History of Dublin the Catholic majority of Ireland's population. In Dublin however the Protestant Ascendancy was thriving, and the city expanded rapidly from the 17th century onward. By 1700, the population had surpassed 60,000, making it the second largest city, after London, in the British Empire. Under the Restoration, Ormonde, the then Lord Deputy of Ireland made the first step toward modernising Dublin by ordering that the houses along the river Liffey had to face the river and have high quality frontages. This was in contrast to the earlier period, when Dublin faced away from the river, often using it as a rubbish
R666 road (Ireland) R666 road (Ireland) The R666 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs west-east from the R639 in Fermoy town centre to the bridge over the River Blackwater on the outskirts of Lismore. The road passes through Ballyduff, and beneath the River Blackwater viaduct which carries the M8 motorway. The R666 begins in Fermoy as the Rathhealy Road. From here to its merger with the R667 road 3km south of Kilworth, the R666 was once part of the historic road linking Dublin and Cork. It was mapped as such by Herman Moll in his 1714 "New Map of Ireland".