Bedford Tower was built in 1761 and occupies the site of the original Norman Gate. The Irish Crown Jewels were stolen from this building in 1907 and have never been recovered. Saturday (continued) We followed lunch with a walk around Dublin Castle, but did not take a tour. The castle was established in 1204, but the most of the buildings were built in the 18th Century. It was the seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922 and is now an Irish government complex. The upper courtyard contained the Dublin Castle Sand Sculpture Exhibition by Duthain Dealbh, a multi-element sculpturing group. The 10' high sculptures had been created about 2 weeks earlier and would be up only 2 more weeks. We did visit the attached Chapel Royal, which was the official Church of Ireland chapel of the Household of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1814 until the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922.
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