rates have declined – by an estimated 350 deaths annually.
Starting in the late 2010s, there was a significant amount of high density residential developments in the suburbs of Dublin, with mid to high-rise apartments being built in Sandyford, Ashtown, and Tallaght.
One of Dublin's most prominent landmarks is the Spire of Dublin, officially entitled the "Monument of Light". It is a conical spire made of stainless steel, completed in 2003 and located on O'Connell Street, where it meets Henry Street and North Earl Street. It replaced Nelson's Pillar and is intended to mark Dublin's place in the 21st century. The spire was designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, who sought an "Elegant and dynamic simplicity bridging art and technology". The base of the monument is lit and the top is illuminated to provide a beacon in the night sky across the city.
The Old Library of Trinity College Dublin, holding the Book of Kells, is one of the city's most visited sites. The Book of Kells is an illustrated manuscript created by Irish monks circa 800 AD. The Ha'penny Bridge, an iron footbridge over the River Liffey, is one of the most photographed sights in Dublin and is considered to be one of Dublin's most iconic landmarks.
rises behind the statue of James Larkin.]]Other landmarks and monuments include Christ Church Cathedral and St Patrick's Cathedral, the Mansion House, the Molly Malone statue, the complex of buildings around Leinster House, including part of the National Museum of Ireland and the National Library of Ireland, The Custom House and Áras an Uachtaráin. Other sights include the Anna Livia monument. The Poolbeg Towers are also landmark features of Dublin, and visible from various spots around the city.
St Stephen's Green is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street, and to a shopping centre named after it, while on its surrounding streets are the offices of a number of public bodies.
Saint Anne's Park is a public park and recreational facility, shared between Raheny and Clontarf, both suburbs on the Northside. The park, the second largest municipal park in Dublin, is part of a former estate assembled by members of the Guinness family, beginning with Benjamin Lee Guinness in 1835. The largest municipal park is adjacent (North) Bull Island, also shared between Clontarf and Raheny, featuring a 5 km beach, Dollymount Strand.
| +Changes to city boundaries !Year !Changes | |
| 1900 | Transfer of former urban districts of Clontarf, Drumcondra, Clonliffe and Glasnevin, and New Kilmainham from County DublinDublin Corporation Act 1900 (63 & 64 Vict. c. cclxiv) |
| 1930 | Transfer of former urban districts of Pembroke and Rathmines and Rathgar from County Dublin |
| 1931 | Transfer of Drumcondra, Glasnevin, Donnybrook and Terenure from County Dublin; |
| 1941 | Transfer of Crumlin from County Dublin |
| 1942 | Transfer of former urban district of Howth from County Dublin; |
| 1953 | Transfer of Finglas, Coolock and Ballyfermot from County Dublin. |
| 1985 | Transfer of Santry and Phoenix Park from County Dublin; transfer of Howth, Sutton and parts of Kilbarrack including Bayside to County Dublin; |
| 1994 | Alterations to western boundaries in the vicinities of Ballyfermot and Cabra on establishment of new counties; |
A number of Dublin's traditional industries, such as food processing, textile manufacturing, brewing, and distilling have gradually declined, although Guinness has been brewed at the St. James's Gate Brewery since 1759. Economic improvements in the 1990s attracted a number of global pharmaceutical, information and communications technology companies to the city and Greater Dublin Area. Companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, Accenture, TikTok and Pfizer now have European headquarters or operational bases in the city with several located in enterprise clusters like the Digital Hub and Silicon Docks. The presence of these companies has driven economic expansion in the city and led to Dublin sometimes being referred to as the "Tech Capital of Europe".
Financial services have also become important to the city since the establishment of Dublin's International Financial Services Centre in 1987. More than 500 operations are approved to trade under the IFSC programme. The centre is host to half of the world's top 50 banks and to half of the top 20 insurance companies. Many international firms have established major headquarters in the city, such as Citibank. The Irish Stock Exchange (ISEQ), Internet Neutral Exchange (INEX) and Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX) are also located in Dublin. Dublin has been positioned as one of the main cities vying to host Financial Services companies hoping to retain access to the Eurozone after Brexit. The Celtic Tiger also led to a temporary boom in construction, with large redevelopment projects in the Dublin Docklands and Spencer Dock. Completed projects include the Convention Centre, the 3Arena, and the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.
