name	Dublin Airport
nativename
image-width	187
image2	Aerfort-bac.jpg
image2-width	250px
iata	DUB
icao	EIDW
type	Public
owner	Government of Ireland
operator	Dublin Airport Authority
city-served	Dublin
location	Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland
hub
elevation-f	242
elevation-m	74
coordinates region	IE-D
website	www.dublinairport.com
pushpin map	Ireland
pushpin label	DUB
pushpin map caption	Location within Ireland
metric-rwy	Yes
r1-number	10/28
r1-length-f	8,652
r1-length-m	2,637
r1-surface	Concrete
r2-number	16/34
r2-length-f	6,798
r2-length-m	2,072
r2-surface	Asphalt
r3-number	11/29
r3-length-f	4,393
r3-length-m	1,339
r3-surface	Asphalt/concrete
stat-year	2010
stat1-header	Passengers
stat1-data	18,431,265
stat2-header	Passenger change 09-10
stat2-data	10.1%
stat3-header	Aircraft movements
stat3-data	160,324
stat4-header	Movements change 09-10
stat4-data	9.3%
footnotes	Source: Irish AISStatistics }}

Dublin Airport, () , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon. It is the busiest on the island of Ireland followed by Belfast International, Belfast City, Cork and Shannon.

The airport is located north of Dublin City in a once-rural area near Swords, and is served by buses and taxis. Metro North, a rapid transit line in development, will connect the airport to Swords and Dublin city centre.

Dublin Airport is the headquarters of Ireland's flag carrier Aer Lingus, Europe's largest no-frills airline Ryanair and Ireland's domestic, regional airline Aer Arann. Ireland's fourth airline, CityJet, operates flights from the airport and its HQ is located in the nearby town of Swords.

The airport has an extensive short and medium haul network, served by an array of carriers. Domestic services are offered to most regional Irish airports. There are approximately 40 daily departures from Dublin to all five London airports (Stansted, Luton, Gatwick, Heathrow and London City). There are over 30 daily departures to other UK Airports. There is also a reasonably sized long-haul network. Aer Lingus serves many popular US destinations, and has been able to add more thanks to the open skies deal. US legacy carriers also serve the airport from major US hubs. Etihad Airways operates a twice daily service between the airport and Abu Dhabi.

United States border preclearance services are available at the airport for US-bound passengers, Dublin being one of only two European airports with this facility, along with Shannon.

History

The beginnings in the 1930s and early 1940s

In 1936 the Government of Ireland established a new civil airline, Aer Lingus, which began operating from the military aerodrome, Casement Aerodrome, at Baldonnel to the south of Dublin. However, the decision was made that a civil airport should replace Baldonnel as the city's airport. Collinstown, to the north of Dublin, was selected as the location for the new civil aerodrome. Collinstown's first association with aviation was as a British military air base during World War I, but had been unused since 1922. Construction of the new airport began in 1937. By the end of 1939 a grass airfield surface, internal roads, car parks and electrical power and lighting were set up. The inaugural flight from Dublin took place on 19 January 1940 to Liverpool. In 1940 work began on a new airport terminal building. The terminal building design was by the architect Desmond FitzGerald, brother of politician Garret FitzGerald. It opened in early 1941, with its design being heavily influenced by the bridges of the luxury ocean liners of the time. The terminal was also awarded the ''Triennial Gold Medal of the Royal Hibernian Institute of Architects'' and is today a listed building. Upon the outbreak of World War II, services were severely restricted at Dublin Airport until late 1945 and the only international scheduled route operated during this time was by Aer Lingus to Liverpool (and for a period to Manchester's Barton Aerodrome). Three new concrete runways were completed by 1947.

Expanding in the 1950s

Throughout the 1950s Dublin Airport expanded with virtually uninterrupted traffic growth. Runway extensions and terminal enhancements were carried out to deal with the influx of traffic and passengers. New airlines began serving the airport also. These included British European Airways, Sabena and BKS. In 1958 a new transatlantic service was started by Aer Lingus via Shannon Airport. During the 1960s the number of scheduled carriers continued to grow and aircraft continued to evolve with technological advancement. By the close of the 1960s, a sizeable number of Boeing 737s, BAC One-Elevens, Boeing 707s, and Hawker Siddeley Tridents were using Dublin Airport on a regular basis. During 1969, 1,737,151 passengers travelled through Dublin Airport.

The advent of wide-body aircraft posed opportunities and challenges for aviation. In 1971 Aer Lingus took delivery of two new Boeing 747 aircraft (a third Boeing 747 was delivered later that decade). To cope with this, a new passenger terminal capable of handling five million passengers per year was opened in 1972. The growth which was anticipated at the airport (and provided for through heavy investment by the airport and Aer Lingus) during the 1970s did not materialise immediately.

Continuing in the 1980s

In 1983 Aer Lingus opened its 'Aer Lingus Commuter' division which took delivery of Shorts, Saab, and Fokker turboprop aircraft to open regular daily domestic services to and from Ireland's smaller regional airports for the first time, as well as to serve existing routes to smaller regional airports in the United Kingdom. At various stages of its operations, flights were operated to several Irish regional airports to feed passengers into Aer Lingus's international network. These domestic destinations included Cork Airport, Shannon Airport, Kerry Airport, Galway Airport, Ireland West Airport Knock, Waterford Airport, Sligo Airport, and City of Derry Airport in Northern Ireland. Aer Lingus Commuter has since been re-absorbed into the main company. The domestic routes, with the exception of Dublin-Shannon, have been taken over by Aer Arann, including the route to Derry in Northern Ireland. Aer Lingus has continued with the remaining Dublin–UK flights.

During the 1980s, major competition, especially on the Dublin–London routes, resulted in passenger numbers swelling to 5.1 million in 1989. In the same year a new runway and a state-of-the-art air traffic control centre were opened. Dublin Airport continued to expand rapidly in the 1990s. Pier A, which had been the first extension to the old terminal building, was significantly extended. A new Pier C, complete with air bridges, was built and as soon as this was completed, work commenced to extend it to double its capacity. The ground floor of the original terminal building, which is today a listed building, was returned to passenger service after many years to provide additional departure gates. Pier D, completed in October 2007, is a dedicated low-fares boarding area and provides 14 quick turn-around stands and departure gates; these are not served by air bridges.

The Bilateral Air Transport Agreement

In 1993, a major milestone for the airport was the signing of a new United States – Republic of Ireland bilateral agreement which allowed airlines to operate some direct transatlantic services for the first time to/from Dublin Airport instead of touching down en route at Shannon Airport on the west coast of Ireland (Shannon had once been a major transatlantic refuelling stop for pre-jet aircraft, and this agreement was designed to protect the interests of the Shannon region when modern jets no longer required a refuelling stop and Shannon saw a fall-off in traffic). Airlines still had to provide an equal number of flights either to or through Shannon as to Dublin. A gradual further watering down of Shannon's so-called 'stopover' status came into effect in November 2006 when more direct flights to Dublin were allowed. The stopover requirement disappears completely in 2008. At that time, airlines will be allowed to fly direct to the US from Dublin without having to match these with any to/from Shannon. It is expected that this will result in a huge increase in services between Dublin and the US, and Aer Lingus has identified 16 destinations that it would like to serve direct from Dublin.

