St Patrick's Cathedral

In front of you is the largest church in Ireland, St Patrick's Cathedral. It was consecrated on 17 March 1191 beside a well dedicated to the saint, on an island between two branches of the River Poddle.

1The saint's well

Tradition says St Patrick baptised the area's first Christians here in the fifth century. There's no way to prove it. What did turn up, in the 19th century, was a slab with a Celtic cross buried near the church, possibly the one that marked the old well.

2Chancing your arm

In 1492 two noble families, the Butlers and the FitzGeralds, were feuding. According to legend, the Earl of Ormond took refuge in the chapter house, and Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare, cut a hole in the door and put his arm through to shake hands and make peace. That, supposedly, is where the expression ‘chancing your arm’ comes from. The door, hole and all, is preserved inside.

The door is real; that the saying was born here is what tradition tells.

3Swift and Stella

Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, was Dean of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745. He is buried in the nave beside Esther Johnson, whom he called Stella. It has always been said they married in secret, but it has never been proven. He wrote his own Latin epitaph.

4What to look for

• The tower and spire, rising over the Liberties.
• The statue of Benjamin Lee Guinness by the south door: the brewer paid for the restoration of 1860 to 1865.
• The park, laid out in 1901 by another Guinness on the site of slum housing.