Dublin

By CamilaTommasi
Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland. It is situated on the river Liffeys bay in the centre of
the country, coasting in the East with the Irish Sea and bordered in the South by the Wicklow
Mountains. Thanks to its location, tracing and fishing were historically been the most common
economic activity but Dublin prospered, after that was sacked many times and recovered then,
due to the close commercial connections with English cities and became the most important town
of the country.
The name of Dublin means 'Back Pool' and is an Anglicisation of Irish "Dubh Linn". It was appointed
by the Vikings, who were the first documented invaders of the town in the 8thand 9th century and
who established on a settlement at the Southside of the Liffey. Moreover, after 700 years of
Norman domination, the city was incorporated into the English Crown with a mercantile purpose
and was rapidly expanded becoming the second largest city of the British Empire. Following the
"Act of Union" in 1800, in which the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdomof Ireland united to
create the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", the partition of Ireland took place.
Southern Ireland aspirated to be an independent state with the whole island, but there was a
trouble with Northern Ireland because their objective was to continue remaining to the United
Kingdom. For that reason the isle was divided into Northern Ireland as a part of the United
Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland as an independent state with this capital in Dublin.
Because of its antecedents with the British, during the struggle of the Irish independence, Dublin
was one of the main places where a number of meaningful events developed and that is why you
will find some significant historical buildings there such as the General Post Office on O'Connell
Street, the Dublin Castle and the Kilmainham Gaol.
The Language most spoken in Dublin is English, but not always it was. Back in time, when Celts
raided in the United Kingdom, they brought the Goidelic languages with them such as Irish, Manx
and Scottish Gaelic and finally Irish was adopted as the main language in Ireland. Over the 17th and
20th centuries as the result of the connection link with Great Britain, the English language was little
by little replacing the Irish language in most parts of Ireland. Despite this, once that the Southern
Ireland independence was achieved, the government of the Republic of Ireland, applied Irish as the
official language along with English so all the inhabitants became formally bilingual. In addition,
nowadays in Dublin, more than in any other city of Ireland because of its history path, it is easy to
find street signs, official buildings and signposts written in both English and Irish. Also, people
speaking with one or other language or a combination of both, called "Dublin English".
In the same way that the Celts set up the language into Ireland, they introduced among other
things, music. Also in many other cultures fromdifferent countries they left their mark, but despite
the passage of time, it is in Ireland where the traditions survived strongly and continue involving
people from teenagers to old-timers. Today, Irish music is known worldwide because it has been
popularized mainly by "The Dubliners", a band coming from Dublin with a large reputation there
and even today in Dublin's pubs there is always a session of Irish music playing.
Dublin, as the principal city in Ireland is the head of some festivals every year related to Irish culture
and historical traditions which have been kept since its origins. One of the most important dates
celebrated all over the word but with strong and special meaning in Ireland, is the "Shamrock
Festival" or more common known as "St's Patrick Day". This is a cultural and religious holiday which
takes place every year on 17th March. The feast day commemorates the death date of the patron
saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick who converted the Irish Pagans into Christians. Also, is said that St
Patrick have used the shamrock to explain to the pagans the Hole Trinity and therefore the
shamrock became a powerful symbol to Ireland. This celebration collects some others important
Irish signs, such as the "Leprechaun" (a character of an Irish legend) and the beer (specially the
stout, the national drink). Many other festivals and celebrations known by the world are organized
in Dublin too, such as the "International Film Festival" in which the city is brimming with screens
showing the best of the Irish and world cinema, the "Dublin City Marathon" which attracts
thousands of runners in 26-mile track, and the "Six Nations Rugby Competition" which is one of the
biggest events in the sporting calendar, a rugby competition between England, Ireland, Scotland,
Wales, France and Italy.
To sum up, one of Europe's most break destination and popular city which have an absorbing and
interesting history, in my opinion, is Dublin. It Is a city that took up my attention completely fromthe
first time that I read about it, perhaps because all of the history facts, traditions, dates and mores
are closely connected together and date you back in time to the ages of Celts and Vikings, up to
now.

References:
http://www.discoverdublin.ie/ - Discover Dublin: Events and entertainment.
http://www.dublin.info/ - Dublin Independent tourist information.
http://www.dublincastle.ie/ - Official Dublin Castle Website.
https://www.uni-due.de/VCDE/VCDE_Overview.htm - Dublin: The people and facts that
shaped the city.
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/irish.htm - Irish language, alphabet and pronunciation.
See also https://www.thinglink.com/scene/564310953043165186