Recent history

With the success of Ireland's 'Celtic Tiger' economy, Dublin Airport has seen growth in the 1990s and 2000s. This demand has been driven by an increased demand for business travel to and from the country, together with an increase in inward tourism, and a surge in demand for foreign holidays and city breaks from the Irish, who are now one of the wealthiest populations in the world. In January 2006, the number of trips abroad taken by the Irish outnumbered the number of inbound trips for the first time since records began. Christmas shopping weekends in New York City have increased in popularity (although London is still the top destination from Dublin). A further source of demand has been for flights to holiday homes and investment properties which have been snapped up by the property-hungry Irish across southern European holiday hotspots, the emerging economies of Eastern Europe, and beyond.

Finally, the demand from Ireland's migrant workers, principally those from Eastern Europe, has resulted in a large number of new routes opening to destinations in the European Union accession states. Ireland was one of only three European Union countries (as well as the United Kingdom and Sweden) to open its borders freely to workers from the ten accession states that joined the European Union in 2004. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of people moving to Ireland from these countries since then.

The airport has seen significant declines in traffic in 2009 and 2010.

Long-haul traffic

The DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) has ambitious long-haul expansion plans and has successfully added new routes to North America and the Middle East in recent years. It has yet to secure a direct route to East Asia. Like most airports, the effects of the September 11, 2001 attacks affected transatlantic traffic but this has since recovered to record levels.

In 2005 Gulf Air launched a direct route to Bahrain in the Middle East. This was followed by Aer Lingus's service to Dubai in March 2006, and Etihad Airways service to Abu Dhabi in July 2007. Despite reportedly high loads, the Gulf Air service to Bahrain was cancelled in July 2007 as part of a broad restructuring plan of the airline. This move prompted Etihad Airways to bring forward the start date of its Abu Dhabi service by a number of months, and Etihad's Dublin route has proved to be a success with further frequencies planned. The DAA announced as far back as the late 1990s that it would like to add a route to East Asia, however this has yet to materialise and Aer Lingus's poorly performing route to Dubai was dropped at the end of March 2008., however the introduction of services to Asia remains part of Aer Lingus' long term plans. Etihad Airways are currently the only airline to offer a direct service to the Gulf area from Dublin, with onward connections to the Far East and Australia.

In February 2010, United Arab Emirates airline Etihad Airways announced an increase in services to Dublin from Abu Dhabi which means that from 28 March 2010 twice-daily flights will be available on Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays with a once-daily service on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The airline is also to build a new lounge at Dublin's new T2 (Terminal 2) which is on schedule to open from November 2010.

In September 2010, US Airways announced that it will commence daily direct services from Dublin to Charlotte in North Carolina from May 2011. It will be a summer seasonal route running until September.

Open Skies and the Shannon Stopover

In the mid twentieth century, the Irish government introduced a rule stating that all air traffic between Ireland and the United States must transit through Shannon airport. In return, the United States government placed a limit of four airports in the U.S. that Aer Lingus could operate to. On 22 March 2007, the Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and EU was ratified. This resulted in the immediate cancellation of the long-running 'Shannon Stopover' requirement whereby the Irish government insisted that 50% of all transatlantic flights between Ireland and the United States must pass through Shannon Airport.

US border preclearance

Dublin Airport is one of only two airports outside of North America with United States border preclearance services for U.S.-bound passengers (the other being Shannon Airport). It allows passengers to have their paperwork dealt with before departure saving time upon arrival in the United States. However, due to congestion there are numerous flights that do not use this facility. Customs and Department of Agriculture checks will be available in the new terminal, meaning flights will not have to land in international terminals on arrival in the U.S., as all checks will have been completed.

Aer Rianta and Dublin Airport Authority

In October 2004, Aer Rianta (which means 'Air Ways' or 'Air Tracks' in Irish) was renamed as the Dublin Airport Authority plc, following the State Airports Act 2004. All assets and liabilities previously owned by Aer Rianta were transferred to Dublin Airport Authority. The State Airports Act 2004 also established new airport authorities at Shannon and Cork Airports. The Shannon Airport Authority plc and the Cork Airport Authority have separate boards of directors and have been authorised under the Act to prepare business plans, which may in time lead to their full separation from the Dublin Airport Authority.

As the largest gateway to Ireland, over 21.1 million passengers travelled through the airport in 2006, a 2.7 million (or 15%) increase over 2005. The main contributors to the growth in traffic in 2005 were the airport's routes to continental Europe (particularly Poland and the Baltic region), North America, and the Middle East. Domestic and UK traffic had showed a small decline in 2005, but grew by 25% and 4% respectively in 2006. The decline in 2005 was due to a reduction in connecting traffic between Ireland's regional airports and the UK. This was as a result of a growing direct network of routes between those airports and the UK and continental Europe, dispensing with the need to transit at Dublin. But the organic demand at Dublin resulted in a net increase in those markets in 2006. Dublin Airport also welcomes over one million passengers per annum from across the border in Northern Ireland, whose largest airport is less than a quarter the size of Dublin in terms of passenger numbers.

Passenger terminals

Terminal 1

The current Terminal 1 building originally opened in 1972, and was initially designed to handle five million passengers per year. The original design included a second pier which would have been identical to the current decagon-shaped boarding pier B, but this was never built. A car park was originally located on the upper floor of the building, and the access ramps are still in place but it was closed for security reasons in the 1970s and converted into offices. Terminal 1 has been regularly extended and improved over the last two decades. In October 2007, a new pier designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, whom also designed graphics for its interior, was opened to the north of terminal 1. This pier caters for the majority of Ryanair flights. In 2009, a new extension featuring new food and retail outlets was added to the side of Terminal 1. Terminal 1 is currently home to all short haul flights, except those of Aer Lingus.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 is a terminal and pier (pier E) which provides 19 air bridges for aircraft and is capable of handling 15 million passengers annually, thereby allowing the airport to handle 35 million passengers a year. The project was designed by Pascal+Watson architects and the total cost is put at €600 million. Another pier (Pier F) is planned to be built to the south of Terminal 2 when required. The majority of long-haul carriers have moved to Terminal 2, including Aer Lingus, which has relocated all its mainline operations, with the exception of flights operated by Aer Lingus Regional. Terminal 2 also features a new US pre-clearance immigration facility. Construction of Terminal 2 began on 1 October 2007, and was officially opened on November 19, 2010. The project has been subject to significant criticism, as it has opened at a time when air traffic at Dublin airport has been subject to significant declines. Currently the following airlines are operating from Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport: Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Etihad Airways, US Airways and Delta.

Maintenance facilities

Aer Lingus, Ryanair, CityJet, Eirtech and Dublin Aerospace have aircraft maintenance hangars and facilities at Dublin Airport. In 2010 Etihad Airways announced a new maintenance hangar which will handle the Airbus A330-200 which the airline uses on their route from Dublin. In time the airline will allow other airlines to use this facility.

Office facilities

The airport has the headquarters of Aer Lingus and Ryanair. The Dublin Airport Authority has its head office on the grounds of the airport.

Airport developments

Capacity

Due to the growth experienced at Dublin Airport in recent years, the facility became congested. One part or another of the airport has been a building site for the past two decades. Despite the building works and extensions, it is widely accepted by the DAA that Terminal 1 and its infrastructure were insufficient to deal with the volume of passengers. Both the Irish Government and the DAA have come under pressure from airlines and passengers alike to once-and-for-all provide a realistic increase in capacity for the future. As a result, the DAA plan to invest €2 billion in a 10-year capital development programme to effectively double the size of the passenger facilities of Dublin Airport.

