History of Dublin To 795 - Duiblinn

Duiblinn

By the early 7th century Áth Cliath had acquired a neighbour in the form of a large and important ecclesiastical settlement about half a kilometre to the southeast. Referred to in various annals and martyrologies as Duiblinn (Modern Irish Dubhlinn, or "Blackpool"), it took its name from a dark tidal pool in the River Poddle a short distance to the north. (This pool no longer exists, but its location is marked by the site of the Coach House and Castle Gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle.) Covering an area of about 5 hectares, Dubhlinn was one of the largest settlements of its kind in the country, and shared its distinctive pear-shaped outline with hundreds of other ecclesiastical or quasi-ecclesiastical enclosures of the time. This outline can still be discerned in the morphology of the modern city, especially in the oval configuration of St Peter's Row, Whitefriar Street, Upper and Lower Stephen Street, and Johnson's Place. In later centuries, this area was served by the local parish church of St Peter's on The Mount, which may have replaced a much earlier church.

However, recent archaeological excavations at the site of another church, St Michael le Pole, between Chancery Lane and Ship Street, have led some historians to surmise that the ecclesiastical settlement of Dubhlinn was located here rather than at St Peter's. As its name suggests, St Michael le Pole – that is, "St Michael of the Pool" – overlooked the "Black Pool" from which Dubhlinn took its name. It lay some 300 metres to the west of St Peter's, outside the latter's pear-shaped enclosure. In common with many other early sites, St Michael's had a round tower, and it is known to have been in existence by the late seventh century.

Graves going back to the 8th century have been unearthed at the site of another early church, St Bride's (or St Bridget's), on the corner of Bride Road and Bride St. This site may have been part of the same ecclesiastical complex as St Michael le Pole's, though the church of St Bride itself seems to belong to a later period.

Whatever its precise location, Dubhlinn probably served as the chief place of worship of the Uí Fergusa, a small and politically insignificant sept of the Uí Dúnlainge (an important confederation of Gaelic septs which monopolised the kingship of Leinster from 738–1042). A number of early sources refer to Abbots and Bishops of Dubhlinn, with little distinction between the two offices. Among these the following may be noted:

• St Beraidh (†650) – Beraidh's death in 650 is recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters, where he is described as Abbot of Dublin.

• St Livinus (†663) – Livinus, or Lebwin, was the son of a Scottish nobleman and an Irish princess. He was raised in Ireland and studied there and in England. He was ordained by St Augustine of Canterbury. He led a successful mission to Flanders with three companions and became Bishop of Ghent. He was martyred on 12 November 663 by pagans, who tore out his tongue to stop him preaching – according to legend his tongue continued to preach on its own. His martyrdom is depicted in a famous painting by Peter Paul Rubens

• St Disibod (619–700) – Disibod, or Disens, was Livinus's successor; he was allegedly driven from Dublin by violence in 640; he emigrated to the Continent with three disciples; in 653 he moved to the confluence of the Nahe and Glan rivers in Germany, where he founded a community which he led for more than 40 years; a monastery which was later founded on the same site was called Disibodenberg, or Mount Disbod (subsequently Disenberg), in his honour. Disibod's life was written by Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century.

• St Wiro – Wiro also led a mission to the Continent; he is generally associated with two Northumbrian saints, Plechelm and Otger, with whom he made a pilgrimage to Rome. Around 700 he settled at Roermond in the Netherlands at the request of Pippin of Herstal; his relics are preserved in the local cathedral, which is named after him.

• St Gualafer (fl. 740) – Gualafer is mentioned as Bishop of Dublin in 740; he is said to have baptised and instructed his successor, Rumold, but otherwise nothing is known of him.

• St Rumold (†775) – Rumold, or Rumbold, was an Irish or English monk who is described in some sources as Bishop of Dublin. He made a pilgrimage to Rome; later he preached at Mechelen, Brabant and in Flanders. He was martyred near Mechelen, of which he is the patron saint; St. Rumbolds Cathedral in Mechelen is dedicated to him and contains his relics. He is sometimes said to be the son of a Scottish king.

• St Sedulius (†785) – Sedulius, or Siadhal, was Bishop or Abbot of Dublin. His death in 785 is recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters, where he is described as Abbot of Dublin.

• Cormac (fl. 890) – A certain Cormac is also described by at least one source as Bishop of Dublin in the 9th century. According to D'Alton's Memoirs of the Archbishops of Dublin (1838), he was Bishop in 890 when Gregory (i.e. Giric), King of Scotland, supposedly besieged and captured Dublin – a story that is now regarded as chimerical.

According to Harris (1736), St Sedulius was the last Abbot of Dublin to be mentioned in the Annals. In 795, just ten years after his death, the Vikings, or Norsemen, launched their first raid on Irish soil: a new era in the history of Dublin was about to begin.