In the second quarter of 2018, Dublin touched its lowest unemployment rate in a decade, when it fell down to 5.7% as reported by the Dublin Economic Monitor. In November 2022, Dublin was ranked as one of the worst cities in the world for travel, health and cost of living. On 24 September 2022, thousands took to the streets in protest against the cost of living crisis.
As of 2024, the Gross Domestic Product of Dublin is €253.6 billion, meaning it has one of the biggest city economies in the European Union.
The first phase of a proposed eastern bypass for the city is the Dublin Port Tunnel, which officially opened in 2006 to mainly cater for heavy vehicles. The tunnel connects Dublin Port and the M1 motorway close to Dublin Airport. The city is also surrounded by an inner and outer orbital route. The inner orbital route runs approximately around the heart of the Georgian city and the outer orbital route runs primarily along the natural circle formed by Dublin's two canals, the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal, as well as the North and South Circular Roads.
The 2016 TomTom Traffic Index ranked Dublin the 15th most congested city in the world and the 7th most congested in Europe.
The BusConnects programme includes a number of proposed improvements to Dublin's bus network, including new spine and orbital routes. The spine routes are intended to increase the frequency of buses along major corridors, and the orbital routes aim to "provide connections between suburbs and town centres, without having to travel into the City Centre". In 2022, Dublin Bus began the process of electrifying its fleet with new battery-powered buses, with plans for 85% of Dublin buses to be zero-emission by 2032.
Dublin City Council began installing cycle lanes and tracks throughout the city in the 1990s, and the city had over of specific on- and off-road tracks for cyclists. In 2011, the city was ranked 9th of major world cities on the Copenhagenize Index of Bicycle-Friendly Cities. The same index showed a fall to 15th in 2015, and Dublin was outside the top 20 in 2017.
Dublinbikes is a self-service bicycle rental scheme which has been in operation in Dublin since 2009. Sponsored by JCDecaux and Just Eat, the scheme consists of hundreds of unisex bicycles stationed at 44 terminals throughout the city centre. Users must make a subscription for either an annual Long Term Hire Card or purchase a three-day ticket. , Dublinbikes had over 66,000 long-term subscribers making over 2 million journeys per year.
Dublin once had an extensive system of Dublin tramways but this was largely phased out by 1949. A new light rail system, often described as a tram system, the Luas, was launched in 2004, and is run by Transdev Ireland (under contract from Transport Infrastructure Ireland), carrying over 34 million passengers annually. The network consists of two interconnecting lines; the Red Line links the Dublin Docklands and city centre with the south-western suburbs of Tallaght and Saggart, while the Green Line connects northern inner city suburbs and the main city centre with suburbs to the south of the city including Sandyford and Brides Glen, mostly along the former route of the Harcourt Street railway line. Together these lines comprise a total 67 stops and of track. Construction of a 6 km extension to the Green Line, bringing it into the north of the city, commenced in June 2013 and was opened for passenger travel on 9 December 2017.
A Rapid transit service is proposed under the name of Metrolink, and planned to run from Dublin's northside to Charlemont via Dublin Airport and St. Stephen's Green.
In 2015 and 2016, transatlantic traffic grew, with 158 summer flights a week to North America, making it the sixth largest European hub for that route over the year. Transatlantic traffic was also the fastest-growing segment of the market for the airport in 2016, in which a 16% increase from 2015 brought the yearly number of passengers travelling between Dublin and North America to 2.9 million.
From 2010 to 2016, Dublin Airport saw an increase of nearly 9.5 million passengers in its annual traffic, as the number of commercial aircraft movements has similarly followed a growth trend from 163,703 in 2013 to 191,233 in 2015.
