The Team

THANK YOU

On behalf of the whole team, Bright would like to thank the following organisations and individuals for their support, assistance and contributions to the preparation of this Strategic Framework Plan: John McMahon, Rosemary Collier, Katie Morrisroe, Mary Heffernan, John Cahill, Aoife Hurley, Audrey Farrell, Francis Shier, Greg Fagan, William Derham, Myles Campbell, Fergal Martin, Elizabeth Willms, Cormac Molloy, Stephen Tobin, Dave Cummins, Richard Calder, Conor Byrne, Jack Brady, Hugh Bonar, Samir Eldin, Jenny Deery and all at OPW; Alan Sherwood; Brian Swan, Paul Clegg, John O’Hara, Fiona Cooper, Donncha Ó Dúlaing, Ruth Johnston, David Garvey and Helen McNamara of Dublin City Council; Fionnuala Croke, Derval O’Carroll and Claire Dukes of the Chester Beatty Library; John O’Mahony of Behaviour & Attitudes; Orla Carroll, Rory McCarthy and Flan Quilligan of Fáilte Ireland; Michael O’Brien of Arup, Damien McHugh of KSN.

APPENDIX 1: THE CONTEXT

by Grafton Architects

Irish Museum of Modern Art

Guinness Storehouse

15 min walk Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane

10 min walk

5 min walk

Dublin Castle

St Patrick’s Cathedral Trinity College

15 min walk

10 min walk

5 min walk g p o GPO

Dublin Castle

Government Buildings

Phoenix Park

15 min walk

10 min walk

5 min walk

Dublin Castle

St Patrick’s

Iveagh Gardens Trinity College

St Stephen’s Green Merrion

Fitzwilliam

Sequence of Piazzas in Padua, Italy

Piazza della Frutta

Piazza della Erbe

Precedent Studies

A number of local and international precedents were examined in the process, starting with equivalents in the city of Dublin itself. One such example is Trinity College Dublin. It is evident that there are certain parallels between the castle complex and this city campus complex. What is notable about the college complex is the social and cultural impact it exerts on the city that surrounds it. The university campus not only accommodates its students, but invites and welcomes strangers. Not only a university, but a piece of city, it invites tourists, and is widely used by the citizens of the city as a place of resort and as a means to connect to other parts of the city. The complex is constantly visited for business completely unrelated to its evident function. Although surrounded by a clearly defined perimeter boundary, the college feels perforate and communicates a strong sense of openness. The thresholds are clearly marked and the college closes these access points after hours. Yet despite this apparent definition, the overall sense is that of free access and an environment that is welcoming to the citizen and the stranger. While there is a range of entrances around the periphery, there is still one primary formal entrance, addressing the city at College Green, once a centre of governance for the country. The study of Trinity College provoked many thoughts and ideas about the connection between the institution and the city, about accessibility, threshold and permeability, while retaining the character, stature and order of the Castle precinct. We questioned if it was possible to open the castle more to the city. We wondered if it would be possible to transform the Castle so that it could become more “open”, while ensuring that for certain events and for reasons of security, it would maintain clear and recognisable thresholds.

Dublin Castle | Charrette 01 Arrive

Internal figure of 8Internal figure of eight bridge to parkbridge to park

Orientation / arrival

Orientation / arrival ticket points with view of castle Ticket points with view of Castle

V1

Precedent Studies

On a strategic level, the work was inspired by a study of similar precedent complexes in Edinburgh and Stockholm, certain courtyard-type urban arrangements such as those at Trinity College Dublin, Oxford and Cambridge, Somerset House in London (a private complex now open to public use and activity), or at a micro level the detailed work of Carlo Scarpa at Castel Vecchio in Verona, or the work of Aurelio Galfetti in his transformation of the Castelgrande at Bellinzona in Switzerland. These precedents, among others illustrated in the report, provided fuel for ideas, provoked thinking about future opportunities, and presented methods for interventions at a number of scales. From findings based on our research, we saw opportunities to develop new circulation patterns connecting the courtyards; uncovered new means to provide access from other parts of the city; and identified sites for future constructions that would serve the current set of activities ongoing in the Castle complex. The plan endeavours to make the interior courtyards visible and open to the citizen and the visitor, and examines ways to connect the parts of the complex that are currently isolated.

Castelvecchio Museum, Carlo Scarpa, 1963

Castelgrande, Bellinzona, Aurelio Galfetti, 1982-1992

Landscape

Landscape strategies play a key role and must recognise the texture, complexity and history of the site. The landscape and proposed architecture strategies will need to overlap if an overall coherence is to be achieved. Through initial research, we examined a broad range of precedent scenarios / strategies for new surface treatments introduced into existing prescribed spaces, examples such as those proposed by Siza and Collova at Salemi Palermo Italy, the new street paving in Oporto, Portugal as part of the European City of Culture, the refurbishment of the Stortorget, a grand public square in Kalmar Sweden, and the work of Pikionis for the paths leading up to the Acropolis in Athens. The Strategic Framework Plan intends to provide a framework for the Castle complex to grow incrementally over time, setting out a road map for the future so that each new piece of work will connect with the central themes established by the plan, providing a certain coherence at each point.

Chiesa Madre a Salemi, Álvaro Siza and Roberto Collovà, 1982 Stortorget, Kalmar, Caruso St John Architects, 1993-2003 Acropolis of Athens, Dimitris Pikionis, 1954-1957

Thematic Investigations

The initial presentation was broken down into seven thematic operations as outlined below:

1. The Context

2. The Periphery and the City

3. Perception

4. Accessibility / Connectivity

5. Visibility

6. The Core

7. The Visitor

8. Uses and Users

Each theme allows freedom to range over a series of relevant topics, providing the basis for the strategic concepts identified across the study. It is intended that the initial thinking under each of these themes will allow for an opportunity for growing the thinking over time, in relation to what the Castle is, how it will develop as a site, and how its future can re-order as time progresses and relations change. In this context, time is understood not as sequential, but as an overlapping element, where certain ideas can follow similar, overlapping, progressive or parallel trajectories. The themes as defined allow and encourage this, accommodating the many lives of the Castle and thereby allowing them to move forward at their own pace and rhythm. The themes are described as follows:

The Context

The context was established at the beginning, and was used primarily to situate the Castle historically in the city and to gain an series of understandings about its physical, political, topographical and geographical nature, and how these aspects evolved over time. This context research underpins, informs and in some cases directs the processes identified in the follow-on themes.

Dublin 1610, from Pool and Cash, 1780

Dublin 1728, Charles Brooking

The Periphery and the City

This theme concerns itself with the edges, the periphery of the Castle precinct and where it meets the city. While there is a perceived description of where the edges physically are, the Strategic Framework Plan thinking wishes either to dissolve this edge or perhaps, alter where it is perceived to be. Historical studies suggest that the current boundary of the Castle has shifted and grown in a piecemeal fashion, and that parts are deeply embedded in the city, while others are set apart. This aspect has contributed to a certain confusion about where the Castle begins and ends, as many activities take place in a disparate range of structures far from the original core, that are central to Castle activities. The Strategic Framework Plan proposes to investigate this boundary to facilitate new means for access to and through the territory, engaging it more directly with the city that surrounds it. These re-imagined connections engaging with the city, developed over time, occur in a number of specific locations identified in the primary study, and are outlined below as follows: Ship St

Palace St Stephen St Upper

Cork Hill George’s St

Dame St Area 1847, from the Ordnance Survey printed town plan, Dublin city

Perception

The Castle is perceived as a place of formal function, outside the consciousness of the city and set apart for the very serious business of administration. This has changed in recent years, with the addition of the Chester Beatty Library, embedded deep within the fabric, drawing visitors in huge numbers who, as part of this experience, also discover the many characters and wonderful spaces of the Castle. There is a certain sense that the Castle is invisible to the citizens of the city and that its civic and social spaces belong to another time in spite of its rich history and continuing relevance to the evolution of the city’s contemporary histories. There is also a certain perception that the Castle enclosure only welcomes those who have a specific reason to enter the site. The Strategic Framework Plan seeks to challenge this perception, uncovering ways in which the territory of the Castle can connect with the daily life of the city, offering its rich series of spaces back to the city. We have drawn comparisons with Trinity College campus and the manner in which it retains its primary function, which simultaneously opens and invites the city to enter. There is a sense of permeability, openness and freedom of access, which can in turn be closed for security, special events, or as the college demands. The city traverses the campus, adopting its gardens and squares as part of the life flow of the everyday. In much the same way, through a process of specific interventions, the perception of the Castle can be altered from a closed fixed entity to a more porous open one.

