Dublin is the capital and largest city in Ireland. It is situated on Ireland's east coast at the head of Dublin Bay in the Irish Sea and at the mouth of the River Liffey and is the main and is the country's main seaport. The city was founded by Vikings who established a town on the south bank of the Liffey in 841 AD. The town was named Dubh Linn, which means black pool. The town was fortified with an earthen rampart with a wooden palisade. Stone walls were built around Dublin in the late eleventh century. An artificial hill was also constructed, and it was used as a meeting place for men to make laws and debate policy.

Dublin was quite a bustling town, with carpenters, blacksmiths, jewelers, and leather workers. There were men who used bone or deer antlers to make combs. There was a busy wool weaving industry and a slave trade. In the eleventh century, the Vikings were gradually converted to Christianity, and the first Christchurch Cathedral was built. Numerous wars were waged between the Vikings and Irishmen, resulting in several sackings of the town.

In 1190, a fire razed much of Dublin which had all wooden buildings, and early in the thirteenth century, it was rebuilt, this time in stone. The walls were also rebuilt and fortified. Dublin's first mayor was appointed in 1229, and by the end of the thirteenth century, the town had 8,000 residents. In the fourteenth century, the main streets were paved.In 1317, the Scottish army invaded Dublin.The bridge over the Liffey was demolished by the residents in order to deter the Scottish from using it. Additionally, they set fire to Dublin's suburbs in order to be able to see the Scots if they tried to advance into the town. Sadly, the fire burned out of control and destroyed unintended buildings. The Scots abandoned their quest to besiege the town. The Reformation was quietly supported by many in Dublin, and when Henry VIII declared himself head of the church, the people celebrated. The king closed nunneries and monasteries and outlawed the cult of relics, but that was the sum of the changes to the religion. Later, his son, King Edward VI, implemented radical reforms, but they were largely ignored, and most Dubliners continued to practice Catholicism.

During the sixteenth century, there were several outbreaks of the plague. In 1579, one of those outbreaks killed thousands of Dubliners. In 1604, the plague returned, killing hundreds. Even so, Dublin grew to a population of more than 20,000 by 1640.

After the English Civil War in 1646, most Catholics were driven out of Dublin as their loyalty was questionable. The plague hit the town again in 1650, killing nearly half of the population. By 1659, there were fewer than 9,000 people living in Dublin. Nonetheless, the population grew, and the town was again prosperous by the late seventeenth century. The wool and linen industries grew quickly with the help of French Protestants who had fled to Dublin, fleeing religious persecution.In 1700, there were 60,000 residents. A library, botanic gardens, custom house, city hall, and parliament house graced Dublin, and Guinness began brewing in 1759. In 1786, the city established a police force. Stagecoaches ran from Dublin to other towns including Cork, Belfast, and Kilkenny. A busy coach making industry was established.

The population reached 180,000 by 1800, and in 1838, workhouses were established where the those who had no money were fed and housed. During the potato famine, from 1845 to 1852, people fleeing starvation began coming to Dublin, and soup kitchens were set up in the streets to meet their needs. While the population of Ireland dwindled, the population of Dublin ballooned. In 1881, Dublin began using electric lights.

On April 24, 1916, the so-called Easter Rising erupted in Dublin. Insurgents occupied the post office, from which their leader declared the Irish Republic. The British put down the rebellion, and on April 29, the rebels surrendered, They were tried by the British and 15 of them were executed.

In May of 1941, the Nazis bombed Dublin, resulting in the deaths of 28 people. In the 1960s and 1970s, redevelopment of the city center began, and many of the historic buildings were destroyed in the process. The population declined as slums were destroyed and replaced by industrial estates and new industries such as electronics and chemicals replaced the old buildings. In 11975, the Dublin Institute of Higher Education was founded, followed by Dublin City University and Trinity College. Today, restaurants, pubs, shops, and even art galleries line the streets. The population is more than 527,000.

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