In 2019, Dublin Airport was the 12th busiest airport in Europe, with almost 33 million passengers passing through the airport.
The University of Dublin is the oldest university in Ireland, dating from the 16th century, and is located in the city centre. Its sole constituent college, Trinity College (TCD), was established by Royal Charter in 1592 under Elizabeth I. It was closed to Roman Catholics until 1793, and the Catholic hierarchy then banned Roman Catholics from attending until 1970. It is situated in the city centre, on College Green, and has over 18,000 students.
The National University of Ireland (NUI) has its seat in Dublin, which is also the location of the associated constituent university of University College Dublin (UCD), which has over 30,000 students. Founded in 1854, it is now the largest university in Ireland. UCD's main campus is at Belfield, about from the city centre, in the southeastern suburbs.
As of 2019, Dublin's principal, and Ireland's largest, institution for technological education and research, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), with origins in 1887, has merged with two major suburban third level institutions, Institute of Technology, Tallaght and Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown, to form Technological University Dublin, Ireland's second largest university by student population. The new university offers a wide range of courses in areas include engineering, architecture, the sciences, health, journalism, digital media, hospitality, business, art and design, music and the humanities programmes, and has three long-term campuses, at Grangegorman, Tallaght and Blanchardstown.
Dublin City University (DCU), formerly the National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE) Dublin, offers courses in business, engineering, science, communication courses, languages and primary education. It has around 16,000 students, and its main campus is located about from the city centre, in the northern suburbs. Aside from the main Glasnevin Campus, the Drumcondra campuses includes the former St. Patrick's College of Education, Drumcondra now also hosting students from the nearby Mater Dei Institute of Education and students from the Church of Ireland College of Education at the DCU Campus at All Hallows College.
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) conducts a medical school which is both a university (since 2019) and a recognised college of the NUI, and is situated at St. Stephen's Green in the city centre; there are also large medical schools within UCD and Trinity College. The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) provides education and research in art, design and media. The National College of Ireland (NCI) is also based in Dublin, as well as the Economic and Social Research Institute, a social science research institute, on Sir John Rogerson's Quay, and the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
The Institute of International and European Affairs is also in Dublin. Dublin Business School (DBS) is Ireland's largest private third level institution with over 9,000 students located on Aungier Street, and Griffith College Dublin has its main facility in Portobello. There are also smaller specialised colleges, including The Gaiety School of Acting. The Irish public administration and management training centre has its base in Dublin, the Institute of Public Administration provides a range of undergraduate and post graduate awards via the National University of Ireland and in some instances, Queen's University Belfast.
Dublin is also home to the Royal Irish Academy, membership of which is considered Ireland's highest academic honour.
The suburban town of Dún Laoghaire is home to the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), which supports training and research in art, design, business, psychology and media technology. Dublin joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2019.
| + Main immigrant groups in Dublin City and suburbs (2016) |
In the 2022 census, the population of the City of Dublin was 592,713, while the population of Dublin city and suburbs was 1,263,219. County Dublin had a population of 1,458,154, and the population of the Greater Dublin Area was 2,082,605.
Of the population of Dublin city and its suburbs, 62.9% (794,925) were born in Dublin, 26.6% (336,021) were born outside of Ireland, while the remaining 10.5% (132,273) were born in a county other than Dublin.
After World War II, Italians were by far the largest immigrant group in both Dublin and Ireland and became synonymous with the catering and restaurant landscape. Since the late 1990s, Dublin has experienced a significant level of net immigration, with the greatest numbers coming from the European Union, especially the United Kingdom, Poland and Lithuania. There is also immigration from outside Europe, including from Pakistan, Brazil, the Philippines, China, India and Nigeria. Dublin is home to a greater proportion of newer arrivals than any other part of the country. Sixty percent of Ireland's Asian population lives in Dublin.