View From Exchequer St, Dublin, 1970s

Accessibility / Connectivity

Access to the Castle is very limited. Currently there are three thresholds: two leading from Dame St and one from Ship St. The Strategic Framework Plan proposes additional entrances, increasing permeability along the east-west and north-south axes.This theme focusses on methodologies for the opening up of the fabric of the Castle, opening up areas where it is blocked, cut off or removed. Specific interventions have been identified that will allow access and integration of the Castle into the city. These interventions will provide for a stronger degree of connection at the edges of the territory, encouraging more permeability and a greater degree of connectivity with the city. The existing east-west connection leading from the Ship St entrance is enhanced as part of the plan. A shared surface will be created on this route, removing car parking while temporarily holding the access to the Garda Síochána courtyard to the south east. At an upper level, a further east-west connection is proposed from Werburg St, moving upwards along the old city ramparts, crossing the 40 steps via a new pedestrian bridge, to allow a descent via steps to the inner face of the Ship St entrance or alternatively through the rear west facing courtyard giving access to the formal Upper Yard and leading from there to the city. An entrance is proposed from Stephen St Upper to the south, leading to the Chester Beatty and Castle garden, leading on to the upper yard via the curved existing stepped ramp, and on to the terrace and Upper Yard or alternatively connecting at ground level around Chapel Royal and on to Palace St, College Green and Temple Bar. In the future another proposed entrance will act as a connector from the north end of Grafton St via South William St and Exchequer St By making specific interventions at the edges of the Castle, providing opportunities to enter from opposing sides, a through flow or set of crossings of the territory can be encouraged and developed to allow the Castle become more generally part of the day-to-day life of the city. These new routes will establish a greater connection between east and west - and north and south.

Sketch showing connections in the site

Visibility

Drawing out the territory of the Castle to meet the city, new public spaces of entrance and threshold at the perimeter will re-orient the Castle grounds towards the city. These newly-designed spaces and access points will increase the visibility of the Castle and encourage visitors and passers by to enter and use the grounds more regularly.

The Core

A strategy for the core, the original Castle footprint provides for a greater concentration. The Castle environment has grown over its lifetime to encompass a wider, less-defined territory beyond the original footprint of the Castle. This has contributed to a problem of legibility and description. The Strategic Framework Plan proposes to consolidate the definition of the Castle, returning it closer to its original footprint and considering the expanded parts as a piece of the city. The core will be re-organised at ground floor on the southern side of the Upper Yard to increase porosity, establish a greater connection between the Upper Yard, the terrace that leads from it and gardens to the south through a reorganisation of the existing cafe toilets and ticket hall. By increasing the porosity and re-organising the plan to the south east, it is proposed to more easily incorporate access to the State Apartments, a new visitor facility of the Record Tower, and ultimately a new museum space on the first floor of the Eastern Cross-Block. In the future, it is proposed to utilise the wing dividing the Upper and Lower Yards, using one part of the ground floor as part of the visitor experience associated with the Tower, providing toilets and cloaks facilities, and creating a new museum experience on the first floor - a bridge space between the two main courtyards of the castle. This will also give access to the space associated with the handover of the administration of the State in the 1920s. The perception of the core will be further consolidated by removing the elemental colour scheme to the south-facing elevations and replacing this with a traditional more tonally appropriate lime-based render.

Overlay map with buildings as of 1980 and walls of medieval castle

The Visitor

The Castle caters for may types of visitors - local and international. The Strategic Framework Plan proposes a new engagement with the visitor. In addition to existing ticketing locations at the Chester Beatty and Main Entrance leading from the Upper Yard, a new visitor arrival space could be created at the Palace St entrance. This new space would open the castle to Dame Lane, leading from Georges St and give access to a lift connecting to a rooftop cafe on the roof level of the existing Printworks building. It is imagined that the new ticket hall would provide a better degree of orientation for the visitor, help co-ordinate the visits to the Castle, and establish the many types of visits possible. This new ticket hall would also engage with the city, increasing the legibility and visibility of the Castle, while in turn re-vitalising the laneway, a space becoming more popular in the social and cultural life of the city. The lift to the proposed cafe facilities would offer a new type of visitor and user experience at the castle. It would provide an orientation point with new terraces at roof level, giving a new vantage point over the Castle complex facing west.

Visitors to the Castle

Uses and Users

The Castle has many uses, user types and stakeholders: the Garda Síochána, Revenue Commissioners, Chester Beatty Library, OPW, facilities for Conferences, State Apartments for use on formal occasions, Exhibition spaces, and a range of outdoor gardens, yards and courts suitable for public and private events. There is also a considerable amount of user parking facilities which, it is proposed will reduce significantly to allow the Castle to be more user friendly and welcoming to pedestrians. A degree of aeration is required to loosen up the relations between the various uses and provide space for opportunity and future flexibility. More space will have to be created if an effective re-calibration of facilities is to take place. The Strategic Framework Plan identifies opportunities where future building can take place which allows freedom to organise the existing uses. It is proposed that the Upper Stephen St entrance be re-opened and used by pedestrians to access the Chester Beatty Library. This entrance will be used by the Garda Síochána in lieu of the Great Ship St entrance, freeing up an east-west pedestrian movement at the foot of the Castle walls, which will continue to Exchequer St leading on to the Grafton St area of the city.

Collage showing users on the Dublin Castle site

APPENDIX 2: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF DUBLIN CASTLE

by Conleth Manning

Introduction

Archaeological excavations at Dublin Castle have revealed evidence of all periods from the Vikings up to the present day. All of the excavations carried out within the Castle complex have been of a rescue nature necessitated by building works. Pre-Castle Viking-age deposits survive over much of the site dating from the ninth to the twelfth centuries. There was a Castle on this site from the time of the arrival of the Normans in 1170 but nothing is known of its appearance and extent except that it is likely to have been built of timber. King John issued a mandate to replace it with a strong stone Castle in 1204 and this Castle, completed about 1230, survived until the end of the seventeenth century, when a number of plans were made of it. Between about 1685 and 1750 the medieval Castle was demolished, apart from the surviving south-east corner tower (the Record Tower) and replaced by a fine quadrangle of buildings that substantially survives to this day. Excavation to date has thrown considerable light on the locations of the moat and defensive perimeter walls and towers of the Castle, especially on the north and west sides, but effectively no excavation of the interior has been carried out. Excavations in the Castle moat have produced much evidence of life in Dublin from medieval times up to the nineteenth century and a large collection of finds.

Excavations in the 1960s

The first archaeological excavation to be conducted in Dublin Castle and indeed in the city of Dublin was that directed by Marcus Ó hEochaidhe in a narrow cutting (11m by 3.5m) across the site of the Eastern Cross Block in 1962. This was located just inside the east curtain wall of the medieval Castle and the line of this wall was recorded. Important Viking-period layers with features and artefacts pre-dating the Castle were excavated here and at the east end of the north curtain wall, with a postern gate and steps being uncovered. This latter feature is now on display as part of the Viking and Medieval Excavation. The cutting that produced the Viking layers was never completely excavated but it was built over in a manner that was designed to allow excavation to be completed at a later date. This never happened and already by the 1980s the waterlogged organic material that formed the sides of the cutting had dried out and partly collapsed into the cutting. The issues relating to this incomplete excavation need to be resolved by means of a rescue excavation followed by an assessment of the future preservation needs of the remaining archaeological layers here. The other building works carried out in the 1960s, including the rebuilding after a fire of the eastern half of the State Apartments and the building of the modern Stamping Branch building at the east end of the lower Yard, were carried out with little or no archaeological involvement. These buildings were built on pile foundations and most of the archaeological deposits beneath them are likely to survive, apart from the damage caused by the piling.

