name. Beginning in the 9th and 10th centuries, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The Viking settlement of about 841, Dyflin, and a Gaelic settlement, Áth Cliath ("ford of hurdles") further up the river, at the present-day Father Mathew Bridge, also known as Dublin Bridge, at the bottom of Church Street.

Baile Átha Cliath, meaning "town of the hurdled ford", is the common