History of Dublin After the Anglo-Normans taking of Dublin in 1171, many of the city's Norse inhabitants left the old city, which was on the south side of the river Liffey and built their own settlement on the north side, known as Ostmantown or "Oxmantown". Dublin became the capital of the English Lordship of Ireland from 1171 onwards and was peopled extensively with settlers from England and Wales. The rural area around the city, as far north as Drogheda, also saw extensive English settlement. In the 14th century, this area was fortified against the increasingly assertive Native Irish – becoming known as The
Transport in Dublin section, and four lanes each way between junctions on the Northern and Western sections. Transport Infrastructure Ireland also increased capacity at many of the motorway's busiest junctions by building triple-grade interchanges instead of the lower capacity roundabouts and crossroads that had been in place. The toll at the West-Link which caused huge tailbacks was demolished and replaced by a tag tolling system. This reduced tailbacks greatly. The M1, M2, M3, M4, M6, M7, M8, M9 and M11 motorways all serve the Greater Dublin Area. Dublin is surrounded by what have been termed by Dublin City Council as an inner and