Excavations in the 1980s

A major campaign of excavation was carried out between 1985 and 1987 along the north and west perimeter of the medieval Castle and mostly in the moat. This was necessitated by a major building and rebuilding project on these sides of the Upper Yard. Five distinct excavation areas were involved, which were named as follows: the Bermingham Tower, the Cork Tower and the Children’s Court (directed by Dr Ann Lynch) and the Genealogical Office and the Powder Tower (directed by Conleth Manning). The results of these excavations are best summarised together under the relevant chronological periods. The Viking period Because Viking deposits only survived outside the moat or inside the medieval Castle walls, only three small areas of pre-Castle deposits were encountered in these excavations. The first was outside the curving north-west corner of the moat, where up to 1m of these layers survived in a small triangular area. Remains of post-and-wattle houses and other features were found here. The second area where pre-Castle deposits were found was a circular area beneath the floor of the Powder Tower. Here, portions of the eastern defensive banks of the Viking town were found, the earliest of which was stone faced and is now preserved and displayed in the Undercroft. The third area was a thin strip between the north curtain wall of the medieval Castle and the eighteenth-century facade facing the Upper Yard in the Powder Tower area. The medieval Castle The excavations established the exact locations of most of the defensive walls and towers of the medieval Castle along the west and north sides. Starting with the Bermingham Tower area, the base of the square tower that was attached to the west side of the Bermingham Tower was uncovered along with the inner face of the city wall, where it crossed the moat to meet the square tower. The full width of the moat (up to 20m wide and 12m deep) was uncovered in the Cork Tower area along with parts of the base of the Cork Tower. Part of the battered (sloping) base of the north curtain wall was located in the Children’s Court area. In the Genealogical Office area the truncated remains of the causeway leading to the gatehouse of the Castle were found. In the Powder Tower area a substantial length of the base of the north curtain wall was uncovered along with most of the base of the Powder Tower, with the city wall running northwards from it across the moat. These latter features are preserved and on show in the Viking and Medieval Excavation. This excavation threw no light on the buildings within the medieval Castle and no occupation deposits relating to the medieval Castle were excavated apart from one fourteenth-century layer within the Powder Tower. There were medieval layers in the base and in the outer part of the moat but this material probably relates more to the city than to the Castle.

The post-medieval period Castle structures uncovered relating to this period were the Cork Tower itself, which had been rebuilt in the early seventeenth century, and an extra face that was added to the square tower in the seventeenth century to make it more suitable as a platform for artillery. By the eighteenth century much of the outer part of the moat had been sold off and built on but in the early nineteenth century many of these houses were bought up and demolished to improve the security of the Castle. In the Cork Tower area bases of these houses formerly along Cole Alley were excavated and produced important collections of artefacts. The fill of the moat also produced a large collection of artefacts from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

More recent excavations within the Castle Precinct

Chester Beatty Library Prior to the building of the modern or southern section of the library an excavation was carried out here under the direction of Linzi Simpson in 1994 (94E0074). A quarry with post-medieval fill had removed earlier deposits in the area excavated. Assay Office Excavation prior to development works here were directed by Franc Myles in 2006 (06E0530). A back-filled east-west water channel, probably connected with a medieval mill, was found here running parallel with and to the south of the culverted Poddle. Dubh Linn Garden Unlicensed monitoring was carried out in the north-east corner of the garden by Linzi Simpson in 2009. Excavation only went to a depth of 1m, the depth to which this ground had already been disturbed in recent years. Black silty clays at this depth suggested that this was part of the Pool, which was laid out formally as a garden in 1633 and never built on. State Apartments

A plan to install a lift in the State Apartments to the east of the grand staircase necessitated archaeological excavation, directed by Melanie McQuade (11E0137). There is no basement below ground level here and archaeological deposits survive a short distance below the concrete floor slab in this part of the State Apartments, which was rebuilt in the 1960s. Three phases of wall foundations were found here, the earliest possibly being medieval. Interesting painted window glass fragments were found, as well as other artefacts. The Stamping Branch (east end of Lower Yard) Melanie McQuade supervised excavation here in 2012 as an extension of her previous licence (11E0137). The work was necessitated by re-ordering of the ramp to this building. Wall foundations of demolished eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings were found. Geophysical survey located two channels of the culverted Poddle here. Lower Yard (south-west corner) Remains of the ice house were located here during monitoring of a service trench by Alan Hayden.

Relevant excavations in the vicinity of the Castle

The most relevant of these are excavations directed by Linzi Simpson between 1999 and 2003 (99E0414, 99E0710) on the Dunne’s Stores site on George’s St / Upper Stephen St, over the boundary wall to the south and south-east of the Dubh Linn Garden. Here the earliest evidence of Viking occupation and burial in Dublin (mid-9th century) was found on the shores of the Pool (Medieval Dublin VI, 11-62). To the west of Ship St Great the remains of the church of St Michael le Pole were excavated in 1980 (E217) along with part of its cemetery. This twelfth-century church had an integrated round tower, which survived till the eighteenth-century (Medieval Dublin II, 13-52). Recent excavations have found pre-Viking burials here indicating that this was an Early Christian ecclesiastical site. Excavations at the corner of Little Ship St and Bride St (93E0132) indicated that the Poddle was rechannelled in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century closer to the walls of the town and Castle, while supervision of road works on Ship St Little, close to Stanihurst’s Tower, showed that the top of the brick vault over the culverted Poddle was only 0.7m below the road surface (13E0173). Limited excavation was carried out inside the town wall on Werburgh St in the area of Hoey’s Court (99E0228) in 1999 and 2003, which indicated that medieval deposits began at a depth of between 1.7m and 3m. Limited excavation immediately west of the Castle Steps on Castle St only went to a depth of 4m, encountering only cellars and rubble on the street frontage. Excavations on the west side of Palace St in 2005 and 2006 (02E0244) located the bed of the River Poddle some 7m below street level and some 40m wide. Remains of a stone mill of the seventeenth century were also found.

Unfinished business

The 1962 cutting across the Eastern Cross Block This excavation cutting, which was left unfinished 50 years ago and is now in a degraded state with formerly waterlogged deposits at each side having long dried out and having partly collapsed, needs to be archaeologically resolved. The area could formerly be accessed through a wooden door from the Lower Yard but now the space appears to have been partly walled off and put to other uses, and the small space inside the door now has a suspended floor consisting of an iron grill, through which one side of the cutting beneath it can just about be seen. If the cutting could be accessed in any reasonable way, the first task would be to commission an archaeological condition survey including some limited excavation. This should be followed by further excavation, the extent of which would depend on the condition report. Ideally, the cutting should be excavated to boulder clay and an assessment made of the wall at the east end of the cutting as to whether it is the medieval curtain wall of the Castle. The extent of drying out of the deposits at each side of the cutting needs to be assessed and a strategy adopted to ensure their future preservation. The Square Tower The base of this tower, immediately west of the Bermingham Tower, was excavated in the 1980s and an indoor space was created around it so that it could be displayed to the public. However, this never happened. The remains of the tower are covered in debris and powdery dusty clay, and would need to be archaeologically cleaned down by hand, after which conservation and presentation work on the walls would need to be carried out. It is accessed directly from close to the Ship St Gate through a doorway with a locked grill. After the above works this could be made accessible to visitors. Publication of the results of the 1980s excavations A publication project, partly funded by the National Monuments Service of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and partly by the OPW, has been in progress for a couple of years to publish the results of these excavations in four volumes: 1) the history of Dublin Castle up to 1850; 2) the Viking period deposits and artefacts; 3) the medieval and post-medieval Castle; and 4) the medieval and post-medieval artefacts. The preparation of text for volumes 1 and 2 is nearing completion and an archaeologist has been employed by the Department on a two-year contract to complete volume 2 and to advance the preparation of volumes 3 and 4.

Recommended archaeological approach to all future development projects at the Castle

Archaeologists from the National Monuments Service should be involved at the planning stage of all projects that are likely to involve any disturbance of the ground surface, to advise on the possible archaeological implications. It is always advisable to commission test excavations in advance of drawing up final plans and to allow the results of the excavation to inform what can be done. While Dublin Castle is in state ownership, it is not a national monument in the ownership or guardianship of the Minister for Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Therefore, works there are not subject to Ministerial Consent. It is protected as a Recorded Monument and as such two months’ notice of any works to be carried out there should be given to the National Monuments Service of the Department. All excavation of the ground within the Castle complex, whether seen as archaeological excavation or archaeological monitoring, should be carried out under licence.

