Kilmainham is a suburb of Dublin south of the River Liffey

River Liffey

The Liffey is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water, and a range of recreational opportunities.-Name:The river was previously named An Ruirthech,...

 and west of the city centre

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

, in the Dublin 8 postal district.

History

In the Viking era

Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...

, the monastery was home to the first Norse base (longphort) in Ireland.

In the 12th century the lands on the banks of the Liffey first belonged to the Knights Templars. Strongbow

Strongbow

The term Strongbow may refer to:*Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, a Norman earl also known by the nickname "Strongbow"*Strongbow Cider*Beleg Cúthalion , a character in JRR Tolkien's Quenta Silmarillion...

 erected for them a castle
about a mile distant from the Danish wall of old Dublin. Here the Templars flourished, for nearly a century and a half, until the process for their suppression was instituted under Edward II, in 1308. Thirty members and of the order were imprisoned and examined in Dublin and the order was condemned and suppressed. Their lands and privileges were given to the priory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

, who remained in possession until the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century.

Until the time of Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

, when Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...

 became the centre of English power, the lord lieutenant

Lord Lieutenant

The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...

s often held court at the manor of Kilmainham. In 1559, the earl of Sussex, on being again appointed lord lieutenant, found that the building at Kilmainham had been damaged by a storm, and had to hold court at the palace of St. Sepulchre

Manor of St. Sepulchre

The Manor of St. Sepulchre was one of several manors, or liberties, that existed in Dublin, Ireland since the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. They were town lands united to the city, but still preserving their own jurisdiction.St...

. The following year Elizabeth ordered that Dublin Castle be upgraded to enable the lord lieutenant to reside there, and Kilmainham fell out of favour.

The Manor of Kilmainham

Manor of Kilmainham

The Manor of Kilmainham was a manor encompassing the village of Kilmainham in County Dublin, Ireland, just outside the city of Dublin. It one of several manors, or liberties, that existed in Dublin after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century...

 formed a liberty

The Liberties

The Liberties of Dublin, Ireland were jurisdictions that existed since the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. They were town lands united to the city, but still preserving their own jurisdiction. The most important of these liberties were the Liberty of St...

 outside the jurisdiction of the city of Dublin, with its own rights and privileges. The manor took in parts of James's Street and side-streets and stretched as far as Lucan

Lucan

Lucan is the common English name of the Roman poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus.Lucan may also refer to:-People:*Arthur Lucan , English actor*Sir Lucan the Butler, Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend...

 and Chapelizod

Chapelizod

Chapelizod is a picturesque Irish village preserved within the city of Dublin, Ireland. It lies in the verdant wooded valley of the River Liffey, on the way to the slopes of the Strawberry Beds, below the Phoenix Park. The village is associated with Iseult of Ireland and the location of Iseault's...

. After the Reformation

English Reformation

The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....

, former lords (or chairmen, as they were later called) of this manor included Lord Cloncurry

Valentine Lawless, 2nd Baron Cloncurry

Valentine Brown Lawless, 2nd Baron Cloncurry , was an Irish politician and landowner. He lived in Lyons, under Lyons Hill Ardclough County Kildare.-Birth:...

 and Sir Edward Newenham. John "Bully" Egan, from Charleville, County Cork, was chairman from 1790 to 1800.

These manorial rights were abolished around 1840.

Local attractions

The area is best known for Royal Hospital Kilmainham, constructed on the site where the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

 had their priory in Dublin. It now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art

Irish Museum of Modern Art

The Irish Museum of Modern Art also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution exhibiting and collecting modern and contemporary art. The museum opened in May 1991 and is located in Royal Hospital Kilmainham, a 17th-century building near Heuston Station to the west of Dublin's city...

. Nearby is Kilmainham Gaol

Kilmainham Gaol

Kilmainham Gaol is a former prison, located in Kilmainham in Dublin, which is now a museum. It has been run since the mid-1980s by the Office of Public Works , an Irish Government agency...

, where the executions

Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

 of the leaders of the Easter Rising

Easter Rising

The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...

 took place.

Kilmainham holds one of a small number of Viking era burial sites (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 haugr meaning barrow or mound), within Dublin, others including Bully's Acre

Bully's Acre

Bully's Acre is the site in Ballinalee in County Longford, Ireland where insurrectionists were executed by Lord Cornwallis.The 1798 rebellion was inspired by the United Irishmen against British rule...

 and where College Green

College Green

College Green is a three-sided "square" in the centre of Dublin. On its northern side is a building known today as the Bank of Ireland which until 1800 was Ireland's Parliament House. To its east stands Trinity College Dublin, the only constituent college of the University of Dublin. To its south...

 is now located.

Railway station

The Dublin Heuston railway station

Dublin Heuston railway station

Dublin Heuston , commonly called Heuston Station , is one of Ireland's main railway stations, serving the south, southwest and west. It is operated by Iarnród Éireann , the national railway operator...

, one of Dublin's two main railway stations

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

, is nearby.