Dublin’s Viking & Medieval Origins

The origins of Dublin are not always obvious in a city where the past was often replaced with contemporary structures and layout. Nevertheless, in the company of a knowledgeable guide, the echoes of a thousand and more years of layered history can be found in the part of Dublin founded by the Vikings in the early 10th century.  Centred around medieval Christ Church Cathedral, there are defensive towers and ancient stone walls, the latter laid by the hands of those early Norse settlers. Pavement sculptures remind us of the vast excavations of the ancient city way back in the 1970s and, in fact, you can’t get away from the fact that around five metres below your feet the citizens and traders of the medieval city once walked and lived their precarious lives. 

Places we will see or pass by

• Former Viking Harbour area at West end of Temple Bar
• Courtyards and gardens of Dublin Castle
• Fishamble Street (1st performance of Handel’s Messiah)
• Medieval cathedrals of Christ Church and St. Patrick
• Old City Walls

Relevant self-guided or guided visits 

• Marsh’s Library
• St. Patrick’s or Christ Church Cathedral
• State Apartments at Dublin Castle
• Chester Beatty Library
• Dublinia: Viking & Medieval Museum