Throughout its 800-year history, Dublin Castle has hosted army contingents, English viceroys, the Irish Parliament, troves of gold, state papers, prisoners of state, and at least one gladiator-style battle for justice. 

The stretch of land on which the castle sits is easy to defend: it’s the highest ridge in the area, and two rivers once joined nearby, forming a natural barrier to would-be defenders.

Norwegian settlers were the first to notice the auspicious location: they built a fortress there In 840, centuries before Dublin Castle was conceived. Danish vikings invaded nine years later and “made a great slaughter of the Norwegian settlers there and plundered the Castle, both people and property,” according to a 1902 book entitled, “Historical Reminisces of Dublin Castle.” 

The monasteries nestled in Ireland’s interior attracted treasure- and slave-seeking vikings, who made frequent pillaging trips during this time. They entered the country through Dublin and many other ports on Ireland’s western coast. 

Irish captors secured the fortress in 942, expelling the invaders who had maintained it for the past 100 years. Ireland’s experience with invaders, of course, was far from over. 

The 12th century saw the Norman invasion of Ireland, which relegated the island to the status of English colony. A few decades later, in 1204, King John of England ordered the construction of Dublin Castle on the site of the viking fortresses that had long occupied it. The new castle was to provide a stronger fortification against potential invaders and an enhanced capacity for storing treasure. 

For the next seven centuries, the Castle would carry out various functions of the English colonial government, making it rather unpopular among the Irish. 

During this time, it housed gold, state papers, prisoners, English colonial officials, the Irish parliament, and courts of justice. 

The judges who held court at the castle dispensed, at times, a bloody brand of medieval justice:

In 1528, one Connor McCormack O’Connor accused Teig McGilpatrick of killing men whom had been under his protection (I’m not certain what that means). McGilpatrick’s response? O’Connor’s men were rebels intent on dismantling English rule of Ireland, thereby justifying McGilpatrick’s actions. The judges did the reasonable thing: they asked him if he would defend his plea in combat. He said he would.

As the defendant, McGilpatrick got to pick the weapon (swords). In the castle’s arena, both men were stripped of their shirts, as was the custom, and read the charges against them. The ensuring duel left O’Connor with wounds his leg and eye. Eventually, though, he pummeled McGilpatrick until the defendant loosened his grip and dropped his sword. O’Connor sliced off McGilpatrick’s head and presented it to the judges, securing his acquittal for allegedly housing rebels. This account comes from “Dublin Castle,” an 1889 book by Maurice O’Connor Morris. 

A few decades after this duel, Queen Elizabeth would move the residence of Ireland’s top English official from the storm-damaged Kilmainham Castle to Dublin Castle, which would have to be restored and expanded for its new duties. 

The Castle would survive a fire in the 17th century and would later house the Irish parliament until 1798, when a thwarted revolt prompted the English government to disband it. 

The castle, according to Ireland’s Office of Public Works, saw the first fatalities of the Easter Rebellion, the 1916 movement that would ultimately win Irish independence. An advancing group of rebels shot a police office at the Castle when he tried to close a gate to keep them out. 

Now, it’s a conference center and reception hall that hosts visiting business leaders and heads of state. 

Most parts of the current castle are restored versions of their medieval forebears. The only original portion still standing is Records Tower, pictured, which builders completed in 1228.