Future research

All future archaeological excavations necessitated by development at the Castle should be conducted to the highest standard and with a full consciousness of research questions relating to the Castle. In some cases, consideration should be given to extending the size or depth of the excavation, if feasible and easily done, to help answer such research questions. The publication of the results of the 1980s excavations over the coming years will provide an opportunity for thinking to develop on how archaeological research on Dublin Castle might be advanced in the future. The interior of the Castle is a relative unknown from an archaeological point of view. Geophysical surveys of the Upper Yard could be commissioned to assess what might survive under the surface here. This could be followed by targeted research excavations to test the results of the geophysics and, for example, to see whether anything of the walls of the Great Hall might survive below the surface. Such excavations could be handled as an added bonus for visitors. Another area where targeted research excavation might be considered is in the floor of the basement under St Patrick’s Hall. This would throw light on the early hall of the Castle and might uncover information on the pre-1204 Castle. What exactly was there before the stone Castle built on King John’s orders is a mystery. Where was the earlier Castle located? It may have been in the western half of the later Castle because the eastern part seems to have had houses like any other part of the Viking town. Was there a fortress here before the Anglo-Normans, possibly even constructed by Irish kings who controlled Dublin? What was the first tower to be built in accordance with King John’s 1204 mandate. The Bermingham Tower seems the most likely candidate.

While the 1980s excavations have given us much information on the moat of the Castle on the north and west sides, we know nothing archaeologically about the nature of the moat on the other two sides. Although it is likely that the River Poddle formed the moat on the south side, the situation may have been more complicated on the east side. Deep archaeological excavations in the Lower Yard up to the face of the Cross Block would be likely to throw light on this question, as well as confirming for certain the exact line of the east curtain wall of the Castle. The seventeenth-century plans of the Castle show this wall on a slightly different line from that found in the 1962 excavation. Either the wall identified in 1962 as the east curtain wall of the Castle is a later wall or the seventeenth-century plans are all slightly wrong in their alignment of the medieval east curtain wall. The Upper Yard is also likely to contain information on sixteenth- and seventeenthcentury buildings such as the north-east quadrant where prisoners were held and the seventeenth-century long gallery on pillars, which crossed the courtyard from north to south.

Dublin Castle Master Plan Archaeological implications for proposed projects by Conleth Manning

Zone 1

A: Record Tower – Interpretation only. B: State Apartments (First floor) – Interpretation only. C: Undercroft – Interpretation only. D: Chapel Royal – Interpretation only. E: State Apartments (Ground floor) East Range – If all works kept above concrete floor slab, no archaeological implications. F: Eastern Cross Block (First Floor) – No archaeological implications. G: Upper Yard – minor archaeological implications depending on depth of disturbance. H: Lower Yard – minor archaeological implications except for: a) Opening walkway at basement level along east face of Cross Block - this would have significant archaeological implications, with two cuttings being initially required to test what is involved. It will be vital at this stage to establish the line of the medieval east curtain wall of the Castle, to establish the location and depth of the remains of the ice house in the south-west corner of the Lower

Yard and to establish if any other remains of buildings survive here. Follow-up archaeological excavation / supervision will be required to open up the entire length of the new passage. b) Excavation beneath Cross Block - completion of excavation and securing preservation of remaining deposits. J: State Apartments (Ground Floor) West Range - Square Tower will need to be cleaned archaeologically and then conserved.

Zone 2

A: Upper Stephen St Entrance – minor archaeological implications depending on depth of ground disturbance. B: Chester Beatty Library Extension – major archaeological implications. C: Dubh Linn Gardens – minor archaeological implications. D: Exhibition Wall Garden – significant archaeological implications depending on extent of ground disturbance. E: Ship St Great Entrance – not included in assessment.

Zone 3

A: Palace St Gate and Dame Lane Entrance – minor archaeological implications. B: Arrival Pavilion and Bookshop – significant archaeological implications depending on nature of building. C: Stamping Building Cafe and Roof Terrace – no archaeological implications.

Zone 4

A: Phase 1: The Castle Road – minor archaeological implications. B: Phase 2: Little Ship St – East end minor archaeological implications; West end (if private property acquired) significant archaeological implications and archaeological opportunity to investigate moat / course of Poddle outside city wall. Also city wall here will need conservation. C: OPW Building - not included in assessment. D: Werburgh St Intervention – very major archaeological implications. Likely to be rich and deep Viking deposits here and possibly later material. Could also be evidence for Viking defences. E: Ship St Little Upper Entrance – few or no archaeological implications.

Zone 5

A: Castle St entrance - not included in assessment.

Zone 6

A: Exchequer St entrance – minor to no archaeological implications.

Zone 7

A: Cork Hill entrance – minor archaeological implications.

APPENDIX 3: NARRATIVE FRAMEWORK

by Laura Murtagh

Introduction:

Visitor experiences need the clarity of purpose that comes from a strong narrative framework. This document provides the basis for development of interpretation at Dublin Castle and forms part of the overall Strategic Framework Plan being developed by Bright in collaboration with Grafton Architects and Bernard Seymour Landscape Architects. A series of themes and topics have been identified through a combination of deskbased and on-site research, workshops and consultations. The following narrative matrix provides a framework on which future interpretive content for Dublin Castle can be based.

Who are we interpreting for?

Interpretive content needs to be developed so that it meets the needs and expectations of its audience and is presented in a way that enhances their experience of a visit to Dublin Castle. Behaviour & Attitudes research has revealed that the majority of visitors to Dublin Castle are from overseas, and for many Europeans at least, English is not their first language. Based on Fáilte Ireland categories, the predominant visitor to Dublin Castle would be the “Culturally Curious”. Fáilte Ireland define this group as people who choose their holiday destinations carefully and are independent “active sightseers” looking to visit new places, and expand their experience by exploring landscapes, history and culture. They are unlikely to return for some time once they have visited a new place, and often travel in couples or as individuals and rarely in a family group. The age group for this demographic is 40+. Culturally curious visitors are looking for an authentic experience: they love to delve deeper into the history of a location, and crave unusual experiences. In setting objectives for interpretation, we use Generic Learning Outcomes (GLO’s), drawing from the ’Inspiring Learning for All’ Framework, to set specific and measurable objectives for action: GLOs were developed by the University of Leicester as part of the “Inspiring Learning for All” Framework by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). This framework seeks to enable museums, libraries and archives to empower learning and inspire creativity through the services they provide. Although originating in this sector, the approach is valid for all cultural and natural heritage sites. Crucially, learning is seen as more than formal education: it is the sum total of the visitor’s experience.

Learning is defined as:

A process of active engagement with experience. It is what people do when they want to make sense of the world. It may involve the development of skills, knowledge, understanding, awareness, values, ideas and feelings, or an increase in the capacity to reflect. Effective learning leads to change, development and the desire to learn more. (MLA definition adapted from the Campaign for Learning) GLOs offer a means of understanding and measuring visitors’ experience and thereby enable the planning of improved learning experiences, through creating better spaces and opportunities and increasing access. The following GLO’s outline what we would like people to experience, learn, feel and do a result of the interpretation of Dublin Castle.

Knowledge and Understanding

• Understand the history and landscape of Dublin Castle. • Learn about the key milestones in the story of this important site, from its Viking origins, through its symbolism as a seat of power, its importance during the establishment of the Irish Free State and its role in Ireland in the twenty-first century. • Learn about the people who lived, worked and were connected with Dublin

Castle over the centuries and who added their chapters to the story of the place. • Understand that within the walls of Dublin Castle are many visitor offerings, all of which combine to offer an engaging and entertaining visitor experience. • Understand that Dublin Castle continues to be a functioning and symbolic site not only within the city, but also for the country as a whole.

Skills

• Use intellectual skill to interpret the meaning and value of the narrative and archive material presented. • Be able to reach a personal opinion on the events, people and milestones in the story of Dublin Castle. • Be able to assess primary historic resources.

Attitudes and Values

• Acknowledge that the story of Dublin Castle is the sum of many parts. • Appreciate how the Castle has been a symbol of the balance of power in

Ireland for hundreds of years. • Recognise the importance of Dublin Castle in the history of Ireland • Appreciate all that Dublin Castle has to offer to visitors.

Enjoyment, Inspiration and Creativity

• Be inspired to find out more about Dublin Castle. • Feel compelled in the future to connect with the activities of Dublin Castle.

Activity, Behaviour and Progression

• Go on and learn more / do more in Dublin Castle – after engagement in activity / participation. • Return with family members and friends. • Tell others about their positive experience – via TripAdvisor, Social Media, etc. • Engage in conversation / debate about their interpretation of Dublin Castle.

How do we interpret?

