Picture this a grassy mound rising before you. This is the Norman Motte a testament to Dublin’s rich and often turbulent past. It’s not a grand castle like those you might find in fairy tales. It’s simpler. More austere. Yet its story is captivating. The motte itself is an artificial hill. Normans built it. They piled up earth and created this imposing structure. Its purpose was strategic. From its height they could survey the surrounding land. They built a wooden keep on top. This was their fortress their home their command center. Imagine life inside. Imagine the sounds of hammering the smells of timber and earth. The motte was part of a larger fortification. A bailey a courtyard surrounded by a ditch and wooden palisade lay below. This was where the daily lives of soldiers and servants unfolded. The motte and bailey design was incredibly effective. Its height and surrounding ditch offered strong defense. It was also remarkably cheap and fast to construct. This allowed the Normans to quickly secure their conquests. But this type of castle wasn’t meant to last. Wood is flammable. Sophisticated fire attacks proved devastating. The motte and bailey’s design also had limitations. The wide base was vulnerable to attacks. The wooden structures decayed. Eventually stone castles surpassed the motte and bailey in popularity and the Norman Motte of Dublin stands today as a reminder of an era a simple yet powerful defense in a long-ago battle. Look closely. This humble mound holds centuries of history. It whispers tales of conquest of adaptation and of the ever-shifting balance of power in Dublin.
Saint John the Evangelist
Whispers of history echo from these stones. This is the site of Saint John the Evangelist. Once a vibrant church