Criticism

The plans for Terminal 2 have been met with ongoing criticism from those who argued that, once built, it could not be extended to provide any additional capacity, owing to its location. A third terminal, which is in the blueprint for the future of the airport, would most likely be located between the parallel runways.

The greatest objections continue to come from Ryanair. The no-frills carrier has long lobbied for Terminal 2 to be built as a low-cost facility, and run by a competing operator. They have even offered to build and operate such a facility. However, the Irish government decided that the DAA would build T2 and that its operation would be put out to tender. In March 2010 it was decided that T2 would be operated by the DAA as the other applicants did not meet the requirements for operating the terminal.

New air traffic control complex

Planning is currently under way for a new air traffic control complex and control tower which will replace the existing structure. The new facility has been designed by Scott Tallon Walker architects. A planning application was submitted in August 2009. The new control tower will be in height. The new control tower is necessary because the construction of the future parallel runway will obstruct visibility of certain parts of the airport from the existing control tower.

New runway

A new runway measuring is planned to be built parallel to the existing runway 10/28, which opened in 1989. Detailed proposals and planning permission were submitted to Fingal County Council (under whose jurisdiction Dublin Airport lies) and approved in April 2006. An appeal to An Bord Pleanála (The Irish Planning Appeals Board), which determines appeals and other cases under the national planning acts, was heard in September 2006, and this resulted in the granting of permission in August 2007, with 31 planning conditions attached.

The new runway will replace runway 11/29 (which is no longer in use as a runway, and is used for aircraft parking) and will be built to the north of and parallel to the existing runway 10/28. The new runway will allow the airport to accommodate 30 million passengers per annum once in operation, and will be long. In March 2009 the DAA announced in a proposal for consultation that the new runway may be built to a length of following consultation with potential long-haul carriers. A runway of this length would allow direct flights from Dublin to the Far East.

In the meantime, the Authority has invested heavily in extending aprons and creating rapid exit taxiways to derive maximum efficiency from the existing main runway. Runway 11/29, the shortest and one of the oldest runways, is closed to allow overspill aircraft parking. This runway will disappear under the new parallel runway in due course.

However, in December 2008, the Dublin Airport Authority announced that it would postpone the construction of the new parallel runway by three to four years, on account of the need to cut costs and predictions of falling consumer demand for air travel. This is a result of the recent global financial crisis.

Airlines and destinations

Sources:

Note: † - Charter airlines and their destinations

Cargo

{{Airport-dest-list | Air France Cargo | Chicago-O'Hare, Paris-Charles de Gaulle | DHL Express | East Midlands, Frankfurt, London-Luton | FedEx Express | Frankfurt, Indianapolis, Memphis, Newark, Paris-Charles de Gaulle | FedEx Feeder 2002-2005 - DAA2006-2009 - DAA2010 - Anna.aero |} || |}

Busiest routes

+ '''20 busiest international routes at Dublin Airport (2010)
Rank	Airport	Passengers Handled
1	London Heathrow Airport>London Heathrow
2	Gatwick Airport>London Gatwick
3	London Stansted Airport>London Stansted
4	Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport>Paris-Charles de Gaulle
5	Manchester Airport>Manchester
6	Birmingham Airport, England>Birmingham
7	John F. Kennedy International Airport>New York JFK
8	Malaga Airport>Malaga
9	Amsterdam Airport Schiphol>Amsterdam
10	Frankfurt Airport>Frankfurt
11	Edinburgh Airport>Edinburgh
12	Madrid-Barajas Airport>Madrid
13	Faro Airport>Faro
14	Liverpool John Lennon Airport>Liverpool
15	London Luton Airport>London Luton
16	Bristol Airport>Bristol
17	O'Hare International Airport>Chicago O'Hare
18	Berlin Schönefeld Airport>Berlin Schönefeld
19	Lanzarote Airport>Lanzarote
20	Barcelona Airport>Barcelona

Ground transport

Dublin Airport is located just off the M1 and the M50 north from the city centre and south of the town of Swords.

Until the Metro North rail link to Dublin city centre is completed (see below), the public transport options to the city are taxis, buses, and private transport. Passengers can however connect by bus or taxi to Dublin's railway stations.

Dublin Airport Parking

More than 22,000 public parking spaces. Largest car park in Ireland managed through a sophisticated online prebooking system linked to ANPR and a DESIGNA Abacus Car Park system.

19,300 Long term Parking spaces - Express Red LT Car Park 8,400 spaces. Next to the Airport, High frequency ( 5-8 min) shuttle bus provided by Firstgroup the parent company of Aircoach. Transfer Time 5 min. This car park is noted for it’s large population of Hares!

- Holiday Blue LT Car Park 8,600 spaces. Parallel to the main runway to the north of the airport. Shuttle bus frequency 10-15 min, Transfer time 10min.

- Overflow Green LT Car Park. Only used in peak season.

2,900 short term parking spaces. All next to the Terminal. Av 5 min walk to check-in. - Terminal 1 Car Parks .

o Short Term A. Best for T1 pickup and drop off (450 spaces)

o Short Term C. Best for stays of 1-7days (1445 spaces)

o Collinstown Car Park. PRM ( Blue Badge) parking (55 Spaces)

- Terminal 2 Car Park (Built 2010)

o Single car park for Pick –up and dropoff and stays of 1-7days (950 Spaces)

o PRM ( Blue Badge) parking (42 Spaces)

o Electric car charging (5 spaces)

Bus

Dublin Airport is served by a large network of bus and coach routes, serving both the wider Dublin area and intercity links to the rest of Ireland.

Dublin area

Dublin Bus is the main provider of transport to and from Dublin Airport operating Airlink Express routes 747 and 748 which serve Busáras (Dublin's central bus station for intercity and regional bus services), Dublin Connolly railway station and Dublin Heuston railway station along with the city centre.

In addition to the limited stop Airlink services, Dublin Bus runs a number of local stopping services that serve Dublin Airport from such areas as Santry, Swords, Rathfarnham, Sutton. Beaumont. Harold's Cross. Drumcondra and Portmarnock.

Aircoach offers a number of coach services from the Airport to the Dublin area, serving both the city centre and surrounding areas including Ballsbridge, Leopardstown, Dalkey, Greystones. Blackrock, Dun Laoghaire, Ballinteer, Dundrum, Churchtown, Terenure and Templeogue amongst others.

Urbus provides a service from Swords, Tyrrelstown, Castleknock and Blanchardstown whilst Flybus operates a service from Tallaght and Clondalkin.

Intercity services

National bus and coach operator Bus Éireann offers a large number of routes from Dublin Airport to all around Ireland including key destinations such as Belfast, Galway, Wexford. Sligo, Donegal, Drogheda, Navan and Wicklow.

A number of private operators also run intercity services with Aircoach offering a service to Cork, Citylink and Gobus offer services to Galway whilst JJ Kavanagh operate regular services to Limerick, Kilkenny and Waterford.

Car rental

Car rental at Dublin Airport is serviced by all major car rental brands including Sixt, Thrifty, Europcar and Hertz in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. In Terminal 1, all car rental desks are located in the main arrivals hall and are immediately visible upon exiting customs. In Terminal 2, after exiting customs follow the signs for the car rental desks which will be found by walking straight ahead.

