Adventures in Dublin: Dublin Castle and the Underwhelming Undercroft

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.