Inner City Southwest, Dublin

Dublin's City Hall (by Thomas Cooley, 1769-79), an imposing domed building, was originally the Royal Exchange. In the entrance hall are statues of local notabilities. In the Muniment Room are the city archives, including royal charters, the earliest of which (1172) grants the territory of Dublin to the city of Bristol.

From Dublin Castle a narrow street, Castle Street, runs west. At Nos. 7-8 is the entrance to little St Werburgh's Church (1759), with a beautiful interior.

Castle Street leads into Christchurch Place in which is one of Dublin's two principal churches, Christ Church Cathedral, the cathedral of the Anglican dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough. In its present form it is the result of a major reconstruction in 1871-78; of the original 13th C. church there remain the crypt, which extends under the whole length of the nave, a doorway in the south transept and perhaps parts of the transepts. Enough remains, however, including some sculpture, to give some impression of the magnificence of the old church. The crypt contains numerous architectural fragments of different periods and 17th C. statues of Charles II and James II. In the nave is a fine recumbent tomb effigy of a knight, identified as Strongbow, and beside this is a small half-length figure wrongly described as "Strongbow's Son."Other monuments in the choir include the tomb of a 13th C. bishop.

The former Synod Hall, linked to Christ Church Cathedral by a bridge, now houses the so-called "Dublinia." Here the history of Dublin is portrayed, from the coming of the Normans (1170) until the closing of the monasteries (1540). About an hour should be allowed to view the exhibition, which by means of a succession of scenes, an informative video show, a scale model of the city, tools and art work, illustrates this phase of the history of Dublin.

To the right of St Patrick's Cathedral a narrow street runs in a curve to Marsh's Library, Dublin's oldest public library, founded by Archbishop Marsh and built in 1701 by Sir William Robinson. The facades were renewed in 1863-69, but the attractive interior has been preserved practically unchanged, including the "cages" in which readers of rare books were obliged to work under the eye of the custodian.

Walking along Patrick Street and St Nicholas Street to Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral and turning left into High Street, we see on the right the two St Audoen's Churches. The Protestant one is a National Monument and is Dublin's only surviving medieval church. Of the original structure there remain the nave (13th C.), in which services are still held, the choir and south aisle (both roofless) and two chapels. In the porch are the Portlester Monument (1496) and a number of gravestones.

High Street in Dublin runs by way of Cornmarket into Thomas Street West. On the left is the massive facade of St Catherine's Church (by John Smyth, 1769) in front of which Robert Emmet, who had led a rising against the British, was hanged in 1803.

The gardens are a place of remembrance and architectural interest. The gardens were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and dedicated to the 49,400 Irish soldiers who died in 1914-1918 war. Their names are contained in the granite bookrooms in the garden.

The birthplace of George Bernard Shaw is restored to its original style. It includes a front parlor, children's bedrooms and upstairs drawing room where Shaw's mother hosted musical evenings in the mid-19th C.