Origin of the city name, Dublin and other interesting factoids

The first early Celtic habitation was beside the River Liffey and the city's Irish name, Baile Atha Cliath (the Town of the Hurdle Ford) comes from an ancient river crossing that can still be pinpointed today. By the 9th century, Viking raids had become a fact of Irish life, but some of the Danes chose to stay rather than rape, pillage and depart. They established a vigorous trading port where the River Poddle joined the Liffey in a black pool, or dubh linn. At the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, the Irish defeated the Vikings and broke their military power. But again many of the Danes remained, marrying with the native Irish, adopting Christianity and building churches. The Normans, having consolidated control in England, moved west in the 12th century and also merged with the Irish rather than ruling over them. Until Elizabeth I (1558-1603), real English control over Ireland was restricted to the narrow eastern coastal strip - the Pale - surrounding Dublin. Beyond the Pale, Ireland remained unbowed, and raids from the fierce Irish warriors constantly threatened Dublin's Anglo-Norman stronghold.