Rail

Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) provide suburban and intercity railway services from Dublin Connolly and Dublin Heuston railway stations. There are direct regular bus services to both stations from the airport. Some city bus services serve Drumcondra suburban railway station, which is on the Connolly to Maynooth railway line. Bus services to Busáras/Dublin Connolly and Dublin Heuston railway stations connect with the Luas Red Line.

Plans for rail link

For many years, it was expected that Iarnród Éireann, the state railway company, would extend the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) with a spur off the Dublin to Belfast line that would serve the airport and Swords. These plans were replaced with plans for an underground metro line, which would run from the city centre to Swords via the airport. The route for the line, Metro North, was announced on 19 October 2006 and is designed to connect with several other modes of transport.

There will be three stops in Dublin's city centre, allowing transfers to both Luas lines, and the proposed DART Underground. Another transfer will be possible at Drumcondra. Beyond the airport, Metro North will continue to Swords, where many airport workers live. There will be a number of park and ride stops along the route. Journey time between the airport and St Stephen's Green will be 18 minutes.

Dublin Airport City

The Dublin Airport Authority has recently announced plans for an ambitious development of the Dublin Airport area and surrounding environs. This ambitious project will develop a land reserve situated to the east of Dublin Airport and will cost in the region of €4 billion. Of this , 90% is already owned by the Dublin Airport Authority, and they are confident that they will be able to purchase the remaining pockets. The development will be mainly high rise, and will be expected to be completed by 2028. There will be of office space along with of retail, hotel and conference facilities. It is expected that the journey time from office to airport will be in the region of 6 minutes.

References

External links

Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport Authority

Category:Airports in the Republic of Ireland Category:Airports with United States border preclearance Category:Buildings and structures in Fingal Category:Proposed airport expansion Category:Transport in County Dublin

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Name	Dublin
Native name
Native name lang	ga
Flag size	125px
Image shield	Dublin_city_coa.gif
Shield size	125px
Motto	"The citizens' obedience is the city's happiness"
Pushpin map	Ireland
Pushpin label	Dublin
Map caption	Location of Dublin in Ireland
Coordinates region	IE
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	Ireland
Subdivision type1	Province
Subdivision name1	Leinster
Government type	City Council
Leader title	Headquarters
Leader name	Dublin City Hall
Leader title1	Lord Mayor
Leader name1	Andrew Montague
Leader title2	Dáil Éireann
Leader name2	Dublin CentralDublin North CentralDublin North EastDublin North WestDublin South CentralDublin South East
Leader title3	European Parliament
Leader name3	Dublin constituency
Unit pref	Metric
Area total km2	114.99
Population total	525,383
Population density km2	4398
Population urban	1,045,769
Population metro	1,801,040
population blank1 title	Demonym
population blank1	Dubliner, Dub
population blank2 title	Ethnicity(2006 Census)
population blank2
Timezone	WET
Utc offset	0
Timezone dst	IST
Utc offset dst	+1
Coordinates display	inline,title
Postal code type	Postal districts
Postal code	D1-18, 20, 22, 24, D6W
Area code	01
Website	www.dublincity.ie }}

Dublin (; locally ; Irish: ''Baile Átha Cliath'', or ''Áth Cliath'', ) is the capital and most populous city of Ireland. It is a primate city serving a population of approximately 1.8 million within the Greater Dublin Area. The English name for the city is derived from the Irish name ''Dubh Linn'', meaning "black pool". Dublin is situated near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey, and at the centre of the Dublin Region.

Originally founded as a Viking settlement, it evolved into the Kingdom of Dublin and became the island's primary city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century, and for a brief period was the second largest city within the British Empire and the fifth largest in Europe. However, Dublin entered a period of stagnation following the Act of Union of 1800, but remained the economic centre for most of the island. Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, the new parliament, the Oireachtas, was located in Leinster House. Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State and later of the Republic of Ireland.

Similar to the other cities of Cork, Limerick, Galway, and Waterford, Dublin is administered separately from its respective county with its own city council. The city is currently ranked 29th in the Global Financial Centres Index and is listed by the GaWC as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha, placing Dublin among the top 30 cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary cultural centre for the country, as well as a modern centre of education, the arts, administration, economy and industry.

History

Toponymy

Although the area surrounding Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times, the writings of Ptolemy, the Egyptian astronomer and cartographer, provide possibly the earliest reference to a settlement he described as in about 140 AD. The name ''Dublin'' is derived from the Irish name ''Dubh Linn'', meaning "black pool". '''', meaning "town of the hurdled ford", is the common name for the city in modern Irish. '''' is a place name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey in the vicinity of Father Mathew Bridge. '''' was an early Christian monastery which is believed to have been situated in the area of Aungier Street, currently occupied by Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church.

The subsequent Scandinavian settlement was on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay. The Dubh Linn was a lake used to moor ships and was connected to the Liffey by the Poddle. These lakes were covered during the early 18th century, and they were largely abandoned as the city expanded. The Dubh Linn was situated where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle. ''Táin Bó Cuailgne'', also known as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', refers to ''Dublind rissa ratter Áth Cliath'', meaning ''Dublin, which is called Ath Cliath''.

In most Irish dialects, ''Dubh'' is correctly pronounced as or (usually pronounced in Ulster Irish). The original pronunciation is preserved in Old English as ''Difelin'', Old Norse as ''Dyflin'', modern Icelandic as ''Dyflinn'' and modern Manx as ''Divlyn''. Historically, in the Gaelic script, ''bh'' was written with a dot over the ''b'', rendering or . Those without a knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as ''Dublin''.

Middle Ages

Dublin was established as a Viking settlement in the 9th century and, despite a number a rebellions by the native Irish, it remained largely under Viking control until the Norman invasion of Ireland was launched from Wales in 1169. The King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada, enlisted the help of Strongbow, the Earl of Pembroke, to conquer Dublin. Following Mac Murrough’s death, Strongbow declared himself King of Leinster after gaining control of the city. In response to Strongbow's successful invasion, King Henry II of England reaffirmed his sovereignty by mounting a larger invasion in 1171 and pronouncing himself Lord of Ireland.

Dublin Castle, which became the centre of English power in Ireland, was founded in 1204 as a major defensive work on the orders of King John of England. Following the appointment of the first Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1229, the city expanded and had a population of 8,000 by the end of the 13th century. Dublin prospered as a trade centre, despite an attempt by King Robert I of Scotland to capture the city in 1317. It remained a relatively small walled medieval town during the 14th century and was under constant threat from the surrounding native clans. In 1348, the Black Death, a lethal plague which had ravaged Europe, took hold in Dublin and killed thousands over the following decade.

Dublin was incorporated into the English Crown as The Pale, which was a narrow strip of English settlement along the eastern seaboard. The Tudor conquest of Ireland in the 16th century spelt a new era for Dublin, with the city enjoying a renewed prominence as the centre of administrative rule in Ireland. Determined to make Dublin a Protestant city, Queen Elizabeth I of England established Trinity College in 1592 as a solely Protestant university and ordered that the Catholic St. Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals be converted to Protestant.

The city had a population of 20,000 in 1640 before a plague in 1649–51 wiped out almost half of the city's inhabitants. However, the city prospered again soon after as a result of the wool and linen trade with England, reaching a population of over 50,000 in 1700.

