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| BERMINGHAM TOWER, DUBLIN CASTLE. -The foregoing picture represents the Bermingham Tower, of Dublin Castle, which was partially rebuilt in 1810, and is about the only part of the fortress, begun by Meyler FitzHenry, Norman Lord Justice, in 1205, and completed by Archbishop Henri de Loundres, in 1220, that may be considered original. Time and change have done away with the rest of the ancient stronghold, which has been replaced by modern, rambling structures of no historical importance. The castle has been the malodorous seat of English government in Ireland for more than three hundred years. Since 1560, in the reign of Elizabeth, it has been the residence of the English Lords Lieutenant, and has been the theatre of many black crimes committed against the Irish nation. In its dungeouns, chiefs have been cruelly imprisoned, and in its councils innumerable plots against the liberty of Ireland have been hatched. The name of "The Castle" is as hateful to most Irish ears, as that of the Bastile was to the ears of the French. It became particularly infamous during the '98 troubles, chiefly because of the manufacture there of odious spies and villianous informers. Curran, in his speech defending Peter Finerty, accused of "treason to the Crown," denounced it as a catacomb in which "the wretch buried as a man, was dug up a witness!" Many Irishmen, and Englishmen also, favor the abolition of the viceroyalty and "the Castle" with it. Bermingham Tower is in the Lower Castle Yard, and it is the repository of the state records. |
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