Interpretation is most successful and best delivered if it is focused on a small number of key messages, in short “bite-size” pieces of content, which visitors will absorb through their experience and will remember from their visit. At best a visitor to an exhibition or site will retain three pieces of information and the hope and aim is that on a repeat visit they will remember three more! The tone of the language should be accessible to all, as the content must cater for everyone from 8 to 88-year-olds, from someone with absolutely no interest, but simply passing time in the space, to an expert, and everyone in between. Best practice in interpretation design and content development recommends that the language used is pitched at an intelligent 12-year-old. While there may be themes and topics that the client team finds interesting, it is very important to keep in mind the visitors and their various levels of interest. To ensure that tours are not too long and continue to be engaging for both the visitors and the guides themselves, we have discussed the key themes for each stop, considering the most important facts for visitors to learn in each area. When / if time allows, further information can be provided to guides to expand on each theme / topic. People are interested in people. Visitors relate well to personal stories and anecdotes, whether presented by guides or through various media. It allows them to imagine themselves in someone else’s shoes, even momentarily. Whilst an historical narrative will be essential to tie the story together, threading in personal and emotive accounts will bring the site to life – visitors will be able to imagine what it felt like to be in Dublin Castle at different points in its long history. Different visitor types have different styles of learning, some prefer to explore a site for themselves and interact with available content at their leisure, while others engage more readily with a guide or immersive experience. In Dublin Castle it will be important to present layered content that is accessible and engaging for all these visitors.

The Visitor Experience

Overview:

In recent years, Dublin Castle visitor numbers have grown to almost half a million annually, and both TripAdvisor reviews and Behaviour and Attitudes research confirms that it is a resoundingly positive experience for the majority of people who come to the Castle, particularly those who opt for the guided tour. This is testament to the brilliant work already done by the OPW team at Dublin Castle and all of the tour guides. The proposed narrative framework intends to simply build on this existing, very strong foundation. One of the main objectives of the Masterplan is to review and make recommendations on all aspects of the visitor experience. This includes looking at the current guided tour offer in conjunction with the content to be presented in the newly refurbished Record Tower, with a view to looking at which elements might work as part of a self-guided tour, and where the current guided tour experience might be refined to help keep it within an hour, while continuing to engage, educate and entertain visitors. When planning a tour, it is essential to consider how it will work on a ‘design day’, that is a day when the site is at peak capacity, for example a Saturday in August. If the tour works well under that kind of pressure, it will equally work well, and indeed can be extended and expanded, on a Monday in November. To help develop the narrative framework element of the Strategic Framework Plan for Dublin Castle, two workshops were facilitated by Laura Murtagh to consider the following: • How / if to integrate the Record Tower into the current guided tour experience. • What themes and topics could be interpreted within the Record Tower. • A review of the current guided tour experience to see if / where the current offering might be refined / tweaked to keep it comfortably within a one-hour time frame and what tools could be provided to the tour guide team, in terms of content guidelines to help them in continuing to present Dublin Castle and all its stories in an engaging and informative manner. • To consider what elements of the visitor journey would work as self-guided. • To assess the interpretive methods currently on offer to visitors and to look at where / if this content could be updated or revisited in terms of how it is presented. • To develop a menu of ‘speciality’ tours that may be considered to increase the options available to visitors to Dublin Castle.

Dublin Castle – A Journey Through Time

Much debate was had over whether to present the narrative in a thematic or chronological way. Feedback in the Behaviour and Attitudes survey included “confusion with timeline of tour”, and “a lot of English centred”. Although the site, and the many layers of history in the story of Dublin Castle might prove challenging to interpret, it would be our recommendation that the core of the story is presented chronologically, building to the climax of the revolutionary period and the story of modern Ireland. This will allow visitors who have little knowledge of Irish history to understand and appreciate the significance and changing symbolism of the Castle through the years. In saying that, guides should be given leeway to refer to more modern events, if appropriate in the space, or to be prompted by a question if / when time allows. The current tour route works well and is manageable in terms of moving groups around. The suggestion below takes into account new opportunities in terms of accessibility and requires only minor changes to what is already a compelling and engaging narrative. For the purposes of this document the narrative being presented to visitors will be considered in five separate visitor offerings: 1. Guided Tours of Dublin Castle (Standard Tour): including the Upper Yard,

Viking and Medieval Excavation, Chapel Royal and State Apartments. 2. Self-Guided Tours of Dublin Castle: including the Upper Yard,

Chapel Royal (ground floor) and State Apartments. 3. Guided Tours of the Record Tower. 4. Other potential “Special Interest” Guided Tours. 5. Other Opportunities.

1.1 Start of Tour – Upper Yard

Main theme

Just like the scales in Justice’s hands over the gate, Dublin Castle and the site where you now stand has been a symbol of the constantly shifting balance of power and control in Ireland for almost 1,000 years, from the Vikings to the establishment of the Republic of Ireland.

Topics

• Brief introduction to the tour – will take approximately one hour; what you will see and hear. • Context - Where is the Castle? Briefly how it went from a Castle to the palace you see today.

Note

• It would be our recommendation that the guided tours return to the Upper Yard to complete the story. To allow the tour to end in St Patrick’s Hall if necessary (e.g. During bad weather), at this point the Guide could make the following point:

Two of the most important events in the birth of the modern Irish Republic took place here – first casualty of the Easter Rising and the handing over of the

Castle and Government to Michael Collins in 1922. This tour will take you on a journey through the history of Dublin Castle from its Viking and medieval origins to when it was a powerful symbol of British rule in Ireland, culminating in its significance in the establishment of the modern Republic and its continuing important role in the twenty-first century. • The location / configuration of the reception and arrivals area is addressed elsewhere in the Masterplan document.

1.2. Viking and Medieval Excavation

Main Theme

Built on a Viking settlement, Dublin Castle was once a medieval fortress, with four large circular corner towers.

Sub-Theme

The Viking bank is the oldest structure visible in Dublin today and is literally the foundation of the modern capital city.

Topics

• The Viking Bank and Powder Tower ○ The Viking bank is the oldest structure visible in Dublin city today. ○ The later medieval tower stood at one of the four corners. ○ Thickness of the walls. ○ Powder Tower used to store gun powder - the impact of the fire. ○ Discovery – the excavations, why they happened; what was found. Note: do not stop in space at Postern Gate (not a good space for large groups anyway), but when walking through point out that visitors are now walking in what

would have the moat and mention the dam on Dame St). • City Wall / Moat / Poddle. ○ The Moat – stone for building was quarried in base of Moat (as seen here). ○ The Poddle. ○ The sloping face of the tower ○ The City Wall – explain the arch. ○ Heads on spikes on the walls “trunkless heads”.

Note for interpretation options

While all agreed, during workshops with the OPW, that the current interpretation at the top of the stairs is outdated, and apart from the two large drawings of the Viking settlement and medieval castle, not referred to, the guides felt strongly that there was a need in that space to set the scene and give some context to what visitors were about to see (particularly if they were not buying a ticket to visit the Record Tower). Suggested alternatives included simply updating the two drawings that are used now and moving them to the wall facing the entrance door, allowing visitors to stand along both sides of the room and see the information being presented, or (and a strong preference by the guides), presenting these drawings and maps showing the footprint of the castle, digitally on a large screen. The guides also mentioned the possibility of displaying some artefacts in this space or at the bottom of the stairs, at the top of the Powder Tower, although it was agreed that there may be issues with security, atmospheric conditions and also the possibility of slowing down a tour.

1.3. The Chapel Royal

Main Theme

Completed in 1814, the Chapel Royal is an outstanding example of Gothic-Revival architecture, and for just over 100 years was the place of worship for the Viceroys and their families, as well as visiting dignitaries and royalty.

Sub-Themes

• The Chapel Royal held the unique position as a Royal Peculiar, that is a chapel that fell outside the diocese structure, and as such, was a representation of the

Crown in Ireland. • From the carving of the coats of arms, to the plasterwork and stone ornamentation, the Chapel Royal vividly illustrates the high standards that were demanded from the Irish craftsmen who worked on it.

“The richest modern casket of pointed architecture to be witnessed in the British Empire.”

James Brewer, 1825.

Topics

• There had been a chapel on the site before. • Made of wood – reasons why. • Francis Johnston – cost more to build than the GPO. (Evidence of Johnston arguing for an expensive Portland stone floor, etc. despite spiralling costs).