Early modern

As the city continued to prosper during the 17th century, Georgian Dublin became, for a short period, the second largest city of the British Empire and the fifth largest city in Europe, with the population exceeding 130,000. The vast majority of Dublin's most notable architecture dates from this period, such as the Four Courts and the Custom House. Temple Bar and Grafton Street are two of the few remaining areas that were not affected by the wave of Georgian reconstruction and maintained their medieval character.

Dublin grew even more dramatically during the 18th century, with the construction of many famous districts and buildings, such as Merrion Square, Parliament House and the Royal Exchange. The Wide Streets Commission was established in 1757 at the request of Dublin Corporation to govern architectural standards on the layout of streets, bridges and buildings. In 1759, the founding of the Guinness brewery resulted in a considerable economic gain for the city. For much of the time since its foundation, the brewery was Dublin's largest employer, but Catholics were confined to the lower echelons of employment at Guinness and only entered management level in the 1960s.

Late modern and contemporary

Dublin suffered a period of political and economic decline during the 19th century following the Act of Union of 1800, under which the seat of government was transferred to the Westminster Parliament in London. The city played no major role in the Industrial Revolution, but remained the centre of administration and a transport hub for most of the island. Ireland had no significant sources of coal, the fuel of the time, and Dublin was not a centre of ship manufacturing, the other main driver of industrial development in Britain and Ireland. Belfast developed faster than Dublin during this period on a mixture of international trade, factory-based linen cloth production and shipbuilding.

The Easter Rising of 1916, the Irish War of Independence, and the subsequent Irish Civil War resulted in a significant amount of physical destruction in central Dublin. The Government of the Irish Free State rebuilt the city centre and located the new parliament, the Oireachtas, in Leinster House. Since the beginning of Anglo-Norman rule in the 12th century, the city has functioned as the capital in varying geopolitical entities: Lordship of Ireland (1171–1541), Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800), island as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), and the Irish Republic (1919–1922). Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, it became the capital of the Irish Free State (1922–1949) and now is the capital of the Republic of Ireland. One of the memorials to commemorate that time is the Garden of Remembrance. Since 1997, the landscape of Dublin has changed immensely. The city was at the forefront of Ireland's rapid economic expansion during the Celtic Tiger period, with enormous private sector and state development of housing, transport, and business.

Government

Local

Dublin City Council is a unicameral assembly of 52 members elected every five years from Local Election Areas. It is presided over by the Lord Mayor, who is elected for a yearly term and resides in Mansion House. Council meetings occur at Dublin City Hall, while most of its administrative activities are based in the Civic Offices on Wood Quay. The party, or coalition of parties, with the majority of seats adjudicates committee members, introduces policies, and appoints the Lord Mayor. The Council passes an annual budget for spending on areas such as housing, traffic management, refuse, drainage, and planning. The Dublin City Manager is responsible for implementing City Council decisions.

National

As the capital city, Dublin seats the national parliament of Ireland, the Oireachtas. It is composed of the President of Ireland, Seanad Éireann as the upper house, and Dáil Éireann as the lower house. The President resides in Áras an Uachtaráin in the Phoenix Park, while both houses of the Oireachtas meet in Leinster House, a former ducal palace on Kildare Street. It has been the home of the Irish parliament since the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922. The old Irish Houses of Parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland were located in College Green.

Government Buildings house the Department of the Taoiseach, the Council Chamber, the Department of Finance and the Office of the Attorney General. It consists of a main building (completed 1911) with two wings (completed 1921). It was designed by Thomas Manley Dean and Sir Aston Webb as the Royal College of Science. The House of Commons of Southern Ireland met there in 1921. The Irish Free State government took over the two wings of the building to serve as a temporary home for some ministries, while the central building became the College of Technology until 1989. Although both it and Leinster House were intended to be temporary, they became the permanent homes of parliament from then on.

Geography

Landscape

Dublin is situated at the mouth of the River Liffey and encompasses a land area of approximately 115 km². It is bordered by a low mountain range to the south and surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west. A north-south division has traditionally existed, with the River Liffey as the divider. The Northside is generally seen as working-class, while the Southside is seen as middle to upper middle class. The divide is punctuated by examples of Dublin "sub-culture" stereotypes, with upper-middle class constituents seen as tending towards an accent and demeanour synonymous with the Southside, and working-class Dubliners seen as tending towards characteristics associated with Northside and inner-city areas. Dublin's economic divide is east-west as well as north-south. There are also social divisions evident between the coastal suburbs in the east of the city, including those on the northside, and the newer developments further to the west.

Climate

Similar to much of northwest Europe, Dublin experiences a maritime climate with mild winters, cool summers, and a lack of temperature extremes. The average maximum January temperature is , while the average maximum July temperature is . On average, the sunniest months are May and June, while the wettest month is December with of rain, and the driest month is July with . Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year.

Dublin records the least amount of rainfall in Ireland, with the average annual precipitation in the city centre being . The main precipitation in winter is rain, however snow showers do occur between November and March. Hail is more common than snow (during winter months). The city experiences long summer days and short winter days. Strong Atlantic winds are most common in autumn. These winds can affect Dublin, but due to its easterly location it is least affected compared to other parts of the country.

Places of interest

Landmarks

Dublin has many landmarks and monuments dating back hundreds of years. One of the oldest is Dublin Castle, which was first founded as a major defensive work on the orders of King John of England in 1204, shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169, when it was commanded that a castle be built with strong walls and good ditches for the defence of the city, the administration of justice, and the protection of the King’s treasure. Largely complete by 1230, the castle was of typical Norman courtyard design, with a central square without a keep, bounded on all sides by tall defensive walls and protected at each corner by a circular tower. Sited to the south-east of Norman Dublin, the castle formed one corner of the outer perimeter of the city, using the River Poddle as a natural means of defence.

One of Dublin's newest monuments is the Spire of Dublin, or officially titled "Monument of Light". It is a conical spire made of stainless steel and is located on O'Connell Street. It replaces Nelson's Pillar and is intended to mark Dublin's place in the 21st century. The spire was designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, who sought an "Elegant and dynamic simplicity bridging art and technology". During the day it maintains its steel look, but at dusk the monument appears to merge into the sky. The base of the monument is lit and the top is illuminated to provide a beacon in the night sky across the city. The Ha'penny Bridge; an old iron footbridge over the River Liffey is one of the most photographed sights in Dublin and is considered to be one of Dublin's most iconic landmarks.

Other popular landmarks and monuments include the Mansion House, the Anna Livia monument, the Molly Malone statue, Christ Church Cathedral, St Patrick's Cathedral, Saint Francis Xavier Church on Upper Gardiner Street near Mountjoy Square, The Custom House, and Áras an Uachtaráin. The Poolbeg Towers are also iconic features of Dublin and are visible in many spots around the city.

Parks

Dublin has more green spaces per square kilometre than any other European capital city, with 97% of city residents living within 300 meters of a park area. The city council provides of public green space per 1,000 people and 255 playing fields. The council also plants approximately 5,000 trees annually and manages over of parks.

There are many park areas around the city, including the Phoenix Park, Herbert Park and St Stephen's Green. The Phoenix Park is 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the 17th century has been home to a herd of wild Fallow deer. The residence of the President of Ireland (Áras an Uachtaráin), which was built in 1754, is located in the park. The park is also home to Dublin Zoo, the official residence of the United States Ambassador, and Ashtown Castle. Music concerts have also been performed in the park by many singers and musicians.