The capital attracts the largest proportion of non-Catholic migrants from other countries. Increased secularisation in Ireland has prompted a drop in regular Catholic church attendance in Dublin from over 90 percent in the mid-1970s down to 14 percent according to a 2011 survey and less than 2% in some areas Catholic Church's Hold on Schools at Issue in Changing Ireland The New York Times, 21 January 2016 As of the 2016 census, 68.2% of Dublin's population identified as Catholic, 12.7% as other stated religions, with 19.1% having no religion or no religion stated.
According to the 2022 census, the population of County Dublin self-identified as 80.4% white (68.0% white Irish, 12.0% other white and 0.4% Irish traveller), 5.8% Asian, 3.0% mixed backgrounds, 2.2% Black and 8.5% not stated. In the same census, the ethnic makeup of Dublin city was 76.81% white (including 64.23% white Irish and 12.19% other white people), 12.98% not stated, 5.11% Asian, 3.50% other and 1.58% black.
As of December 2024, there were 1,467 families living in emergency accommodation in the Dublin region. This is a decrease of 57 on the November 2024 number, and an increase of 67 when compared with December 2023 when there were 1,400 families in emergency accommodation.
Handel's oratorio Messiah was first performed at Neal's Music Hall, in Fishamble Street, on 13 April 1742.
There are several theatres within the city centre, and various well-known actors have emerged from the Dublin theatrical scene, including Noel Purcell, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Stephen Rea, Colin Farrell, Colm Meaney and Gabriel Byrne. The best known theatres include the Gaiety, Abbey Theatre, Olympia, Gate Theatre, and Grand Canal. The Gaiety specialises in musical and operatic productions, and also opens its doors after the evening theatre production to host a variety of live music, dancing, and films. The Abbey was founded in 1904 by a group that included Yeats with the aim of promoting indigenous literary talent. It went on to provide a breakthrough for some of the city's most famous writers, such as Synge, Yeats himself and George Bernard Shaw. The Gate was founded in 1928 to promote European and American Avant Garde works. The Grand Canal Theatre is a newer 2,111 capacity theatre which opened in 2010 in the Grand Canal Dock area.
Apart from being the focus of the country's literature and theatre, Dublin is also the focal point for much of Irish art and the Irish artistic scene. The Book of Kells, a world-famous manuscript produced by Celtic monks in AD 800 and an example of Insular art, is on display in Trinity College. The Chester Beatty Library houses a collection of manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and assembled by American mining millionaire (and honorary Irish citizen) Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875–1968). The collections date from 2700 BCE onwards and are drawn from Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
In addition public Art gallery are found across the city and are free to visit, including the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery, the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, the Douglas Hyde Gallery, the Project Arts Centre and the exhibition space of the Royal Hibernian Academy. Private galleries in Dublin include Green on Red Gallery, Kerlin Gallery, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery and Mother's Tankstation.
Three branches of the National Museum of Ireland are located in Dublin: Archaeology in Kildare Street, Decorative Arts and History in Collins Barracks and Natural History in Merrion Street. Dublin is home to the National College of Art and Design, which dates from 1746, and Dublin Institute of Design, founded in 1991. Dublinia is a living history attraction showcasing the Viking and Medieval history of the city.
Dublin has long had an 'underground' arts scene, with Temple Bar hosting artists in the 1980s, and spaces such as the Project Arts Centre acting as a hub for collectives and new exhibitions. The Guardian noted that Dublin's independent and underground arts flourished during the economic recession of . Dublin also has many dramatic, musical and operatic companies, including Festival Productions, Lyric Opera Productions, the Pioneers' Musical & Dramatic Society, Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society, the Glasnevin Musical Society, Third Day Chorale, Second Age Theatre Company, Irish National Opera.
Dublin was shortlisted to be World Design Capital 2014. Taoiseach Enda Kenny was quoted to say that Dublin "would be an ideal candidate to host the World Design Capital in 2014".
In October 2021, Dublin was shortlisted for the European Commission's 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism award along with Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Florence, Ljubljana, Palma de Mallorca and Valencia.