Opportunity to reference work on Record Tower, which can also be visited. • Very brief introduction to the Viceroys – what did the role entail? • Point out some key names, reference places in Dublin called after them. • Note where Viceroy and Archbishop sat; also point out that Queen Victoria worshipped here during her visits. • Last Viceroy got the last spot for his coat of arms. • The unusually ornate character of the interior, which is so striking to visitors and is extraordinary in an Anglican place of worship in Ireland in the period. • The Earl of Haddington’s coat of arms, which was carved three times by

Richard Stewart before it was accepted. • The role of the Chapel post-independence – Garrison chapel, music venue, film set, etc. • Exterior of the building – carved heads, including St Peter and Jonathan Swift

“Dean Swift, I deem it somewhat hard, / Thy head should deck the castle yard! / …But, if thou’rt destined to remain, / Breathe, tho’ in stone, the patriot strain; / …And guard thy Ireland, to the close, / From Foreign and domestic foes.”

Morning Chronicle, 23 August 1831

Note

• It is recommended that guided visitors are brought to the gallery of the Chapel

Royal. From this vantage point they can see the Viceregal pews, with the brass plates on the doors, which give an authentic glimpse into the private sphere of the Castle household and its hierarchies. This access also allows them to see the coat-of-arms of the last Viceroy, Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent. • Guided visitors will exit the Chapel through the Viceregal corridor. This unique and atmospheric space will allow them to follow in the footsteps of the Viceroy and his family, into the ground floor of the State Apartments (and will also save time on the tour, avoiding the need to exit into the lower yard and walk back to the entrance to the State Apartments from the upper yard).

1.4. State Apartments

Introduction

Visitors, both guided and self-guided, will enter the State Apartments from ground level, using the main staircase, giving an impressive and entirely appropriate sense of arrival into these important rooms. Visitors should feel as if they are following in the steps of the Viceroy and Vicereine, a debutante, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II, Irish Presidents, or visiting dignitaries. Currently there are nine spaces / rooms available to visitors to explore within the State Apartments. Content will be available in all areas for self-guided visitors to engage with. Only a selection of the rooms will be included in the guided experience and these visitors will be invited to explore all of the other areas when their tour has completed. The guided visitor route is outlined below, with the selfguided only rooms following in Section 2.

Main Theme

The State Apartments of Dublin Castle at the very centre of the castle were the heart of the workings of Empire in Ireland. They were not only the private accommodation for the Viceroys and their families, but also spaces for entertaining and receiving the many visitors who came to the Castle, including the reigning monarch. Today, the State Apartments continue to welcome dignitaries, host state events, and most importantly are where the Presidents of Ireland are inaugurated.

Sub-Themes:

• Dublin Castle is not a museum: it is a living building, full of symbolism, that continues to play an important role in state events today.

Topics:

• Introduction to the function of the State Apartments - as Viceregal residence, entertainment space, etc. • Explain the reason why it is called the Battleaxe Hall – Viceregal bodyguards armed with battleaxes. • What was the Season? When did it happen in Dublin? • Who else walked up the stairs that you have just walked up? • Reference to some of the paintings, • Introduce the State Corridor and cover content listed below.

1.4.2. State Corridor

Main Theme

The State Corridor divides the rooms that were once the private quarters of the Viceroy and his family, and the public reception rooms. It was the route a visitor to the Castle took during the Season - a debutante on her way to be presented in the Throne Room or a gentleman attending a levee.

Sub-Theme

The State Corridor also led to the Privy Council Chamber, where each new Viceroy received the Sword of State and was sworn into office.

Note

• This is a transitional space so little, if any, content will be presented but while passing through the guide could point out the temporary exhibition space and

Connolly room, which visitors can explore later. • The guides themselves felt that it was useful to stop at the end of the corridor and wait for the group to re-assemble, as many stopped to take photographs, before moving on.

1.4.3 The Drawing Room

Main Theme

Originally two rooms, the Drawing Room was one of the principal reception rooms in the Castle. It was used by the Vicereine to entertain guests and was the space in which people congregated before being presented to the Viceroy or Monarch in the Throne Room.

Sub-Themes:

• The Drawing Room was used during several royal visits. Queen Victoria had tea in the room in April 1900, and both Queen Alexandra (1907) and Queen

Mary (1911) received guests here. • The room is still used by the President of Ireland to welcome visiting dignitaries, for example Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 (100 years after the last reigning

Monarch had been to the Castle).

Topics:

• Explain the concept of the Drawing Room – withdrawing. • The role of the Vicereine. • The function of the room – queuing for the Throne Room, a sitting room. • The Paintings – in particular the Van Dyke, Victoria and Albert. • The Granard Collection – reference that the Granards met at a ball at the Castle. • Reference Victoria’s Diary – her memories of the Castle. • Imagine what this room would have been like during the Season. • Finish with Elizabeth Fingall’s recollection of waiting in this room to be presented in the Throne Room.

“That waiting was agony… Supposing one’s hair collapsed? How could it stand the weight of the feathers and long tulle lappets? And how should one ever manage one’s train?… In ten minutes perhaps it would be over, and one would be still alive. (Would one be?).” Elizabeth, Countess of Fingall, Seventy Years Young

1.4.4. The Throne Room

Main Theme:

Once known as the Presence Chamber, the Throne Room was the most symbolic room in Dublin Castle and was the epicentre of royal ceremony in Ireland.

Sub-Theme:

In this room the Viceroy received addresses of loyalty on behalf of the British crown, and during royal visits the monarch appeared in person, holding levees in the space.

Topics:

• From a guard chamber to a presence chamber – role of Lord Buckingham • The rearrangement of the room – where the throne originally was, reopening the door etc. • The functions of the room – presence chamber, throne room, for levees, debutantes, The Red Cross Hospital.

“A purpose more humane and useful than it [Dublin Castle] has ever known in its long grim history.”

Freemans Journal, 28 November, 1914 • Explain “Levee” – “a French term, adopted at the court of King Charles II, which referred to the waking and dressing of a monarch in preparation for visits from male members of the nobility and gentry, and from officials and members of the military, who were presented to the sovereign” (Patricia McCarthy, ‘Trophys and

Festoons’:The Lost Presence Chamber, 1684-1788, Making Majesty. The

Throne Room at Dublin Castle. A Cultural History, 2018) • The throne – George IV, Queen Victoria, Sword of State, children of Viceroy playing in this room, the pen (who got into it, who didn’t). • The chandelier – symbols in the room: shamrock, harp, thistle, lion, unicorn, emblems of Royalty – crown, sceptres and palm leaves. • Rearrangement of the lion and unicorn on the canopy following restoration. • The Sword of State – Viceroys children playing with it. • The balcony – similarities to Buckingham Palace but was used before theirs. • Memories of the room – Dickens, Daisy Fingall, Queen Victoria (swinging her legs on the throne), Thackeray. • The paintings.

“Peeping into this Throne-room, which is all a-blaze with gold, with a coved ceiling, which has rich amber hangings and furniture to match, and which recalls a state-room in the palace of St. Cloud, we can see a throne with a handsome canopy, and for a matter of spectacle, a very glittering pageant indeed.”

Charles Dickens, ‘The Castle of Dublin’, All the Year Round, 1866

“Everything here as at St James’s Levée. The staircase and throne-room quite like a palace… Two thousand people were presented!”

Queen Victoria, 1849

1.4.5. The Portrait Gallery

Main Theme

Earl de Grey (pictured), reorganised this room in 1843 as a room in which to display portraits of all the Viceroys, since the Act of Union of 1801.

Sub-Theme

Although known as the Portrait Gallery, the room was also used for dining, and continues to be laid out as such.

Topics

• Wining and dining – food and drink. • The Irish Crown Jewels – De Grey’s portrait positions him “looking out” across the yard to the Bedford Tower, from where the Jewels were stolen. He is also wearing some of them. • The panelling and floor – original. • The wine cooler – where did the ice come from? No fridges – the ice house. • Introduce the Knights of St Patrick – reference Marquis of Londonderry Portrait, where he can be seen in the full regalia of the knights.

1.4.6. St Patrick’s Hall

Main Theme

St Patrick’s Hall has been used for official and state ceremonies and entertaining since the 1700s, and it is where the Irish President is inaugurated every seven years.

Sub-Themes

• St Patrick’s Hall was the venue for the investitures and dinners of the

Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick. • The Hall was also used as a ballroom during the “Season”. • Ceremonial events and state dinners are held in St Patrick’s Hall. Visitors have included John F Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II and

Justin Trudeau. • In this room Irish history comes full circle.

