Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
often brightly painted front door. Granite steps lead up to the door, which is usually fur-
ther embellished with a delicate leaded fanlight. The most celebrated examples are on the
south side of the city, particularly around Merrion and Fitzwilliam Sqs, but the north side
also has some magnificent streets, including North Great George's and Henrietta Sts. The
latter features two of Pearce's originals (at Nos 9 and 10) and is still Dublin's most unified
Georgian street. Mountjoy Sq, the most elegant address in 18th-century Dublin, is cur-
rently being renewed after a century of neglect.
Sir William Chambers designed the Examination Hall (1779-91) and the Chapel (1798), that flank the el-
egant 18th-century quadrangle of Trinity College, known as Parliament Sq. However, Trinity College's
most magnificent feature, the Old Library Building, with its breathtaking Long Room (1712), were de-
signed by Thomas Burgh.
Richard Cassels
German architect Richard Cassels (Richard Castle; 1690-1751) hit town in 1728. While
his most impressive country houses are outside Dublin, he did design Nos 85 and 86 St
Stephen's Green (1738), which were combined in the 19th century and renamed Newman
House, and No 80 (1736), which was later joined with No 81 to create Iveagh House, now
the Department of Foreign Affairs; you can visit the peaceful gardens there still. The Ro-
tunda Hospital (1748), which closes off the top of O'Connell St, is also one of Cassels'
works. As splendid as these buildings are, it seems he was only warming up for Leinster
House (1745-48), the magnificent country residence built on what was then the coun-
tryside, but is now the centre of government.
Sir William Chambers
Dublin's boom attracted such notable architects as the Swedish-born Sir William Cham-
bers (1723-96), who designed some of Dublin's most impressive buildings, though he
never actually bothered to visit the city. It was the north side of the Liffey that benefited
most from Chambers' genius: the chaste and elegant Charlemont House (Hugh Lane
Gallery; 1763) lords over Parnell Sq, while the Casino at Marino (1755-79) is his most
stunning and bewitching work.
James Gandon
It was towards the end of the 18th century that Dublin's developers really kicked into
gear, when the power and confidence of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy seemed boundless.
