DALKEY FORMERLY the property of the Warren family, Killiney Hill, shown in our picture, was purchased by public subscription in commemoration of the late Queen Victoria's Jubilee, and opened as a public park. It may well be believed that the summit of the hill, which is nearly 500 feet in height, affords an exceptionally grand and comprehensive view. The town of Dalkey, to which the hill appertains, is beautifully situated on a projection of the
coast a few miles south of Dublin. Now one of Ireland's most prominent seaside resorts, it was in the Middle Ages a place of strength and importance; but its stronghold, the Castle, in the main thoroughfare, is now devoted to the more prosaic purposes of the town administration. In the same street are the ruins of an old church. Lying off Sorrento Point, where there are many fashionable residences, and at a distance of less than a mile, is Dalkey Island, formerly fortified and held by the Danes. There still remain upon it a small ruined Church of the Benedictines and a Martello Tower. The island is distinguished as having been the seat of the "Kingdom of Dalkey," the farcidal ceremonies of which were actually reported in the daily papers of the time—the latter end of the eighteenth century. The so-called king held his court here amid much rejoicing and festivity. The last "king" was a bookseller named Armitage, and his coronation was attended by 20,000 persons. Lord Clare suppressed the custom in the year 1797. A visit to Killiney Church should not be omitted by the antiquary, this primitive building possessing many characteristics of early Irish architecture.