St Stephen's Green is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street, and to a shopping centre named for it, while on its surrounding streets are the offices of a number of public bodies and the city terminus of one of Dublin's Luas tram lines. St Anne's Park is a public park and recreational facility, shared between Raheny and Clontarf, both suburbs on the North Side of Dublin. The park, the second largest municipal park in Dublin, is part of a former 2 km² (500 acre) estate assembled by members of the Guinness family, beginning with Benjamin Lee Guinness in 1835 (the largest municipal park is nearby (North) Bull Island, also shared between Clontarf and Raheny).

Economy

The Dublin region is the economic centre of Ireland, and was at the forefront of the country's rapid economic expansion during the Celtic Tiger period. In 2009, Dublin was listed as the fourth richest city in the world by purchasing power and 10th richest by personal income. According to ''Mercer's 2011 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey'', Dublin is the 13th most expensive city in the European Union (down from 10th in 2010) and the 58th most expensive place to live in the world (down from 42nd in 2010). As of 2005, approximately 800,000 people were employed in the Greater Dublin Area, of whom around 600,000 were employed in the services sector and 200,000 in the industrial sector. Many of Dublin's traditional industries, such as food processing, textile manufacturing, brewing, and distilling have gradually declined, although Guinness has been brewed at the St. James's Gate Brewery since 1759. Economic improvements in the 1990s have attracted a large number of global pharmaceutical, information and communications technology companies to the city and Greater Dublin Area. Companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Yahoo!, Facebook and Pfizer now have European headquarters and/or operational bases in the city. Intel and Hewlett-Packard have large manufacturing plants in Leixlip, County Kildare, to the west.

Financial services have also become important to the city since the establishment of Dublin's International Financial Services Centre in 1987, which is globally recognised as a leading location for a range of internationally traded financial services. More than 500 operations are approved to trade in under the IFSC programme. The centre is host to half of the world's top 50 banks and to half of the top 20 insurance companies. Many international firms have established major headquarters in the city, such as Citibank and Commerzbank. The Irish Stock Exchange (ISEQ), Internet Neutral Exchange (INEX) and Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX) are also located in Dublin. The economic boom led to a sharp increase in construction, with large redevelopment projects in the Dublin Docklands and Spencer Dock. Completed projects include the Convention Centre, The O₂, and the Grand Canal Theatre.

Transport

Road

The road network in Ireland is primarily focused on Dublin. The M50 motorway, a semi-ring road which runs around the south, west and north of the city, connects important national primary routes to the rest of the country. In 2008, the West-Link toll bridge was replaced by the eFlow barrier-free tolling system, with a three-tiered charge system based on electronic tags and car pre-registration. The toll is currently €2 for vehicles with a pre-paid tag, €2.50 for vehicles whose number plates have been registered with eFlow, and €3 for unregistered vehicles.

The first phase of a proposed eastern bypass for the city is the Dublin Port Tunnel, which officially opened in 2006 to mainly cater for heavy vehicles. The tunnel connects Dublin Port and the M1 motorway close to Dublin Airport. The city is also surrounded by an inner and outer orbital route. The inner orbital route runs approximately around the heart of the Georgian city and the outer orbital route runs primarily along the natural circle formed by Dublin's two canals, the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal, as well as the North and South Circular Roads.

Dublin is served by an extensive network of nearly 200 bus routes which serve all areas of the city and suburbs. The majority of these are controlled by Dublin Bus, but a number of smaller companies also operate. Fares are generally calculated on a stage system based on distance travelled. There are several different levels of fares, which apply on most services. The Bus Arrival Information Service is being rolled out which provides bus stops with information on the distance of buses based on GPS positions of the buses.

Rail

Heuston and Connolly stations are the two main railway stations in Dublin. Operated by Iarnród Éireann, the Dublin Suburban Rail network consists of five railway lines serving the Greater Dublin Area and commuter towns such as Drogheda and Dundalk in County Louth. One of these lines is the electrified Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) line, which runs primarily along the coast of Dublin, from Malahide and Howth southwards as far as Greystones in County Wicklow. Commuter rail operates on the other four lines using Irish Rail diesel multiple units.

The Luas is a two-line light rail or tram network which has been operated in Dublin by Veolia Transport since 2004. The network consists of two routes, the Red Line and Green Line, with a total 54 stations and of track. A decision on whether to expand the Luas system will be made in September 2011, when a new national development plan is to be published. Proposed multi-million euro projects such as the Dublin Metro and the DART Underground will also be considered in light of the current difficult economic climate.

Airport

Dublin Airport is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority and is located north of Dublin City in the administrative county of Fingal. It is the headquarters of Ireland's flag carrier Air Lingus, low-cost carrier Ryanair and regional airline Aer Arann. The airport offers an extensive short and medium haul network, as well as domestic services to many regional airports in Ireland. There are also extensive Long Haul services to the United States, Canada and the Middle East. Dublin Airport is the busiest airport in Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon. Construction of a second terminal began in 2007 and was officially opened on 19 November 2010.

Cycling

Dublinbikes is a self-service bicycle rental scheme which has been in operation in Dublin since 2009. Sponsored by JCDecaux, the scheme consists of 550 French-made unisex bicycles stationed at 44 terminals throughout the city centre. Users must make a subscription for either an annual Long Term Hire Card costing €10 or a 3 Day Ticket costing €2. The first 30 minutes of use is free, but after that a service charge depending on the extra length of use applies. Dublinbikes now has over 58,000 subscribers and there are plans to dramatically expand the service across the city and its suburbs to provide for up to 5,000 bicycles and approximately 300 terminals.

Education

Dublin is the primary centre of education in Ireland, with three universities and many other higher education institutions. There are 20 third-level institutes in the city. Dublin will be European Capital of Science in 2012. The University of Dublin is the oldest university in Ireland dating from the 16th century, and is located in the city centre. Its sole constituent college, Trinity College, was established by Royal Charter in 1592 under Elizabeth I and was closed to Roman Catholics until Catholic Emancipation. The Catholic hierarchy then banned Roman Catholics from attending it until 1970. It is situated in the city centre, on College Green, and has 15,000 students.

The National University of Ireland (NUI) has its seat in Dublin, which is also the location of the associated ''constituent university'' of University College Dublin (UCD), the largest university in Ireland with over 22,000 students. UCD's main campus at Belfield is located about 5 km south east of the city centre. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical school which is a recognised college of the NUI, it is situated at St. Stephen's Green in the city centre. The National University of Ireland, Maynooth, another constituent university of the NUI, is in neighbouring Co. Kildare, about from the city centre. The Institute of European Affairs is also in Dublin.

Dublin City University (DCU) specialises in business, engineering, and science courses, particularly with relevance to industry. It has around 10,000 students, and is located about 7 km north of the city. Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) is a modern technical college and is the country's largest non-university third-level institution. It specialises in technical subjects but also offers many arts and humanities courses. It is soon to be relocated to a new campus at Grangegorman. Two suburbs of Dublin, Tallaght and Blanchardstown have Institutes of Technology: Institute of Technology, Tallaght, and Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown. Portobello College has its degrees conferred through the University of Wales. Dublin Business School (DBS) is Ireland's largest private third level institution with over 9,000 students. The college is located on Aungier Street. The Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) support training and research in art, design, business, psychology and media technology. The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) supports training and research in art, design and media. The National College of Ireland (NCI) is also based in Dublin. The Economic and Social Research Institute, a social science research institute, is based on Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2.