The best known area for nightlife is Temple Bar, south of the River Liffey. The area has become popular among tourists, including Bachelor party and hen parties from the UK. It was developed as Dublin's cultural quarter and does retain this spirit as a centre for small arts productions, photographic and artists' studios, and in the form of street performers and small music venues; however, it has been criticised as overpriced, false and dirty by Lonely Planet. The areas around Leeson Street, Harcourt Street, South William Street and Camden/George's Street are popular nightlife spots for locals.
While the city has seen the loss of some traditional market sites, Moore Street remains one of the city's oldest trading districts. There has also been some growth in local farmers' markets and other markets. In 2007, Dublin Food Co-op relocated to a warehouse in The Liberties area, where it is home to market and community events. Dublin Food Co-op website ref. Markets / News and Events / Recent Events / Events Archive Suburban Dublin has several modern retail centres, including Dundrum Town Centre, Blanchardstown Centre, the Square in Tallaght, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Clondalkin, Omni Shopping Centre in Santry, Nutgrove Shopping Centre in Rathfarnham, Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock and Swords Pavilions in Swords.
Virgin Media Television, eir Sport, MTV Ireland and Sky News are also based in the city. The headquarters of An Post and telecommunications companies such as Eir, as well as mobile operators Vodafone Ireland and Three Ireland are all located there. Dublin is also the headquarters of national newspapers such as The Irish Times and Irish Independent, as well as local newspapers such as Evening Herald.
As well as being home to RTÉ Radio, Dublin also hosts the national radio networks Today FM and Newstalk, and local stations. Commercial radio stations based in the city include 4fm (94.9 Hertz), Dublin's 98FM (98.1 MHz), Radio Nova 100FM (100.3 MHz), Q102 (102.2 MHz), SPIN 1038 (103.8 MHz), FM104 (104.4 MHz), Sunshine 106.8 (106.8 MHz). There are also numerous community and special interest stations, including Dublin City FM (103.2 MHz), Dublin South FM (93.9 MHz), Liffey Sound FM (96.4 MHz), Near FM (90.3 MHz), and Raidió Na Life (106.4 MHz).
Two Dublin baseball clubs compete in the Irish Baseball League. The Dublin Spartans and the Dublin Bay Hurricanes are both based at The O'Malley Fields at Corkagh Park. The Portmarnock Red Rox, from outside the city, competes in the Baseball Ireland B League.
The Dublin area hosts greyhound racing at Shelbourne Park and horse racing at Leopardstown. The Dublin Horse Show takes place at the RDS, which hosted the Show Jumping World Championships in 1982. The national boxing arena is located in The National Stadium on the South Circular Road. The National Basketball Arena is located in Tallaght, is the home of the Irish basketball team, the venue for the basketball league finals, and has also hosted boxing and wrestling events. The National Aquatic Centre in Blanchardstown is Ireland's largest indoor water leisure facility. There are also Gaelic Handball, hockey and athletics stadia, most notably Morton Stadium in Santry, which held the athletics events of the 2003 Special Olympics.
Historically, Irish coffee houses and cafes were associated with those working in media. Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the growth of apartment living in the city, Dublin's cafés attracted younger patrons looking for an informal gathering place and an ad hoc office. Cafés became more popular in the city, and Irish-owned coffee chains like Java Republic, Insomnia, and O'Brien's Sandwich Bars now compete internationally. In 2008, Irish barista Stephen Morrissey won the title of World Barista Champion.
Immigrant groups, such as Overseas Chinese, Japanese and Italian diaspora émigrés, have also opened restaurants around Dublin. A number of South-East Asians immigrated from places such as Hong Kong, Malaysia and Mainland China to Dublin during the 1960s and opened restaurants featuring their cuisines. Modern Irish adaptions of Chinese cuisine include the Spice bag, a Takeaway food dish consisting of mainly chicken, chips and vegetables. In 2020, it was voted 'Ireland's Favourite Takeaway Dish' in the Just Eat National Takeaway Awards.
