Outer Districts South, Dublin

0.75mi/1km south of Ringsend near Dublin, on both sides of the Dodder, is the residential district of Ballsbridge, with handsome early 19th C. houses, parks and sports grounds.At the junction of Shelbourne Road and Pembroke Road are the United States Embassy, a circular building of 1964, and a number of new hotels.

Beyond the bridge (1791) over the Dodder, on the right of Merrion Road, are the Royal Dublin Society Showgrounds. This extensive area with its carefully tended turf, low white fences and handsome buildings is the setting of the Dublin Horse Show which is held in August every year, a huge show, with more than 2,000 horses and a full program of races, displays, trials, presentations of prizes and auctions, which attracts visitors and purchasers from far and wide. It is also a great social event, with dances in the large hotels. The Spring Fair, held at the beginning of May, is devoted to livestock and agricultural implements and machinery; with it is associated an industrial display.The Royal Dublin Society is now mainly concerned with scientific agriculture and stock-breeding, but also has a cultural program of concerts and lectures on subjects of more general interest. It has a library of over 150,000 volumes.

The Chester Beatty Library and Gallery of Oriental Art located in Dublin Castle was founded by an American who settled in Dublin in 1953. Among the principal treasures in this valuable collection are, in the Garden Library, French Books of Hours of the 14th and 15th C. and a prayer book which belonged to Philip II of Spain; and, in the New Gallery, works of Far Eastern art, including Chinese cups of rhinoceros horn (11th C), Japanese colored woodcuts, Islamic prints, Sanskrit manuscripts (12th-13th C), Indian miniatures, Babylonian clay tablets (2500-2300 B.C.) and numerous texts in all the languages of the Near East.There are also Egyptian papyrus texts, beautifully illuminated copies of the Qur'an, the Bible, European medieval and renaissance manuscripts are among the highlights of the collection. Turkish and Persian miniatures and striking Buddhist paintings are also on display, as are Chinese dragon robes and Japanese woodblock prints. In its diversity, the collection captures much of the richness of human creative expression from about 2700 BC to the present day.

From the Chester Beatty Library and Gallery of Modern Art, Merrion Street runs southeast to Merrion Strand and along the shores of Dublin Bay to Dún Laoghaire.

Beyond the River Dodder, in the Donnybrook district of Dublin, is the national radio and television station, with a tall transmission tower. This was the site of the famous Donnybrook Fair, established by King John in 1204 and suppressed in 1855 after it had become notorious for disorder.

1mi/1.5km south of Donnybrook, beyond the River Dodder, at 20 Palmerston Park, we come to the Museum of Childhood, with a collection of dolls from 1730 to 1940, rocking horses, toys etc.

To the southwest of the Museum of Childhood at Palmerston Park is Dublin's Rathfarnham district. Here begins a long distance footpath through the Wicklow Mountains. In the park itself the stately mansion is worth visiting. The former stables have been restored and now house workshops in which traditional crafts are practiced.

Northwest of Rathfarnham lies the Drimnagh district of Dublin. Between Nass Road (N7) and Long Mile Road is Drimnagh Castle (15th C.), with a well-preserved moat and outer ward; the castle itself is incorporated in a later building occupied by the Christian Brothers. Formerly outside the town, the castle was built to deter cattle raiders.The castle has a recreated Gothic garden.

Taking Naas Road from the Drimnagh district to Dublin, we cross the Grand Canal and come into the Kilmainham district. Between Emmet Road and Inchicore Road is Kilmainham Jail (1792), where until 1924 numerous Irish patriots were imprisoned and many were executed. In the entrance archway is a carving of intertwined snakes and chains which gives a sinister foretaste of the atmosphere within. Since 1960 the prison has been restored and now houses a historical museum commemorating the patriots who were confined here.Kilmainham jail is one of the largest unoccupied jails in Europe with a major new exhibition and audio-visual show.

Going towards Dublin along Kilmainham Lane and turning left into Military Road, we come to the main entrance of the Royal Hospital which today houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art. The building was erected between 1680 and 1687 by Sir William Robinson "for maimed and infirm officers and soldiers." No costs were spared in the 1980s when the classical building, in French-Dutch style, was restored. The Great Hall, with many portraits of kings and viceroys, is now used for banquets and conferences. Of particular interest in the chapel are the wood carving and the Baroque stucco ceiling (a copy of the original destroyed in 1902). Some rooms have been furnished in their original style; others have been enlarged to provide exhibition space for the Irish Museum of Modern Art which occupied the new premises in 1991 and can now present in a worthy setting Irish and international art of the 20th C.