The Irish public administration and management training centre has its base in Dublin, the Institute of Public Administration provides a range of undergraduate and post graduate awards via the National University of Ireland and in some instances, Queen's University Belfast. There are also smaller specialised colleges, including Griffith College Dublin, The Gaiety School of Acting and the New Media Technology College.

Demographics

The City of Dublin is the area administered by Dublin City Council, but the term "Dublin" normally refers to the contiguous urban area which includes parts of the adjacent local authority areas of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. Together, the four areas form the traditional County Dublin. This area is sometimes known as the Dublin Region. The population of the administrative area controlled by the City Council was 525,383 in the 2011 census, while the population of the urban area was 1,200,769. The County Dublin population was 1,270,603 and that of the Greater Dublin Area 1,801,185. The city's population is expanding rapidly, and it is estimated by the CSO that it will reach 2.1 million by 2020.

Since the late 1990s, Dublin has experienced a significant level of net immigration, with the greatest numbers coming from the European Union, especially the United Kingdom, Poland and Lithuania. There is also a considerable number from outside Europe, particularly China and Nigeria. Dublin is home to a greater proportion of new arrivals than any other parts of the country. 60% of Ireland's Asian population lives in Dublin even though less than 40% of the overall population live in the Greater Dublin Area. By 2006, the percentage of foreign-born population had increased to 14.5% for the state and 17.3% in Dublin.

Culture

The arts

Dublin has a world famous literary history, having produced many prominent literary figures, including Nobel laureates William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett. Other influential writers and playwrights include Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift and the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker. It is arguably most famous as the location of the greatest works of James Joyce, including ''Ulysses'', which is set in Dublin and full of topical detail. ''Dubliners'' is a collection of short stories by Joyce about incidents and typical characters of the city during the early 20th century. Other renowned writers include J. M. Synge, Seán O'Casey, Brendan Behan, Maeve Binchy, and Roddy Doyle. Ireland's biggest libraries and literary museums are found in Dublin, including the National Print Museum of Ireland and National Library of Ireland. In July 2010, Dublin was named as a UNESCO City of Literature, joining Edinburgh, Melbourne and Iowa City with the permanent title. There are several theatres within the city centre, and various world famous actors have emerged from the Dublin theatrical scene, including Noel Purcell, Sir Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Stephen Rea, Colin Farrell, Colm Meaney and Gabriel Byrne. The best known theatres include the Gaiety, Abbey, Olympia, Gate, and Grand Canal. The Gaiety specialises in musical and operatic productions, and is popular for opening its doors after the evening theatre production to host a variety of live music, dancing, and films. The Abbey was founded in 1904 by a group that included Yeats with the aim of promoting indigenous literary talent. It went on to provide a breakthrough for some of the city's most famous writers, such as Synge, Yeats himself and George Bernard Shaw. The Gate was founded in 1928 to promote European and American Avant Garde works. The Grand Canal Theatre is a new 2,111 capacity theatre which opened in March 2010 in the Grand Canal Dock.

Apart from being the focus of the country's literature and theatre, Dublin is also the focal point for much of Irish Art and the Irish artistic scene. The Book of Kells, a world-famous manuscript produced by Celtic Monks in AD 800 and an example of Insular art, is on display in Trinity College. The Chester Beatty Library houses the famous collection of manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and decorative arts assembled by American mining millionaire (and honorary Irish citizen) Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875–1968). The collections date from 2700 BC onwards and are drawn from Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Work by local artists is often put on public display around St. Stephen's Green, the main public park in the city centre. In addition large art galleries are found across the city, including the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery, the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, The City Arts Centre, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, The Project Arts Centre and The Royal Hibernian Academy. Three branches of the National Museum of Ireland are located in Dublin: Archaeology in Kildare Street, Decorative Arts and History in Collins Barracks and Natural History in Merrion Street. Dublin is home to the National College of Art and Design, which dates from 1746, and Dublin Institute of Design, founded in 1991.

Dublin has long been a city with a strong underground arts scene. Temple Bar was the home of many artists in the 1980s, and spaces such as the Project Arts Centre were hubs for collectives and new exhibitions. ''The Guardian'' noted that Dublin's independent and underground arts flourished during the economic recession of 2010. Dublin also has many acclaimed dramatic, musical and operatic companies, including Festival Productions, Lyric Opera Productions, The Pioneers Musical & Dramatic Society, The Glasnevin Musical Society, Second Age Theatre Company, Opera Theatre Company, and Opera Ireland. Ireland is well known for its love of baroque music, which is highly acclaimed at Trinity College. Perhaps the most famous Dublin theatre company is the renowned Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society, which has been in existence since 1913. It produced full scale productions of popular musicals and operettas including ''Oklahoma!'', ''Carousel'', ''The Mikado'', ''Guys and Dolls'', ''The Pirates of Penzance'', ''Me and My Girl'', ''My Fair Lady'', ''The Yeoman of the Guard'', ''Gigi'', ''Fiddler on the Roof'', ''The Gondoliers'', ''Anything Goes'', ''The Merry Widow'', ''Iolanthe'', ''The Producers'' and ''HMS Pinafore''. At present, the society is performing a tribute concert to the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein at the National Concert Hall. The society recreated their 1913 production of ''The Mikado'' in November 2010 at the National Concert Hall.

Dublin is shortlisted to be World Design Capital 2014. Taoiseach Enda Kenny was quoted to say that Dublin “would be an ideal candidate to host the World Design Capital in 2014”.

Entertainment

Dublin has a vibrant nightlife and is reputedly one of Europe's most youthful cities, with an estimate of 50% of citizens being younger than 25. There are many pubs across the city centre, with the area around St. Stephen's Green and Grafton Street, especially Harcourt Street, Camden Street, Wexford Street and Leeson Street, having the most popular nightclubs and pubs.

The best known area for nightlife is Temple Bar, south of the River Liffey. To some extent, the area has become popular among tourists, including stag and hen parties from Britain. It was developed as Dublin's cultural quarter and does retain this spirit as a centre for small arts productions, photographic and artists' studios, and in the form of street performers and small music venues. However, it has been criticised as overpriced, false and dirty by Lonely Planet. In general, it is regarded by locals as tourist orientated with false "ye olde Irish" pretensions. The areas around Leeson Street, Harcourt Street, South William Street and Camden/George's Street are popular nightlife spots for locals.

Live music is popularly played on streets and at venues throughout Dublin in general, and the city has produced several musicians and groups of international success, including U2, Westlife, The Dubliners, The Thrills, Horslips, The Boomtown Rats, Boyzone, Ronan Keating, Thin Lizzy, Paddy Casey, Sinéad O'Connor, The Script and My Bloody Valentine. The two best known cinemas in the city centre are the Savoy Cinema and the Cineworld Cinema, both north of the Liffey. Alternative and special-interest cinema can be found in the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar, in the Screen Cinema on d'Olier Street and in the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield. Large modern multiscreen cinemas are located across suburban Dublin. The O₂ venue in the Dublin Docklands has played host to many world renowned performers.

