Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle represents the character that is Dublin. It is an architectural melange of modern, Gothic and red brick. The castle itself dates from 1207 although extensive restoration has left it looking like an eighteenth century building with only the Record Tower looking original, due to more clever restoration. There were initially four of these towers but now only this one and part of another remain. The building remains as a symbol of British rule in Ireland and Dubliners enjoy noticing that the figure of Justice on the building has her back turned on the city and her scales of Justice used to tilt when it rained. So much for justice. The state apartments are used to entertain foreign dignitaries and on an official tour you can enjoy seeing the State Drawing Room and the Throne Room. Part of the tour takes in the Undercroft, discovered during excavations in the nineties, the remains of a Viking fort from the thirteenth century that include a moat and Powder Tower base. Also on the castle grounds is the Chester Beatty Library and Gallery filled with his collection of oriental art and some of the earliest examples of Egyptian love poetry. Just in front of the castle is City Hall, probably the finest example of Georgian architecture in Dublin. It was finished in 1779 and the stucco interior of Charles Thorpe indicates the prestige of the merchant class of the time as it was built as a financial centre.