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| ANCIENT CASTLES, DALKEY. -The ruins of curious old castellated dwellings, of which the place once possessed seven, consititute one of the favorite "sights" of the town of Dalkey, near Dublin. The burgh takes its name from the island which lies near it in the Bay, and which, in Gaelic, bore the name of Delginis, or Thorn Island. Professor Joyce says the Danes called it Dalk-ei, which has the same signification, "dalk" being Norse for "thorn." Only one of the small "castles" in the village seems comparatively perfect because it was "restored." It is used as a Town Hall, and may be identified by the flagstaff on the left of the sketch. The structure in the foreground, partially ivy-covered, is only a fragment. Antiquaries say that these architectural remains are the finest specimens of their kind to be found in Great Britain and Ireland. Although strongly and massively constructed, it is believed they never were used as fortresses, but were the residences of the merchant princes of Dublin, of Danish origin, in the Eleventh and Twelfth centuries. Some authorities claim that they did not exist earlier than the close of the latter century. In any case, they are interesting reminders of a rude and forceful age, but survive to prove that even the fierce and warlike Northmer, of the early middle ages, had a good eye for "the sublime and the beautiful" in nature. |
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