Since its foundation in 1204 Dublin Castle has been at the heart of the
history and evolution of the city. Today, spanning an area of over
44,000 square meters (11 acres), the site contains 2 museums, 2 cafés,
an international conference centre, 2 gardens, Government Buildings and
the State Apartments which are the most important state rooms in the
country.
The State Apartments dominate the south range of the
Great Courtyard. They were built as the residential and public quarters
of the Viceregal Court and were the seat of the executive and focus of
fashionable and extravagant social life Today the Apartments are the venue for Ireland's Presidencies of the
European Union, Presidential inaugurations and prestigious functions.
The Chapel Royal is a gothic revival building designed
by Francis Johnston. It is famous for its vaulting, its particularly
fine plaster decoration and carved oaks and galleries. Of particular
interest are the coats of arms of the Justiciars, Lord Deputies and Lord
Lieutenants from the first, Hugh de Lacy (1172), which was two years
after the Norman invasion, to the last, FitzAlan (1922), which,
remarkably, occupies the last available space.
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