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Dublin has a population of 480,000 within the official city boundary which has become largely meaningless with the development and spread of suburbs and satellite towns over a wide surounding area. The population of "Greater Dublin" is in excess of 1,000,000. Though there is no exact agreed definition of the "Greater Dublin" area it would be generally accepted as including all of the city and county and parts of Counties Wicklow, Kildare and Meath with the limits of the commuter belt stretching to a much greater distance. Dublin (Gaelic: Baile Átha Cliath) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland.

Founded by the Vikings in the 10th century, Dublin became the centre of English power in Ireland after the 12th century Norman conquest of half of Ireland (Munster and Leinster). Over time, however, many of the Anglo-Norman conquerors were absorbed into the Irish culture, adopting the Irish language and customs, leaving a small area around Dublin called the Pale under direct English control. People outside this area were still considered savage, giving rise to the expression "Beyond the Pale".

By the beginning of the 18th century the English had re-established control and imposed the harsh Penal Laws on the Catholic majority of Ireland's population. In Dublin however the Protestant ascendency was thriving, and the city expanded rapidly from the 17th century onward.

In 1782-1800 the city housed an independent (though still exclusively Protestant) Irish Parliament, and it was during this period that much of the great Georgian buildings of Dublin were built. In 1801 under the Act of Union, Ireland lost this parliament and with it much of its political influence, though the city's growth continued.

In 1916 the British crushed the Republican Easter Rising in the city, but by 1921 independence had been won and Dublin once again became a capital city and the seat of Ireland's parliament, Dáil Éireann.

In recent years it has enjoyed renewed growth and international popularity.

Areas of Dublin City:

• North side
• South side

See also:

• National Print Museum of Ireland
• Trinity College, Dublin
• University College, Dublin

External links

• contains explanation of English and Irish Gaelic language names of the city.

County Dublin covers an area of 922 km and contains over a million inhabitants.

Dublin is also a name of some places in the United States of America:

• Dublin, California
• Dublin, Georgia
• Dublin, New Hampshire
• Dublin, Ohio
• Dublin, Virginia
• Dublin Township, Pennsylvania

There is also Upper Dublin, Pennsylvania.