Topics

• The Knights of St Patrick. • The ceiling paintings. • The function of the room – balls, banquets, inaugurations. • Descriptions of great events – Buckingham’s Ball 1789, Daisy Fingall’s account, etc. • Re-purposing of the Viceregal throne for the inauguration of Douglas Hyde, and subsequent Presidents.

1.4.7. Upper Yard (End of Tour)

Main Theme

Two of the most important and symbolic events in the birth of the modern Irish State took place around this square, the first civilian casualty of the Easter Rising in 1916, and the handing over of the Castle and Government to Michael Collins in 1922.

Sub-Themes

• Today the Castle continues to be a symbol of the balance of power, just as Justice continues to watch over everyone. • The Castle continues to be at the heart of Government, governance and state occasions - Revenue Commissioners, An Garda Síochána, referenda results, state visits, tribunals, inaugurations. • Dublin Castle is a city in a city: a living, breathing symbol at the heart of the state.

Topics

• Easter Rising – Constable O’Brien. • Role of the Castle during the War of Independence – spies in the Castle,

Typists – Elizabeth “Lily” Mernin. • Handing over of the state to Michael Collins in 1922 and departure of the

British forces. • Role of the Castle in the Civil War, • Continuing role of the Castle in modern Ireland. • Other things to see – Record Tower, Chester Beatty, Revenue Museum,

Garda Museum, Gardens, • Come back and do another speciality tour, • Rate us on TripAdvisor, tag us on Facebook / twitter / Instagram.

Introduction

Self-Guided visitors will follow a similar route to those taking a guided tour, with some exceptions: no access to the undercroft, and access to the ground floor only of the Chapel Royal. In addition, rooms not included in the guided tour of the State Apartments will be interpreted for self-guided visitors. Although the self-guided visitor route will follow a narrative, from the early origins of the castle through the years of the Viceroy, up to the establishment of the modern Irish state, each stop will incorporate a “complete” story, to ensure if visitors decide to skip elements, or follow a different route, they will not be left confused or feeling as if they have missed out on some key information. Self-guided visitors will have the freedom to peruse the content at their own pace and through their own preferred learning style (i.e. printed material, AV etc.). The various media which could be used to present the narrative might include an AV introduction / overview, a leaflet, interpretive panels and hands-on interactives. The use of different media allows us to present layers of content rather than overwhelming visitors with material. Many will just want to soak up the atmosphere, in particular in the Chapel Royal and State Apartments, but the interpretive content will be there for them if / when they look for it.

Interpretive Media

Audio Guide

The Behaviour & Attitudes research revealed that 91% of non-UK European / other visitors do not have English as their first language, and 55% of all respondents said that they would be interested in using a self-guided audio tour (with headphones). The benefits of introducing an audio-guide are: • Content can be made available in several languages. • Visitors to Dublin Castle can set the pace of their own tour, skipping areas they are not interested in, spending longer in others. • Audio-guides provide the opportunity for visitors to access a deeper level of information in particular spaces – e.g., information on paintings, furniture and architecture. • First-hand accounts / memories from individuals can be included in the narrative of specific rooms – e.g., Daisy Fingall’s recollection of waiting in the Drawing

Room to be presented as a debutante, Queen Victoria’s memories of her visit to the Castle or Charles Dickens’ description of the Throne Room. • Although not a replica of the personal guided experience, a well-recorded audio narration will still allow visitors to experience “Irish charm”. • In addition to the sites outlined in both the guided (above) and self-guided tour (below), an audio guide offers the opportunity to provide additional external audio points, which could include: north-west corner of the Lower Castle Yard to cover the story of Bram Stoker, Ship St Gate (allowing the opportunity to point out the original city wall), points within the lower yard (linked to landscape proposals) to mark the route of the River Poddle and explain its route through the Castle site, Dubh Linn Gardens (history and explanation of current design), The Stamping Building (current use and what was there before), Chester Beatty

Library (brief introduction to the library and its collection), The Coach House (history and function), The Bedford Tower (story of the Crown Jewels), external architectural features of the castle, tower and chapel, etc.

Visitor Leaflet

The Behaviour & Attitudes research revealed that some visitors looked for more literature, and awareness of the individual visitor attractions is very low among overseas visitors. A well-designed, and succinct leaflet is key in helping visitors orientate themselves on the site and in raising awareness of all the various components of the visitor offer. Areas available on a guided or self-guided tour can also be highlighted. A leaflet can act as an “attractor” for each of the key attractions on the site and encourage exploration. (Edinburgh Castle example).

Interpretive Panels

Interpretive panels are currently being used, very successfully, in the Chapel Royal and State Apartments. Many visitors prefer this more “traditional” method of interpretation, where succinct text can sit alongside archive images giving visitors a quick overview of the room / space they are standing in. As part of this process, and in line with the other interpretive methods being proposed, it is recommended that all of the current panels are reviewed and updated.

Self-Guided Tour Route

2.1 AV Intro 2.2 Upper Yard 2.3 Chapel Royal 2.4 State Apartments

2.1 AV Introduction

As self-guided visitors will not have the benefit of seeing the Undercroft and exploring the early origins of the Castle, an AV introduction (5-10 minutes maximum) will set the scene for them, introducing them to the medieval fortress, and giving an account of the history of the Castle, the key people associated with the site and it’s continuing role and relevance in twenty-first-century Ireland. It will also encourage exploration of the wider site and other visitor offerings. If synced with the proposed audio-guide system, this can also provide a very good overview to non-English speaking visitors.

2.2 Upper Yard

As outlined in the guided tour option, the Upper Yard allows visitors to set the context for their tour, to be given an introduction to what they are about to see and experience, and for self-guided visitors to understand the architecture of the site, where the original towers stood, location of the drawbridge, etc. As with the guided tour, it is recommended that self-guided visitors are encouraged to complete their tour back in the Upper Yard, (as detailed above), where they can learn about the key events that happened in the early twentieth-century on this site, and the role the Castle played in the birth of the modern Irish State.

2.3 Chapel Royal

It is recommended that the lower level of the Chapel Royal is accessible to self-guided visitors. The narrative (as outlined above in the guided tour) can be presented to them through audio guides and / or free-standing interpretation, that is, panels. The content will also prompt them to exit and continue the story in the State Apartments.

2.4 The State Apartments

All of the previously detailed rooms and spaces (see section 1.4) will be covered for self-guided visitors, with agreed themes and topics being presented through audio guides / hand held digital devices / printed panels and interpretive leaflets / guidebooks. In addition, the following rooms will be included in the self-guided visitor journey.

The Connolly Room

Main Theme

Although a failed rebellion, the Easter Rising of 1916 is seen by many as the spark that lit the fire of Irish Independence. One of its leaders, James Connolly, was held in Dublin Castle following his arrest, and before his execution.

Sub-Theme

During World War 1, Dublin Castle was used as a Red Cross Hospital, and so it was to here that the injured Connolly was brought following the surrender.

Topics

• The reasons for the Easter Rising. • The key events during the week of Easter 1916. • The failure to capture Dublin Castle. • Key personalities – Rebel leaders, Lord Wimborne, General Maxwell, etc. • Visit of Connolly’s Family. • Memories of Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse. • First-hand account of Nora Connolly O’Brien.

Lillie said, “Your life, James, your beautiful life.”“Well, Lillie,” he answered, “hasn’t it been a full life, and isn’t this a good end?” Nora Connolly O’Brien

Note for Interpretation

Nora Connolly O’Brien (James Connolly’s daughter) gave an extremely moving interview to RTÉ in 1965, recalling her memories of visiting her father for the last time in Dublin Castle. Using this audio, a first-hand account of the events that took place would be evocative, engaging, emotional and totally appropriate for the space. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUc6_QkkU3k

The Apollo Room

Main Theme

Following a major fire in 1941 that destroyed several rooms in the Castle, a restoration project commenced in 1964, and the Apollo Room was brought into the castle as part of that scheme, it is a reconstruction of an original eighteenth-century drawing room.

Sub-Themes

• The chimney piece and impressive ceiling were rescued from Tracton House on St Stephen’s Green in 1912 and were kept in storage in the National Museum of Ireland. • Tracton House was originally built for the Surveyor-General Arthur Jones Nevill, who was responsible for several buildings at Dublin Castle. • The ceiling was brought to Dublin Castle in 11 separate pieces and was reconstructed on site.

“Part of the old State chambers in Dublin Castle blazed furiously in the early hours of this morning... a huge column of smoke, sparks and flames shot up over the building, casting a red glow over the ancient Chapel Royal and the historical buildings adjoining.”

