(Old Irish, Dubhlin— literally, “black pool”; Irish, Baile Atha Cliath—“place by a ford, overgrown with reeds”), the capital of the Republic of Ireland and the political, economic, and cultural center of the country. Dublin is located in the eastern part of the island of Ireland, on Dublin Bay of the Irish Sea, at the mouth of the Liffey River. On the south it is bounded by the Wicklow Hills. The climate is maritime moderate, with unstable weather. The average July temperature is 15°-17°C, and the average January temperature is 5°C. The average annual precipitation is 842 mm. The city has an area of approximately 117 sq km. Concentrated in Dublin is 20 percent of the total population of the state— 566,000 residents (1971) or over 600,000 (including the suburbs).
Administration. An elected council and a manager appointed by the central authority perform the main duties of municipal administration. The manager has extensive powers, but the competence of the Council is limited to problems of local taxes and collections. The mayor of Dublin, who is elected for one year, has primarily ceremonial functions.
History. Dublin was first mentioned in Irish sources in A.D. 291. During the ninth century the territory of presentday Dublin was captured by Norsemen, who were gradually assimilated by the Irish after their defeat in 1014 in a battle with the troops of the Irish king Brian Boru. In 1170 the region of Dublin was seized by Anglo-Norman feudal lords, and at the end of the 12th century it was transformed into the center of the colonies that they had conquered in Ireland (the so-called pale). Built as a defensive base by the invaders at the beginning of the 13th century, for the Irish people Dublin Castle became a symbol of the English colonial yoke and violence.
Since the 17th century Dublin has been one of the centers of the Irish liberation movement. Among the groups active in Dublin were the secret society the United Irishmen, which led the Irish Uprising of 1798, and the Irish Confederation (1847-48). During the 1860’s the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood (Fenians) was active in the city, and in 1869 a section of the First International was established there. From August 1913 to January 1914 a mass strike took place, organized by the Union of Transportation and Unskilled Workers. Dublin was the principal arena of the Irish Rising of 1916, and in January 1919 the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) assembled in the city. Under the Treaty of 1921 between Great Britain and Ireland, the British garrison was withdrawn from Dublin on Jan. 6, 1922. The city became the capital of the Irish Free State, which was renamed the Republic of Ireland in 1949.
Economy. Its geographical position, which is good for transportation, promoted the transformation of Dublin into the country’s principal economic center. The port of Dublin (connected by means of the Royal and Grand canals with the Shannon basin) is a gateway to the sea and to foreign markets, which Ireland supplies with livestock, meat, hides, and other agricultural products. (The chief export market is Great Britain.) Railroads and highways lead from Dublin into the interior of the island. The airport (at Collinstown) handles domestic and foreign service, primarily European.
The main industries are associated with processing agricultural products and meeting agricultural needs. Branches of the food-processing industry prevail, especially breweries, whiskey distilleries, flour mills, meat-packing plants, and tobacco plants. Light industry is also important, particularly the textile industry, which has been famous since the 17th century for the production of poplin, as well as woolen, linen, and silk fabrics. Branches of the textile industry produce clothing and knit goods; leather goods and jute products are also manufactured. The chemical industry, machine building (shipbuilding and the manufacture of farm machinery), and the building materials industry have also been developed.
Architecture. Among the buildings that have been preserved are the 13th-century Dublin Castle (now the Palace of Justice), the Gothic Christ Church (1038; rebuilt between 1172 and 1225), and St. Patrick’s Cathedral (1190; rebuilt after 1362). Beginning in 1757 the central area of Dublin was redesigned, and splendid ensembles and buildings in the classical style were built there (Charlemont House, 1763-70, architect W. Chambers; the City Hall, 1769, architect T. Cooley; the Bank of Ireland, 1729, architect E. Pearce, rebuilt between 1785 and 1790, architect J, Gandon; the Four Courts, 1786-1800, architects T. Cooley and J. Gandon). The beautiful buildings in the central part of the city contrast sharply with the slums on the outskirts and around the port.
In 1913 a general plan for the rebuilding of Dublin was drawn up by the architect L. P. Abercrombie. A number of buildings have been completed, including an airport terminal (1937-41, architect D. Fitzgerald), a motor-vehicle terminal (1951-53, architect M. Scott), and a number of residential and industrial complexes, but construction has lagged sharply behind the needs of the population. The industrial zone is located around the port, and the business districts adjoin the city’s principal thoroughfare, O’Connell Street. Located in the northwest are the extensive Phoenix Park and zoo. The Liffey River divides the city into its southern and northern sections, which are connected by ten bridges. Dublin is growing in a northerly direction, and in addition, the satellite city of Ballymurn is being built north of Dublin.
Educational, scientific, and cultural institutions. Located in Dublin are the University of Dublin (Trinity College, founded in 1591), the National University of Ireland (Dublin University College), the National College of Art, and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Also located there are the Royal Irish Academy, the Irish Academy of Letters, and the Royal Hibernian Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, as well as a number of other scientific institutes and societies. The city is served by the Dublin Public Library (more than 836,000 volumes) and the National Library of Ireland (founded in 1877; more than 500,000 volumes). Among Dublin’s museums are the National Museum of Ireland (founded in 1731), the National Gallery of Ireland (founded in 1864), the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, and the Civic Museum. There are two theaters—the Abbey Theater and the Gate Theater. Since 1948 the city has been the host to the Dublin Theatrical Festivals, in which foreign troupes are invited to participate.