The Quays – Dublin

Dublin is a city defined by the river Liffey – Northside and Southside – and its boundaries are the quays which developed over the centuries. From the time when the Vikings arrived in their longboats (evidence of their habitation and artefacts were found at Wood Quay in the 1970s) to the development of the modern quays in the 17^th century, much water has indeed passed under various bridges, and still the work continues.

The Quays from Liberty Hall

In the early 1680s the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, First Duke of Ormond, wanted to enrich the city and suggested that the river should be narrowed by building stone quays with houses and shops facing the river, thus breaking with the medieval tradition. Ormond Quay was the first such quay built and named in honour of the Lord Lieutenant, by the developer Sir Humphrey Davis. Ormond also established a royal hunting park in the Phoenix Park and built the wall that cost £31,000 in 1669.

The quays now stretch from the Sean Heuston Bridge in the west to the Tom Clarke Bridge (formerly the East Toll Link Bridge) in the east, a distance of nearly 4.3 kilometres. There are 17 bridges over the Liffey, with the oldest being Mellows Bridge (1768) and the latest is the Rosie Hackett Bridge (2014).

Some of the city’s most celebrated building are on the quays, namely, The Custom House (1781) and The Four Courts (1786-1802). There is also the old Corn Exchange (on Burgh Quay), the Convention Centre Dublin and the massive Guinness Brewery at Kingsbridge.

James Gandon’s wonderful Custom House

Only Usher’s Island and Bachelors Walk do not have the ‘Quay’ designation.

The quays, not surprisingly, often feature in art and literature. James Joyce’s famous work The Dead (from his book Dubliners) is set in a house on Usher’s Island. The Liffey Swim by Jack B Yeats shows the quays crowded with people excitedly cheering on the swimmers. This painting won a Silver Medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics, with Yeats becoming the Free State’s first Olympic medal winner.

Collins Barracks – steeped in history

Collins Barracks has a unique distinction that is little known. For three centuries it housed both British and then Irish forces making it the oldest, continuously occupied barracks in the world. It was handed over in December 1922 to Irish Free State troops, led by General Richard Mulcahy, who immediately renamed it Collins Barracks, after Michael Collins the first-commander-in-chief of the Free State who had been killed on 22nd August in County Cork.

Museum Entrance

The Barracks were designed by Thomas Burgh, Queen Anne’s Surveyor General in Ireland, and are neo-classical in style. (Burgh was a very successful architect having also designed the Trinity College Library, Dr Steevens’ Hospital and St Werbugh’s Church.) Typically, the original work was added to over the time of its occupation with significant extensions added in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The site had been cleared for a large mansion for the Duke of Ormond, and it has several big squares, with Clarke’s Square the biggest.
After the place was de-militarised in 1997, when the 5th Battalion marched out for the last time, extensive renovation work was undertaken before it was open to the public as part of the National Museum of Ireland. In fact, the work carried out in Clarke’s Square won the state’s highest award for architectural conservation, the Silver Medal for Conservation.

Clarke Square

When the government decided in 1988 to vacate the barracks as a military facility, plans were drawn up for an alternate use. Eventually it became the Museum of Decorative Arts and History and was opened by Sile deValera, Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, on the 18th September 1997. It is a big building and there is much to see, as there are many permanent exhibitions; namely The Asgard, Eileen Grey, The Way We Wore, Irish Silver and The Easter Rising – Understanding 1916 to name but a few. And, of course, there are temporary exhibitions and shows, which are very popular, as is the café on Clarke’s Square. Check it out.

Front Entrance