Adventures in Dublin: Dublin Castle and the Underwhelming Undercroft

a group of people walking through a stone archway

Dublin Castle was my last stop of the day, and I’d managed to make it in time for one of the last guided tours. This was important, not necessarily so I could hear historic details of the State Apartments, but because I really wanted to see the Medieval Undercroft, the remains of a Viking fortification on which the castle was built.

a group of people walking through a stone archway

If you’re expecting a more stereotypical castle look, you might be a little disappointed.

a group of people walking in front of a building

In continuous use since 1204 (per the castle website), its been adapted to fit more contemporary uses. But if the courtyard is a little stark, the State Apartments definitely make up for it.

a woman standing in a room with a chandelier

a woman standing in front of a chair

a long room with a bench and a rug

And, as I usually am, I was glad I took the tour because I got a lot more out of the rooms, particularly St. Patrick’s Hall.

a room with a chandelier and a painting on the ceiling

Then, it was time for the Medieval Undercroft! The entrance of which is rather non-nondescript, which added to the excitement (a’la speakeasy). It was discovered when they were doing renovations, and the entrance room above the stairs has historic pictures of what the castle looked and what the Viking fortification probably looked like.

a woman standing in front of a large painting

Quite honestly — my first impression was the smell. Not quite sulphur, not quite mold. But quite powerful.

a staircase with rocks in the background

And as we descended the steps and I found myself looking into the middle of one of the medieval towers, with the rock wall that formed the Vikings’ defense, I was a little disappointed. Even more so when discovering it had been turned into a wishing well by tourists.

a group of people standing in a room with a pile of rocks

Ah well, I’d probably built it up too much in my mind. It was still a cool tour — we got to see the ancient passageway through the castle wall where supplies could be brought up from the river.

a stone wall with stairs

We even got to see part of the ancient river, which was contributing to the smell.

a water flowing into a stone wall

All in all though, definitely worth the time and the €4.50. On the way back I popped into the State Chapel and admired the stained glass and amazing arches.

a stained glass window in a church

Then, with about 30 minutes to kill (how did I get so far ahead of schedule!?) I decided to grab a pot of tea and warm up in Gift Shop Cafe overlooking the garden.

a tea set on a table

It also had free wi-fi so it was a great chance to send pictures of my day back to friends and family.

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One Comment

  1. I enjoyed the tour as well. I especially liked the gardens outside of the castle. The gates to the gardens were beautiful.

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