Leinster House

The Oireachtas is the legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas includes the President of Ireland, currently Michael D. Higgins, Teachta Dála (TD) for Galway West, and the two houses of the Oireachtas, which are Dáil Éireann (the lower house) and Seanad Éireann (the upper house). These two houses sit in Leinster House, which is situated on Kildare Street in Dublin, between the National Library and the National Museum of Archaeology.

Leinster House (Teach Laighean in Irish) was designed by the architect Richard Cassels, and was built in 1745 by James Fitzgerald, the Earl of Kildare. The house was initially named Kildare House but, when the Earl was named the first Duke of Leinster in 1766, it was renamed Leinster House. The Earl deliberately built the house in the south side of Dublin, far from the other aristocratic residences of the time, which were mostly located north of the Liffey in areas such as Parnell Square and Mountjoy Square. The size and status of the house were unmatched in Dublin at the time so, once built, it helped to transform south Dublin, and the nearby Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square areas, into fashionable places favoured by the most prominent members of 18th century Irish society. In fact, Leinster House was so impressive that the architect James Hoban used it as inspiration in his design of the White House. The first and second floors of the house were used as a floor model, and the exterior was used as an inspiration for the White House's origional stone-cut façade.

In 1815 the third Duke of Leinster sold Leinster House to the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), one of the world's oldest philanthropic organisations. The RDS's mission is to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. As part of this mission, in the late 1800s, the RDS added two new wings to Leister House to accommodate the National Library of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland. The Natural History Museum was also built on the site. 

In 6 December 1921 the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed, which provided for the establishment of the Irish Free State. Plans were made to turn Royal Hospital Kilmainham, an 18th century former soldiers' home, into the new Parliament House. However, the building was still under the control of the British Army in December 1922, and a location was needed for the new Governor-General of the Irish Free State to open parliament. As such, a decision was made to hire the RDS Lecture Theatre, which was attached to Leinster House, as a temporary Dáil Chamber. In 1924, financial constraints meant that plans to turn the Royal Hospital Kilmainham into a Parliament House were abandoned, and Leinster House was bought. The old Duke's ballroom was subsequently turned in the Seanad Chamber, and although the idea that a more permanent venue would be bought or created in future to house the government, the Oireachtas has permanently remained in Leinster House. 

So although Leinster House is not currently lived in, and so perhaps can't be considered a 'dwelling' per se, I certainly think that it is one of the most influential dwellings in Ireland.  

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Like everything, Leinster House and the Oireachtas are currently closed to visitors due to Covid-19, but if you would like to take a look inside you can go on a virtual tour: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/visit-and-learn/visit-the-oireachtas/virtual-tour/

Comments

  1. JeanieJanuary 9, 2021 at 12:53 PM

    I really would like to go on a virtual tour! We tried to go one time before, to the museum, but it was closed then too. So thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BridgetJanuary 10, 2021 at 5:46 AM

    Did the Earl/Duke actually live in it originally? Interesting that Washington was based on Versailles and Whitehouse based on Leinster House. Funny connection.

    ReplyDelete

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