In the words of a 16th-century English administrator, William Gerard (1518–1581): "All Englishe, and the most part with delight, even in Dublin, speak Irishe".See "Tony Crowley, "The Politics of Language in Ireland 1366–1922: A Sourcebook" and Joep Leerssen, Mere Irish and Fior-Ghael: Studies in the Idea of Irish Nationality, Its Development and Literary Expression Prior to the Nineteenth Century, University of Notre Dame Press 1997, p. 51. The Old English historian Richard Stanihurst (1547–1618) wrote as follows: "When their posteritie became not altogither so warie in keeping, as their ancestors were valiant in conquering, the Irish language was free dennized in the English Pale: this canker tooke such deep root, as the bodie that before was whole and sound, was by little and little festered, and in manner wholly putrified".Ellis, Henry (ed.). The Description of Ireland, An Electronic Edition: Chapter 1 (The Names of Ireland, with the Compasse of the Same, also what Shires or Counties it Conteineth, the Diuision or Partition of the Land, and of the Language of the People): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.03.0089
English authorities of the Cromwellian period accepted the fact that Irish was widely spoken in the city and its surrounds. In 1655 several local dignitaries were ordered to oversee a lecture in Irish to be given in Dublin. In March 1656 a converted Catholic priest, Séamas Corcy, was appointed to preach in Irish at Bride's parish every Sunday, and was also ordered to preach at Drogheda and Athy. In 1657 the English colonists in Dublin presented a petition to the Municipal Council complaining that in Dublin itself "there is Irish commonly and usually spoken".
In early 18th century Dublin, Irish was the language of a group of poets and scribes led by Seán and Tadhg Ó Neachtain.Caerwyn Williams, J.E. & Ní Mhuiríosa, Máirín (ed.) (1979). Traidisiún Liteartha na nGael, pp. 279 and 284. An Clóchomhar Tta. Scribal activity in Irish persisted in Dublin right through the 18th century.Ní Mhunghaile, Lesa. 'An Eighteenth Century Irish scribe's private library: Muiris Ó Gormáin's books' in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Volume 110C, 2010, pp. 239–276. There were still native Irish speakers in County Dublin at the time of the 1851 census.Fitzgerald, Garrett, 'Estimates for baronies of minimal level of Irish-speaking amongst successive decennial cohorts, 117-1781 to 1861–1871,’ Volume 84, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 1984
Though the number of Irish speakers declined throughout Ireland in the 19th century, the end of the century saw a Gaelic revival, centred in Dublin and accompanied by renewed literary activity.Ó Conluain, Proinsias & Ó Céileachair, Donncha (1958). An Duinníneach, pp. 148–153, 163–169, 210–215. Sáirséal agus Dill. ISBN 0-901374-22-9. This was the harbinger of a steady renewal of urban Irish, though with new characteristics of its own.John Walsh; Bernadette OʼRourke; Hugh Rowland, Research Report on New Speakers of Irish
The Dublin Irish-speaking cohort is supported by a number of Irish-medium schools. There are 12,950 students in the Dublin region attending 34 (Irish-language primary schools) and 10 gaelcholáistí (Irish-language secondary schools).
Two Irish language radio stations, Raidió Na Life and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, have studios in the city, and the online station Raidió Rí-Rá broadcasts from studios in the city. A number of Irish language agencies are also located in the capital. Conradh na Gaeilge offers language classes and is used as a meeting place for different groups. The closest Gaeltacht to Dublin is the County Meath Gaeltacht of Ráth Cairn and Baile Ghib which is away.
The city also has "friendship" or "co-operation agreements" with a number of other cities: Moscow (since 2009) and St Petersburg (since 2010) in Russia and Guadalajara in Mexico (since 2013), and has previously proposed an agreement with Rio de Janeiro also. Previous agreements have included those with Mexico City (2014−2018), Tbilisi in Georgia (2014−2017) and Wuhan in China (2016−2019).
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