Architecture sights in Dublin
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Rotunda Hospital
Irish public hospitals aren’t usually attractions, by any stretch of the imagination, but this one makes for an interesting walk-by or an unofficial wander inside if you’re interested in Victorian plasterwork. It was the first maternity hospital in the British Isles – and once the world’s largest – and was established by Dr Bartholomew Mosse in 1748, at a time when the burgeoning urban population was enduring shocking infant mortality rates.
It shares its basic design with Leinster House because the architect of both, Richard Cassels, used the same floor plan to economise. He added a three-storey tower, which Mosse intended to use for fundraising purposes (charg…
reviewed
-
B
Leinster House – Irish Parliament
All the big decisions are made – or rubber-stamped – at Oireachtas na Éireann (Irish parliament). It was built by Richard Cassels in the Palladian style between 1745 and 1748, and was considered the forerunner of the Georgian fashion that became the norm for Dublin’s finer residences. Its Kildare St façade looks like a town house (which inspired Irish architect James Hoban’s designs for the US White House), whereas the Merrion Sq frontage was made to resemble a country mansion. The first government of the Irish Free State moved in from 1922, and both the Dáil (lower house) and Seanad (senate) still meet here to discuss the affairs of the nation and gossip at the exclusive…
reviewed
-
C
Henrietta Street
Henrietta St dates from the 1720s and was the first project of Dublin’s pre-eminent Georgian developer, Luke Gardiner. It was designed as an enclave of prestigious addresses (Gardiner himself lived at No 10), and remained one of Dublin’s most fashionable streets until the Act of Union (1801). It’s looking a little forlorn these days after spending much of the 20th century as tenement housing, where up to 70 tenants were crammed into each four-storey house. Some of the residences are in disrepair, yet it’s still a wonderful insight into the evolution of Georgian residential architecture, and features mansions of varying size and style.
reviewed
-
D
King’s Inns
Home to Dublin’s legal profession, King’s Inns occupies a classical building on Constitution Hill, which was built by James Gandon between 1795 and 1817, with Francis Johnston chipping in with the cupola. In 1541, when Henry VIII staked his claim to be King of Ireland as well as England, the country’s lawyers took the title the Honourable Society of King’s Inns and moved into a Dominican Monastery on the site of the modern-day Four Courts. When that building was erected they relocated here, where Irish barristers are still trained. It’s only open to members and their guests.
reviewed
-
E
Kilmainham Gate
The Kilmainham Gate was designed by Francis Johnston (1760–1829) in 1812 and originally stood at the Watling St junction with Victoria Quay, near the Guinness Brewery, where it was known as the Richmond Tower. It was moved to its current position opposite the prison in 1846 as it obstructed the increasingly heavy traffic to the new Kingsbridge Station (now Heuston Station), which opened in 1844.
reviewed
-
F
Custom House
A Dublin landmark, the Custom House was built to accommodate the city’s tax commissioners. James Gandon’s first architectural triumph, the 18th-century building has a copper dome set above clock faces and neoclassical columns typical of the era. While the building now houses the Department of the Environment, the visitor centre explains its history.
reviewed
-
G
Regent House Entrance
The elegant Regent House entrance on College Green was built between 1752 and 1759, and is guarded by statues of the writer Oliver Goldsmith (1730-74) and the orator Edmund Burke (1729-97). The railings outside the entrance are a popular meeting spot.
reviewed
