Dublin is a city in Ireland and this city is mentioned in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein towards the end of the novel. Victor Frankenstein, our protagonist, lands in an Irish jail after being accused of the death of his friend Henry Clerval. After his name is cleared, Frankenstein's father comes for him and they head to Dublin before leaving Ireland for good. As of 1801, Ireland and England were united by law. However, in the 1810's, there were conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. There was also a Protestant group in 1814 called "The Brotherhood of the Apprentance Boys of Derry" who had named themselves after the thirteen apprentices who shut the gates of Derry against the Catholics. In 1820, Henry IV was the king of both England and Ireland and he was also the first to visit Ireland in 1821 since the 17th century. However, due to the Act of Union between England and Ireland, Dublin itself began to suffer greatly and had poverty struggles throughout the 1800s. There were no governmental duties in Dublin, which caused the city to struggle greatly. Because Ireland was united to England only in 1801, then it's understandable as to why Mary Shelly would utilize a large plot point in Ireland as the uniting of England and Ireland was likely fresh in Shelley's mind at the time. However, Dublin is only mentioned once in the sentence "My father easily acceeded to my desire; and, after taken leave of Mr. Kirwin, we hastened to Dublin." After this sentence, Victor Frankenstein and his father quickly sail off and away from Ireland and Frankenstein is relieved to be away from the country that had accused him of murdering his friend. Really, Dublin is just mentioned as a place Frankenstein and his father had passed through, likely as a way just to mention a city that was once relevant to Ireland at this time. 

Works Cited:

Hoden, George. Happeny Bridge, Dublin. Public Domain Pictures, https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=254895&pict....

Lynn, Brendan and Melaugh, Martin. "A Chronology of Key Events in Irish History." CAIN Web Service, 14 August, 2024, https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch1800-1967.htm.

Ranelagh O'Beirne, John. "Evolution of the modern city." Britannica, 20 Feb, 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Dublin/Evolution-of-the-modern-city.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. London, Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, and Jones, 1818.