replica of the long stone, dublin.

over a thousand years ago, in 837, vikings from norway had blazed a trail across the seas from scandinavia landed at the mouth of the river liffey.

as some of the first residents in the region, they erected a tall stone pillar in the sea, as was their custom to symbolise their possession of the surrounding lands and a new area of settlement.

this long stone or 'steyne' in turn gave its name to one of the many small rivers that were tributaries to the liffey and in turn to the surrounding sandy plains that bordered the sea.

land reclaimation has since changed this area of the south inner city beyond recognition. the programme that was started by alderman hawkins in 1663 was to change the face of modern dublin as the boundaries of the sea were extended to ringsend.

during all this excavation, the steyne stood until 1794. this modern day representation now stands at the intersections of pearse street, college street and hawkins street, a few hundred yards away from the location of the original.