| The first known settlement
on the site of Dublin was called Eblana,
a name found in the writings of the
2nd-century Alexandrian geographer
Ptolemy. The town later appears in
history as Dubh-linn (Gaelic for
"Black Pool"), the inhabitants
of which won (AD291) a military victory
over the armed forces of the kingdom of
Leinster. Baile Átha Cliath, the present
official name, is believed to have been
applied to the settlement at a subsequent
date. Dublin has often
figured prominently in Irish history. Its
inhabitants were converted to
Christianity about 450 by Saint Patrick,
later the patron saint of Ireland. The
town was captured in the 9th century by
the Danes. The rebellious Irish wrested
control of Dublin from the Danes on a
number of occasions during the next three
centuries, notably in 1052, 1075, and
1124. In 1171 the Danes were expelled by
the Anglo-Normans, led by Henry II, king
of England. He held his court in Dublin
in 1172 and later made the town a
dependency of the English city of
Bristol. English overlordship in Dublin
remained unchallenged until 1534, when
the Irish patriot Thomas Fitzgerald laid
brief siege to the city in the course of
a rebellion.
In the 17th
century, during the English civil wars
known as the Great Rebellion, Dublin was
surrendered to English parliamentary
forces to prevent the city from falling
to the Irish. Dublin remained under
British control until the Irish
insurrection of 1798, during which an
attempt to seize the city ended in
failure. A second attempt in 1803, led by
Robert Emmet, also ended disastrously.
Further abortive insurrections occurred
in Dublin in 1847 and in 1867. Dublin was
the scene of some of the most severe
fighting of the Irish rebellion of 1916
and of the revolution of 1919 to 1921,
which resulted in the establishment of
the Irish Free State. In 1949, Ireland
became a Republic.
With the current
financial boom in Europe and particularly
in Ireland, Dublin has become a very
popular place to visit. Every weekend
sees thousands of people from the UK and
Europe visiting the capital city to party
with the locals in the now famous Temple
Bar area of the city.
The population of
Dublin is now over 1 million.
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