which open in them, the most extraordinary being the Scalp through which the traveller passes from Dublin to Wicklow.
Geology.—On the north a Silurian upland stretches, falling to the sea at Balbriggan, where fossiliferous strata contain contemporaneous volcanic rocks. A limestone of Bala age comes out under shales and andesites in the promontory of Portrane, and rocks of the same series occur in the bold island of Lambay, associated with a large mass of dark green porphyritic andesite (the “Lambay porphyry”). Silurian rocks reappear at Tallaght in the south-west, where the granite of Leinster rises through them, forming a moorland 2000 ft. in height only a few miles south of Dublin. Old Red Sandstone, seen at Donabate and Newcastle, leads up into Carboniferous Limestone, which is often darkened by mud and even shaly (“calpy” type). This rock produces a fairly level country, both north and south of the valley of the Liffey, although the beds are greatly folded. Beds of a higher Carboniferous zone are retained in synclinals near Rush. The rugged peninsula of Howth, connected by a raised bench with the mainland, is formed of old quartzites and shales, crushed and folded, and probably of Cambrian age. The rocks of the county show many signs of ice-action, and boulder-clays and drift-gravels cover the lowland, the latter being banked up on the mountain-slopes to heights of 1200 ft. or more. Much of this glacial material has been imported from the area of the Irish Sea. Lead-ore has been mined at the granite-contact at Ballycorus.
Industries.—The extension of Dublin city and its suburbs has no doubt had its influence on the decrease of acreage under both tillage and pasture. Oats and potatoes are the principal crops, but live stock, especially cattle, receives greater attention. A large proportion of holdings are of the smallest, nearly one-half of those beneath fifteen acres being also beneath one acre. The manufactures of the county are mainly confined to the city and suburbs, but there is manufacture of cotton hosiery at Balbriggan. The haddock, herring and other fisheries, both deep-sea and coastal, are important, and Kingstown is the headquarters of the fishery district. The salmon fishery district of Dublin also affords considerable employment. As containing the metropolis of Ireland, the communications of the county are naturally good, several important railways and two canals converging upon the city of Dublin, under the head of which they are considered.
Population and Administration.—The population (148,210 in 1891; 157,568 in 1901) shows a regular increase, which, however, is not consistent from year to year. About 70% are Roman Catholics, the Protestant Episcopalians (24%) standing next. The chief towns, apart from the capital, are Balbriggan (pop. 2236), Blackrock (8719), Dalkey (3398), Killiney and Ballybrack (2744), Pembroke (25,799), Rathmines and Rathgar (32,602), and the important port of Kingstown (17,377). These are urban districts. Skerries, Howth and Rush are small maritime towns. There are nine baronies in the county, which, including the city of Dublin, are divided into 100 parishes, all within the Protestant and Roman Catholic dioceses of Dublin. Assizes are held in Dublin, and quarter sessions also in the capital, and at Balbriggan, Kilmainham, Kingstown and Swords. Previous to the union with Great Britain, this county returned ten representatives to the Irish Parliament,—two for the county, two for the city, two for the university, and two for each of the boroughs of Swords and Newcastle. The county parliamentary divisions are now two, north and south, each returning one member. The city of Dublin constitutes a separate county.
History.—Dublin is among the counties generally considered to have been formed by King John, and comprised the chief portion of country within the English pale. The limits of the county, however, were uncertain, and underwent many changes before they were fixed. As late as the 17th century the mountainous country south of Dublin offered a retreat to the lawless, and it was not until 1606 that the boundaries of the county received definition in this direction, along with the formation of the county Wicklow. Although so near the seat of government 67,142 acres of profitable land were forfeited in the Rebellion of 1641 and 34,536 acres in the Revolution of 1688. In 1867 the most formidable of the Fenian risings took place near the village of Tallaght, about 7 m. from the city. The rebels, who numbered from 500 to 700, were found wandering at dawn, some by a small force of constabulary who, having in vain called upon them to yield, fired and wounded five of them; but the great bulk of them were overtaken by the troops under Lord Strathnairn, who captured them with ease and marched them into the city. There are numerous antiquities in the county. Raths or encampments are frequent, and those at Raheny, Coolock, Lucan, with the large specimen at Shankill or Rathmichael near the Scalp pass may be mentioned. Cromlechs occur in Phoenix Park, Dublin, at Howth, and elsewhere. There are fine round towers at Swords, Lusk and Clondalkin, and there is the stump of one at Rathmichael.
