Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
anniversary of the Easter Rising. The most interesting feature in the garden is a bronze
statue of the
Children of Lir
by OisÃn Kelly; according to Irish legend the children were
turned into swans by their wicked stepmother.
It is still known to some Dubs as the 'Garden of Mature Recollection', mocking the lin-
guistic gymnastics employed by former favourite for president Brian Lenihan, who was
caught out lying in a minor political scandal and used the phrase to try and wiggle his way
out of it.
BELVEDERE HOUSE
(6 Great Denmark St; 3, 10, 11, 13, 16, 19 or 22 from city centre)
The home of Jesuit Belvedere Col-
lege since 1841, James Joyce studied here between 1893 and 1898 (and described his ex-
periences in
A Portrait of the Artist
), and we can only wonder if he ever took a moment
to admire the magnificent plasterwork by master stuccodore Michael Stapleton in between
catechism classes and arithmetic homework? It's closed to the public.
SCHOOL
ROTUNDA HOSPITAL
( 01-873 0700; Parnell Sq; visiting hours 6-8pm; 3, 10, 11, 13, 16, 19 or 22 from city centre)
Irish pub-
lic hospitals aren't usually attractions, but this one - founded in 1748 as the first maternity
hospital in the British Isles - makes for an interesting walk-by or an unofficial wander in-
side if you're interested in Victorian plasterwork. It shares its basic design with Leinster
House (
Click here
)
because the architect of both, Richard Cassels, used the same floor
plan to economise.
The hospital was established by Dr Bartholomew Mosse and was for a time the world's
largest hospital devoted to maternity care - at a time when the burgeoning urban popula-
tion was enduring shocking infant mortality rates. To the main building Cassels added a
three-storey tower, which Mosse intended to use for fundraising purposes (charging visit-
ors an entry fee). He also laid out pleasure gardens, which were fashionable among Dub-
lin's high society for a time, and built the Rotunda Assembly Hall to raise money. The hall
is now occupied by the
Ambassador Theatre
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
HOSPITAL
1890 925 100; O'Connell St)
,
and the Supper Rooms house the Gate Theatre (
Click here
).
Inside, the public rooms and staircases give some idea of how beautiful the hospital
once was, and they lead to one of Dublin's largely hidden gems, the sumptuous
Rotunda
Chapel
, built in 1758, and featuring superb coloured plasterwork by German stuccodore
Bartholomew Cramillion. The Italian artist Giovanni Battista Capriani was supposed to
