The four trunk railways of Ireland meet in Dublin and are connected. Two canals, which traverse the central plain, also terminate here. In tramways the city is well provided, having a most extensive electric overhead haulage sys tem. It is connected by steam packet with Bel fast, Glasgow, Liverpool, Holyhead, Bristol, Cork, Plymouth, Southampton, London and Havre. The docks, with the exception of Spencer dock, Ringsend basins and Royal Canal docks, are controlled by the Port and Docks Board. Alexandra Basin has a depth at low water of 24 to 26 feet.
History.— The early history of Dublin is the history of the stranger in Ireland. Before the close of the 8th century Danish pirates be gan their raids on the coast, the monasteries, which contained valuable vessels of gold, being their special prey. From the 8th to the 10th centuries they held Dublin, and early records are full of accounts of conflicts with the native Irish. In 1014 King Brian Boroihme (“Boruo] defeated the army of Sitric, the Danish Icing, at Clontarf, a place now a part of the city. This event seems to have been a severe blow to the prestige of the Danes. The arrival of the Normans in 1169 introduced a new element in Irish history. In 1170 the city was captured by Dermot Macmurrough, a native prince on bad terms with subjects and neighbors. In this he was aided by English allies. Dublin was subsequently attacked by Hasculf, the last of her Danish kings, and his defeat and death put an end to their dominion. From this time the city remained the stronghold of the English settlers; the decayed castles studded over the counties Dublin, Kildare and Meath bear silent witness that the occupation was not a peaceful one. From Plantagenet to Stuart, history tells of innumerable battles and skirmishes between the inhabitants of Dublin and the septa of the Wicklow Mountains, the O'Byrnes, O'Tooles, Kavanaghs and others. How strenuous the life of a citizen must have been is evidenced by frequent record, such as — 'IThe Mayor and light-armed citizens marched out against the O'Tooles and were forced to retreat? At the Reformation most of the English in Dublin conformed, though the descendants of the Nor man settlers in other parts of Ireland, merged in the native races, adhered to the old faith. This intensified the hatred between the English in Dublin and their Celtic neighbors. The suc cess of the military operations at the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign followed by the exten sive confiscation, and the plantation of Scotch and English settlers, which beginning with Elizabeth was continued by James I and Charles I, helped to make the citizens more se cure. The failure of the insurrection of 1641
and the subsequent war increased this security. Till the Commonwealth Dublin remained a walled town with little change of appearance, but with the Restoration began its evolution from a mediaeval to a modern metropolis. After the Williatnite wars the native Irish who re mained in the country were without property or civil rights and sank into apathy and general wretchedness. This state of things, as it en sured peace, favored the growth of the city, and in the 18th century Dublin, as we now know it, grew. To this period belongs a spell of commercial activity which, however, owing to hostile legislation of the English Parliament at the instance of English manufacturers, did not continue. Before the union with England the Irish capital was a city of first importance, not only as a commercial centre, but also as a place of literary and dramatic activities- pro ducing its own plays and its own operas. The union had a disastrous effect, the wealthy resi dential classes following the Parliament to London. The abortive insurrections of 1798 and 1803 are indicative of the national unrest of the time. The history of Dublin in the earl ier 19th century seems to be a record of con tinued decline. Thackeray, who paid it a in 1842, says — handsome town, with fewer inhabitants, it is impossible to see on a summer day?' In 1847 occurred the attempted rising headed by John Mitchell and others, and in 1867 another resort to arms took place.
It is risky to generalize upon the composite population of a capital, but Dublin people may be fairly described as good-humored, unenthusi astic and not very energetic. Political or re ligious acerbities do not interfere with social harmony. Wages in general among the labor ing class are small, and there is much poverty of a depressing kind. Within recent years there has been a marked revival in library matters, and — apart from the Gaelic League — a school of new writers has arisen whose aspirations are of Ireland and for Ireland. The Gaelic League. a powerful organization, whose objects are the revival of the Irish language and the study of Irish history, and many of the members of which were deeply implicated in the rebellion of 1916, has its headquarters in the city. Pop. (1901) 290,638; (1911) 304,802, of whom 83 per cent are Roman Catholics.