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From Independence to the Present

On 16 January 1922, the last ever Viceroy of Ireland handed Dublin Castle over to Michael Collins and the government of the newly-independent Irish state. The end of the British presence had come about in the wake of the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence. These momentous events paved the way for the creation of the Republic of Ireland and were closely associated with the history of Dublin Castle. Since that historic moment, a tradition of state ceremony has been maintained at the Castle. Successive Irish governments have continued to use it for important national events, such as state dinners and commemorations. Since 1938, each one of Ireland’s presidents has been inaugurated in St Patrick’s Hall, the grandest of the State Apartments.

Over the centuries, those entertained at Dublin Castle have included Benjamin Franklin (1771), the Duke of Wellington (1807), Daniel O’Connell (1841), Queen Victoria (1849, 1853, 1861 & 1900), Charles Dickens (1864), Countess Markievicz (1905), Princess Grace of Monaco (1961), John F. Kennedy (1963), Charles de Gaulle (1969), Nelson Mandela (1990) and Queen Elizabeth II (2011). Among the famous figures associated with the Castle was Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, who worked here from 1866 to 1878. The Castle now welcomes over a quarter of a million visitors each year.

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