Origin / meaning of Dublin logo

Gock

Being a Dubliner I really should know why the logo of Dublin is three castles with lit beacons. Can anyone tell me what the castles are, why the fires are lit and any other related information?

Thanks

conchubhar1

dublin, swords and malahide - i think (thats what i was told.....)

why they are lit - havent a notion

just a normal thing for a castle to have fire?

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''Dublin City Coat of Arms

The Dublin City Coat of Arms is the emblem that identifies Dublin and has been in use for more than 400 years. The Coat of Arms shows the following features:

An image of 3 burning castles
Two female figures each holding an olive branch
The city motto, 'Obedienta Civium Urbis Felicitas'
The motto of Dublin City is in the Latin language and translates into English as 'The obedience of the citizens produces a happy city'.''

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''Origin of the Coat of Arms

The origin of the Coat of Arms is unknown, but there are numerous theories. Three of these include:

The castles are watch towers outside the city walls
The castle is Dublin Castle and is repeated 3 times because of the mystical significance of the number 3
The castles are not castles at all, but represent 3 gates into the ancient Viking city''

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both from dublincity.ie

Dionysus

Is the crest with the three "castles" (towers) on fire not from the time of Tomás an tSíoda/ Silken Thomas, with the initial three towers being the watchtowers of Dublin city from the late medieval period?

Here's a bit of that history, although I can't find a reference to Tomás an tSíoda:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/infomatique/2096048074/

Malahide would have been well in the country in the medieval period; indeed St Patrick's Cathedral and Bride Street were "in the suburbs of Dublin" as recently as the sixteenth century. Dublin was quite tiny as you can see from the old walls which are now marked by a series of plaques around the city. There was a quite superb map of Dublin's walls on the internet a few years ago when I was giving tours of Baile Átha Cliath. I googled it a moment ago but had no luck resurrecting it.

pinkypinky

Also Clontarf would have been a lot closer than Swords or Malahide. There's loads of castles in Dublin.

conchubhar1

so 3 watchtowers or 3 castles?

or is it 3 watchtowers that the 3 castles are remnants of?

R.Dub.Fusilier

the 3 castles on the crest are actualy the gates of dublin . i like most people thought they were castles . one still stands and is at the back of st Audons ( dont think i spelt this right) church in corn market .