DUBLIN, a city, county of a city, parliamentary borough and seaport, and the metropolis of Ireland, in the province of Leinster. It lies at the head of a bay of the Irish Sea, to which it gives name, about midway on the eastern coast of the island, 334 m. W.N.W. of London by the Holyhead route, and 70 m. W. of Holyhead on the coast of Anglesey, Wales. (For map, see Ireland.) Its population in 1901 was 290,638.
Site, Streets and Buildings.—Dublin lies on the great central limestone district which stretches across the island from the Irish Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, and occupies both banks of the river Liffey. Its situation is justly admired. The populous shores of the bay are exceedingly picturesque. To the north and west the country is comparatively level, the central plain of Ireland here reaching to the coast, but to the south the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains practically touch the confines of Greater Dublin, affording comprehensive views of the physical position of the city, and forming a background to some of the finest streets. The municipal boundary lies generally a little outside the so-called Circular Road, which may be taken as encircling the city proper, with a few breaks. It bears this name on both the north and south sides of the river. As the city is approached from the bay, the river Liffey, which divides the city from west to east roughly into two equal parts, is seen to be lined with a fine series of quays. At its mouth, on the north side, is the North Wall quay, where the principal steamers lie, and in this vicinity are the docks. At the opposite (western) end of the city, the Phoenix Park may be taken as a convenient landmark. Between this and North Wall the river is crossed by twelve bridges, which, in order from west to east, are these:—Sarah Bridge, the bridge of the North Wall extension railway; King’s, commemorating a visit of George IV.; Victoria or Barrack; Queen’s; Whitworth, of interest as occupying the site where a bridge has stood since the 12th century; Richmond, Grattan and Wellington; O’Connell, Butt and a swivel bridge carrying a loop railway. Of these O’Connell bridge (formerly known as Carlisle) is the principal, as it connects the chief thoroughfare on the north side, namely Sackville (or O’Connell) Street, with Great Brunswick Street and others on the south. Sackville Street, which gains in appearance from its remarkable breadth, contains the principal hotels, and the post office, with a fine Ionic portico, founded in 1815. At the crossing of Henry Street and Earl Street is the Nelson pillar, a beautiful monument 134 ft. in height, consisting of a fluted Doric column, raised on a massive pedestal, and crowned by a statue of the admiral. At the southern end of the street is Daniel O’Connell’s monument, almost completed by John Henry Foley before his death, and erected in 1882. In Rutland Square, at the northern end, is the Rotunda, containing public rooms for meetings, and adjoining it, the Rotunda hospital with its Doric façade.
From the north end of Sackville Street, several large thoroughfares radiate through the northern part of the city, ultimately joining the Circular Road at various points. To the west there are the Broadstone station, Dominion Street, and beyond this the large workhouse, prison, asylum and other district buildings, while the Royal barracks front the river behind Albert Quay. Two other notable buildings face the river on the north bank. Between Whitworth and Richmond bridges stands the “Four Courts” (law courts), on the site of the ancient Dominican monastery of St Saviour. It was erected between 1786 and 1796, and is adjoined by other court buildings, the public record office, containing a vast collection, and the police offices. Below the lowest bridge on the river, and therefore in the neighbourhood of the shipping quarter, is the customs house (1781–1791), considered one of the chief ornaments of the city. It presents four fronts, that facing the river being of Portland stone, in the Doric order, while the rest are of granite. The centre is crowned by a dome, surmounted by a statue of Hope. This building