Shopping

Dublin is a popular shopping destination for both locals and tourists. The city has numerous shopping districts, including Grafton Street, Henry Street, Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Jervis Shopping Centre, and the Ilac Shopping Centre. The most famous shops on Grafton Street include Brown Thomas and its sister shop BT2. Brown Thomas also houses several boutiques such as Hermès, Tiffany's, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Dublin is also the location of large department stores, such as Clerys on O'Connell Street, and Arnotts on Henry Street.

A major €800m development for the city centre, known as the "Northern Quarter" is currently in doubt. It involved the construction of 47 new shops, 175 apartments and a four-star hotel. Dublin City Council gave Arnotts planning permission for the plans to change the area bounded by Henry Street, O'Connell Street, Liffey Street and Abbey Street. Following appeals to An Bord Pleanála, the extensive scale of the development was reduced. Prince's Street, which runs off O'Connell Street, was to become a full urban street and pedestrian thoroughfare. In July 2010 the project was effectively abandoned as Anglo Irish Bank and Ulster Bank took control of Arnotts due to the large debts incurred in pursuing the development. The Carlton cinema site further up O'Connell Street is currently undergoing redevelopment by Crossidge Developments, who were responsible for the construction of Dundrum Town Centre, and will be anchored by British department store John Lewis.

The city retains a thriving market culture, despite new shopping developments and the loss of some traditional market sites. Several historic locations, including Moore Street, remain one of the city's oldest trading districts. There has also been a significant growth in local farmers' markets and other markets. In 2007, Dublin Food Co-op relocated to a larger warehouse in The Liberties area, where it is home to many market and community events. Suburban Dublin has several modern retail centres, including Dundrum Town Centre, Blanchardstown Centre, The Square in Tallaght, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Clondalkin, Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock, Nutgrove Shopping Centre in Rathfarnham, and Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords.

Media

Dublin is the centre of both media and communications in Ireland, with many newspapers, radio stations, television stations and telephone companies based there. RTÉ is Ireland's national state broadcaster, and is based in Donnybrook. Fair City is RTÉ's soap opera, located in the fictional Dublin suburb of ''Carraigstown''. TV3, City Channel and Setanta Sports are also based in the city. The headquarters of An Post and telecommunications companies such as Eircom, as well as mobile operators Meteor, Vodafone, O₂ and 3 are all located there. Dublin is also the headquarters of important national newspapers such as ''The Irish Times'' and ''Irish Independent'', as well as local newspapers such as ''The Evening Herald''.

Dublin is home to national commercial radio networks Today FM and Newstalk, and numerous local stations. The most popular radio stations in Dublin, by adult (15+) listenership share, are RTÉ Radio 1 (30.3%), FM104 (13.3%), 98FM (11.9%), RTÉ 2fm (10.4%), Q102 (7%), Spin 1038 (7%), Newstalk (6.8%), Today FM (5.7%), RTÉ lyric fm (2.7%), Dublin's Country Mix 106.8 (2.6%) and Phantom FM (1.8%). Among the under 35s, this figures are very different with FM104 (24.9%), Spin 1038 (17.3%) and 98FM (15.6%) being the most popular. There are two Irish language radio stations which can be picked up in the Dublin area: RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, and Raidió na Life 106.4fm, both of which have studios in the city.

Sport

The city is host to Croke Park, the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association. With a capacity of 82,300, it is the third largest stadium in Europe after Nou Camp in Barcelona and Wembley in London. It traditionally hosts Gaelic football and hurling games, as well as international rules football. The Dublin team play most of their home league hurling and Gaelic Football games at Parnell Park. Lansdowne Road stadium was the venue for home games of both the Irish Rugby Union Team and the national football team. As part of a joint venture between the Irish Rugby Football Union, the FAI and the Government, it was replaced by the 50,000 all-seater Aviva Stadium, which opened in May 2010. On 29 January 2009, UEFA confirmed that the Aviva Stadium will host the 2011 UEFA Europa League Final, the game was played on 18 May 2011, Portuguese club Porto beat fellow Portuguese side Braga 1-0. Rugby union team Leinster Rugby play their home matches in the RDS Arena & the Aviva Stadium.

Dublin is home to six League of Ireland clubs, five in the Premier Division and one in the First Division. Dalymount Park in Phibsboro, which was a former venue of Republic of Ireland international soccer matches and is the home stadium of Bohemians F.C. Current League Champions Shamrock Rovers play at Tallaght Stadium, play at Richmond Park, and play their home games at the UCD Bowl, while is based at Tolka Park. Tolka Park, Dalymount Park, UCD Bowl and Tallaght Stadium, along with the Carlisle Grounds in Bray, hosted all Group 3 games in the intermediary round of the 2011 UEFA Regions' Cup.

The National Aquatic Centre in Blanchardstown is Ireland's largest indoor water leisure facility. The Dublin area has several race courses including Shelbourne Park and Leopardstown. The Dublin Horse Show takes place at the RDS, which hosted the Show Jumping World Championships in 1982. The national boxing arena is located in The National Stadium on the South Circular Road. There are also basketball, handball, hockey and athletics stadia, most notably Morton Stadium in Santry, which held the athletics events of the 2003 Special Olympics.

Australian Rules Football has had a presence in the city since 1999 and there are now three clubs in the Capital; the Dublin Demons, the South Dublin Swans and the West Dublin Saints. All three clubs play in the Aussieproperty.com Premiership and many of their players have represented Ireland's National Aussie Rules Team, the Irish Warriors. Ireland's domestic Rugby League competition has been running since 1997. The North Dublin Eagles play in Ireland's Carnegie League. Recent popularity has been increased with the Irish Wolfhound's success in the Rugby League World Cup which was held in Australia in 2008. The Dublin Marathon has been run since 1980 on the last Monday in October. The Women's Mini Marathon has been run since 1983 on the first Monday in June, which is also a bank holiday in Ireland. It is said to be the largest all female event of its kind in the world.

Twinning

Dublin is twinned with the following places:

City	Nation	Since
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The city is also in talks to twin with Rio de Janeiro.

See also

Global city

Dublin English

List of people from Dublin

List of European metropolitan areas by GRP

References

Further reading

John Flynn and Jerry Kelleher, ''Dublin Journeys in America'' (High Table Publishing, 2003) ISBN 0-9544694-1-0

Hanne Hem, ''Dubliners, An Anthropologist's Account'', Oslo, 1994

Pat Liddy, ''Dublin A Celebration – From the 1st to the 21st century'' (Dublin City Council, 2000) ISBN 0-946841-50-0

Maurice Craig, ''The Architecture of Ireland from the Earliest Times to 1880'' (Batsford, Paperback edition 1989) ISBN 0-7134-2587-3

Frank McDonald, ''Saving the City: How to Halt the Destruction of Dublin'' (Tomar Publishing, 1989) ISBN 1-871793-03-3

Edward McParland, ''Public Architecture in Ireland 1680–1760'' (Yale University Press, 2001) ISBN 0-300-09064-1

External links

Dublin City Council – Official website of the local authority for Dublin

Dublin Tourist Board – Official tourism site

Transport for Dublin – public transport website

OPENCities participant

Sampling Dublin’s Theater Scene – slideshow by ''The New York Times''

Alternative Dublin Guide Dublin Guide

Dublin UNESCO City of Literature official site

Category:841 establishments Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Cities in the Republic of Ireland Category:Populated coastal places in the Republic of Ireland Category:Leinster Category:University towns Category:County towns in the Republic of Ireland Category:Viking Age populated places Category:Staple ports Category:European Capitals of Culture

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