Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MUSEUM
LEINSTER HOUSE
NOTABLE BUILDING
( tour information 01-618 3271;
www.oireachtas.ie
; Kildare St; observation gallery 2.30-8.30pm Tue,
10.30am-8.30pm Wed, 10.30am-5.30pm Thu Nov-May, tours 10.30am, 11.30am, 2.30pm & 3.30pm Mon-Fri when par-
liament is in session; 7 & 44 from the city centre)
All the big decisions are made - or rubber-
stamped - at Oireachtas Éireann (Irish Parliament). It was built by Richard Cassels in the
Palladian style between 1745 and 1748. Its Kildare St facade looks like a townhouse
(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 members bar. The 60-member Seanad meets for fairly low-key ses-
sions in the north-wing saloon, while there are usually more sparks and tantrums when the
166-member Dáil bangs heads in a less-interesting room, formerly a lecture theatre, which
was added to the original building in 1897. Parliament sits for 90 days a year. You get an
entry ticket to the lower- or upper-house
observation galleries
from the Kildare St entrance on
production of photo identification. Free, pre-arranged
guided tours
are available when par-
liament is in session.
The obelisk in front of the building is dedicated to Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins and
Kevin O'Higgins, the architects of independent Ireland.
NO 29 LOWER FITZWILLIAM ST
NOTABLE BUILDING
(
www.esb.ie/numbertwentynine
;
29 Lower Fitzwilliam St; adult/student/child €6/3/free; 10am-5pm Tue-Sat, 1-5pm
Sun, closed late Dec; 7 & 44 from the city centre)
In an effort to atone at least partly for its sins
against Dublin's Georgian heritage - it broke up Europe's most perfect Georgian row to
build its headquarters - the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) carefully restored this home to
give an impression of genteel family life at the beginning of the 18th century.
From rat traps in the kitchen basement to handmade wallpaper and Georgian cabinets,
the attention to detail is impressive, but the regular tours (dependent on numbers) are dis-
appointingly dry.
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
NOTABLE BUILDING