Irish Press, 24 January 1941

Note for Interpretation

Possible digital jigsaw of all the different pieces to allow visitors to put the ceiling back together.

The Wedgwood Room

Main Theme

Named on account of the blue and white decorative scheme, the Wedgewood Room links the north and south ranges of the State Apartments and was used as a billiards room in the 1800s.

Sub-Themes

• Completed in 1777, this room was used as a lobby or anteroom to the adjoining Gothic Supper Room. • For special events the room was used as an additional entertaining room, for example for the St Patrick’s Day Ball in 1888, it was transformed into an exotic garden.

“The scene included a small fountain, vases filled with ‘brilliant gold fish’, orange trees and ‘ornamental cages, in which song-birds heightened the illusion with their warblings’.”

Topics

• Pastimes and hobbies – e.g., billiards, card games, music.

The Gothic Supper Room

Main Theme

The Gothic Supper Room is the earliest example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture in a state building in Ireland.

Sub-Themes

• This room was primarily used as a private dining room by the Viceroy but was often appropriated for balls and pageants, as it leads directly into

St Patrick’s Hall. • The room is built on the footprint of the Bermingham Tower, one of the original four medieval towers of Dublin Castle.

• The original castle kitchens are in the room below.

Topics

• Refer to the Record Tower and Powder Tower as other tour options. • Reference to the kitchens opens the opportunity to tell the “behind the scenes” story of some of the staff who worked in Dublin Castle.

3. GUIDED TOURS OF THE RECORD TOWER

Introduction

Following the first workshop on 29 March, a subsequent meeting with the wider team was held on 10 April, where the capacity of the Record Tower as a whole was discussed. As advised by the OPW team, this has yet to be confirmed, but numbers are likely to be limited to 50 people at a time (25 people maximum per floor). It was therefore proposed that the Record Tower become a stand-alone visitor offering and will be a separately ticketed, guided experience.

Narrative Journey

As a stand-alone experience, it has been noted that if the visitor experience in the Record Tower encompasses the entire story of Dublin Castle, there may be little incentive to visit other parts of the site (whether guided or self-guided). The very architecture of the building means that is the perfect space in which to tell the medieval story of the Castle, and in particular the four towers, which is not covered in any great detail elsewhere on the site. From time to time some overlap will be required within the narrative to give context, but this will only require brief references and will encourage visitors to seek out further information on a separate tour. The Record Tower will enhance the visitor’s experience of the other parts of the site, while being distinct from them and special in its own right. By using the existing architecture of the tower, the embrasures, loop holes, etc., the various uses of the Castle over the centuries will be illustrated. For example, on level 2 the building of the Castle and how it was defended will be explored. The four embrasures on Level 3 can be used to explain the functions of the towers – a wardrobe tower, a prison, a residence and its role in the defence of the castle (with reference to the story of Silken Thomas). With limited space and natural light, level 4 lends itself to that used as an immersive multimedia or AV presentation that could reflect how the Castle was once used as a prison and might feature the stories of Red Hugh O’Donnell and Sir Edmund Butler. And finally, level 5, with the greatest floor space and wonderful views, gives us the opportunity to tell the more recent story of the tower (nineteenth and twentieth centuries) and the views allow us to put the locaton of the Castle in context within the entire city. In this room we can tell the story of Francis Johnston, as well as the role the tower played as a storage for records and the Crown Jewels.

Note

The fact that the Record Tower will be a guided experience opens up the possibility of displaying artefacts uncovered during the various archaeological digs. This will be dependent on security, atmospheric conditions and complying with the stringent guidelines outlined by the National Museum of Ireland.

Main Theme

The Record Tower is one of the last remaining medieval structures within the site of Dublin Castle and its layers of architecture reflect the layers of history that make up the story of this important site.

Sub-Theme

• Dublin Castle was built on an important site in the city, near the meeting of two rivers, and its footprint has changed and expanded over the centuries as its role evolved from a medieval fortress to a palace. • Once one of four towers built into the medieval walls of the Castle, this building has had many uses over the centuries, from a defensive stronghold to a wardrobe tower, a record store to a museum.

Topics

• Set the scene and give the Tower / Castle context within the wider story of the city. Use maps (e.g., currently used at the top of the Undercroft), but with digital technology overlay the footprint of the medieval castle on to the buildings we see today. • What was Dublin like in medieval times? • King John’s Mandate of 1204 to build a castle – how the castle was constructed; parallels with other castles in Ireland and abroad. • What has the Castle been used for over the centuries: ○ For Defence – embrasures and arrow loops. ○ A prison – Red Hugh O’Donnell, Art O’Neill & Sir Edmund Butler. ○ A Record Tower – what records were held here, the exchequer. ○ A Wardrobe Tower. • The physical layers of the building illustrate the layers of history of

Dublin Castle – the functions of the castle over the centuries, a fortress, a palace, a state building. • The fire of 1684 – the impact it had on the medieval castle, and what replaced it.

“The worst Castle in the worse situation in Christendom.”

Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran, on witnessing the inferno • Introduce story of the Crown Jewels – they were kept here until the early 1900s before being moved to the Bedford Tower, from where they were stolen. If they had been kept here, would we still have them? • Francis Johnston – built the top floor, which allows us to reference the chapel, see the wider site of Dublin Castle and understand it within the context of the city, and encourages visitors to take a separate tour that will give them access to it.

4. OTHER POTENTIAL “SPECIAL INTEREST” GUIDED TOURS

• Short “whistle-stop” tour – a quick overview – would cover the Record Tower,

The Throne Room and St Patrick’s Hall only. • The Medieval Castle – detailed tour of the Viking and Medieval Excavation and Record Tower only. • The Viceroys - The Chapel and State Apartments only. • A tour of Dublin Castle through the artwork. • Understanding Dublin Castle through its layers of architecture.

“Dublin Castle can be used to educate people on the evolution of Dublin, architecturally, as well as the evolution of the State.”

John Gibney, April 2018 • The people and personalities of Dublin Castle – Key Viceroys and Vicereines,

Daisy Fingall, Queen Victoria, staff (butlers, housekeepers, maids, etc.)

Bram Stoker, etc. • The Revolutionary Years / The Road to the Republic / the Birth of the Nation – the role of Dublin Castle in the 1916 Easter Rising, the War of Independence, the establishment of the State and the Civil War.

“Dublin Castle was not only about politics, it was also about justice”

Professor Diarmaid Ferriter, April 2018

5. OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

The Privy Council

Elsewhere in the Masterplan it is being recommended that the former Privy Council chamber, currently being referred to as “The Collins Room” become available exhibition space. The Government’s “Decade of Centenaries” programme “aims to commemorate each step that Ireland took between 1913 and 1923 in a tolerant, inclusive and respectful way”. As one of the most symbolic events in the establishment of the Irish Republic happened in this space in January 1922, when Dublin Castle was formally handed over to Michael Collins, there is a unique and unmissable opportunity to tell the story of both the War of Independence and the Civil War in these rooms, as the handover marks the end of one war and the start of the next. Both periods of conflict can be anchored in Dublin Castle through personal accounts from all sides, giving a balanced account in a site that was at the very heart of events.

Temporary Exhibitions

Dublin Castle currently runs a programme of very succesful and popular temporary exhibitions, for example “Vicereines of Ireland: Portraits of Forgotten Women”. Temporary exhibitions are a wonderful opportunity for elements of the narrative to be explored in further detail, allowing visitors to delve deeper into some of the content with which they have been presented, and therefore should always be linked to Dublin Castle itself and the storylines presented. Temporary exhibitions also increase repeat visits. Possible themes for future temporary exhibitions could include: Entertaining at Dublin Castle – The Marquess of Buckingham’s ball, Life as a servant in Dublin Castle – the army of people that were behind the scenes, the Children of the Viceroys and Vicereines – growing up in Dublin Castle and the Order of St Patrick.

Joint Ticketing

Many of the themes and storylines covered within the narrative of Dublin Castle are also addressed in a wide variety of sites and attractions around the city, and within walking distance of the Castle itself. The opportunity to provide joint ticketing with some of these sites might be considered. For example, Viking & Medieval Dublin: St Patrick’s Cathedral and Dublinia, 20th Century Revolutionary Period: GPO Witness History, Richmond Barracks and Glasnevin Cemetery.

DUBLIN CASTLE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK PLAN