Georgian Dublin is a phrase used that has two interwoven meanings,

1. to describe a historic period in the development of the city of Dublin from 1714 (the beginning of the reign of King George I of Great Britain and of Ireland) to the death in 1830 of King George IV. During this period, the reign of the four Georges, hence the word Georgian, covers a particular and unified style, derived from Palladian Architecture, which was used in erecting public and private buildings;
   
   
2. to describe the modern day surviving buildings in Dublin erected in that period and which share that architectural style.

Though strictly speaking, Georgian architecture could only exist during the reigns of the four Georges, it had its antecedents prior to 1714 and its style of building continued to be erected after 1830, until replaced by later styles named after the then monarch, Queen Victoria, ie Victorian. Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath),is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin region. ... George I (Georg Ludwig) (28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) from 23 January 1698, and King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 1 August 1714, until his death. ... George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 29 January 1820. ... A villa with a superimposed portico, from Book IV of Palladios I Quattro Libri dellArchitettura, in a modestly priced English translation published in London, 1736. ... This article is about the Queen Regnant of the United Kingdom. ...

Dublin's Development

Dublin was for much of its existence a mediæval city, marked by the existence of a particular style of buildings, built on narrow winding mediæval streets. The first move towards becoming a Georgian city actually occurred during the reign of King Charles II when the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Earl of Ormonde (later made Duke of Ormonde) issued an instruction which was to have dramatic repercussions for the city as it exists today. Though the city over the century had grown around the River Liffey, its buildings as in many other mediæval centres backed onto the river, often allowing for the dumping of household waste directly into the river, it being a form of collective sewer. As Dublin's quays underwent development, Ormonde insisted that the frontages of the houses, not their rears, should face the quay sides, with a street to run along each quay. By this one development, Ormond changed the face of the city. No longer would the river be a sewer hidden between buildings. Instead it became a central feature of the city, with its quays lined by large three and four storey houses and public buildings, such as the Four Courts, the old Custom House and, later and grander, The Custom House designed, as was the Four Courts, by master architect James Gandon. For his initiative, Ormond's name is now given to one of the city quays. aerial shot of Dublin - permission of photographer given to me by email This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The Wide Streets Commission was established by Dublin Corporation in 1757. ... Charles II (29 May 1630–6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... Official standard of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (also known as the Viceroy or in the Middle Ages as the Lord Deputy) was the head of the Kingdom of Englands (before the Act of Union 1707) or Kingdom of Great Britains (after 1707... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... River Liffey: Millennium Bridge & Grattan Bridge. ... The Four Courts in Dublin is the Republic of Irelands main courts building. ... The Custom House is a palladian 18th century building in Dublin, Ireland which houses the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. ... The Four Courts by James Gandon James Gandon (1743 -1823) is today recognised as one of the leading late 18th century, early 19th century architects to have worked in Ireland. ...

It was however only one of a number of crucial developments. As the city grew it size, stature, population and wealth, two changes were needed. (1) The existing narrow-streeted mediæval city required major redevelopment, and (2) major new development of residential areas was required.

Rebuilding Dublin's Core

An example of Georgian opulence
A ceiling from the Dublin townhouse of Viscount Powerscourt, showing the splendour of Georgian decoration. His former townhouse was sensitively turned into a shopping centre in the 1980s.

A new body called the Wide Streets Commission was created to remodel the old mediæval city. It created a network of main thoroughfares by wholescale demolition or widening of old streets or the creation of entirely new ones. On the northside of the city, a series of narrow streets were merged together and widened enormously to create a new street, called Sackville Street (now called O'Connell Street). At its lower end, a new bridge (now called O'Connell Bridge) was erected, beyond which two new streets in the form of a 'V' appeared, known as Westmoreland Street and D'Olier Street. Westmoreland Street in turn led to a renamed Hoggen Green, which became College Green because it faced unto Trinity College Dublin. The new Irish Houses of Parliament, designed by Edward Lovett Pearce, also faced onto College Green, while from College Green a new widened Dame Street led directly down to the mediæval Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, past Dublin Castle and the Royal Exchange, the latter a new building, the former in the process of rebuilding, turning it from a mediæval castle to a Georgian palace. georgian ceiling in Dublin - my image. ... The Wide Streets Commission was established by Dublin Corporation in 1757. ... Daniel OConnell, 19th century nationalist leader, whose statue by John Henry Foley, stands on the street named after him. ... OConnell Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, and joining OConnell Street to DOlier Street and the south quays. ... The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin or more commonly Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Irelands oldest university. ... The Irish House of Commons entrance The original entrance to the building, facing onto College Green. ... Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1699 - 1733) was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of palladianism in Ireland. ... Christ Church Cathedral (The Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity) in Dublin is the elder of the citys two mediæval cathedrals, having been founded by St Laurence OToole. ... Dublin Castle. ... The term Royal Exchange can refer to: The Royal Exchange in London The Royal Exchange in Manchester The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

18th Century Property Developers

Henrietta Street
The street contains some of the oldest and largest Georgian houses in Dublin. It was converted into tenements in the 19th century.

While the rebuilding by the Wide Streets Commission fundamentally changed the streetscape in Dublin, a property boom led to additional building outside the central core. Unlike twentieth century building booms in Dublin (which by general agreement were disastrously mismanaged) the eighteenth century developments were carefully controlled. The developing areas were divided into precincts, each of which was given to a different developer. The scope of their developments were restricted, however, with strict controls imposed on style of residential building, design of buildings and location, so producing a cohesive unity that came to be called Georgian Dublin. Henrietta Street in Dublin - my image, no c/r This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder. ...

Initially developments were focused on the city's northside. Among the earliest developments was Henrietta Street, a wide street lined lined on both sides by massive Georgian houses built on a palatial scale. At the top end of the street, a new James Gandon building, the King's Inns, was erected. In this building, barristers were trained and earned their academic qualifications. Such was the prestige of the street that many of the most senior figures in Irish 'establishment' society,¹ peers of the realm, judges, barristers, bishops bought houses here. Ultimately the northside was laid out centred on two major squares, Ruthland Square (now called Parnell Square), at the top end of Sackville Street, and Mountjoy Square. Such was the prestige of the latter square that among its many prominent residents was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin. Many of the streets in the new areas were named after the property developers, often with developers commemorated both in their name and by their peerage when the received one. Among the streets named after developers are Capel Street, Mountjoy Square and Aungier Street. Barristers: traditional dress. ... The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating seamlessly in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. ... Primate of Ireland is a title possessed by the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland (Anglican) Archbishops of Dublin. ...

Dublin Castle's Georgian Upper Castle Yard
The main body of the Castle was rebuilt along Georgian lines following a disastrous fire in the late seventeenth century

For the initial years of the Georgian era, the northside was the place to live. However all that was changed by one building and one aristocrat. When the Earl of Kildare, Ireland's premier peer, chose to move to a new large ducal palace built for him on what up to that point was seen as the inferior southside, he caused shock and when his Dublin townhouse, Kildare House (renamed Leinster House when he was made Duke of Leinster), by far the biggest aristocratic residence other than Dublin Castle, was seen, it was greeted with envy. image of Dublin Castle - no copyright, I took the picture File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... image of Dublin Castle - no copyright, I took the picture File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Leinster House The former palace of the Duke of Leinster. ...

The Earl had predicted that his move would be followed, and followed it was. Three new residential squares appeared on the southside, Merrion Square (facing his residence's garden front), St. Stephen's Green and the smallest and last of Dublin's five Georgian squares to be built, Fitzwilliam Square. Aristocrats, bishops and the wealthy sold their northside townhouses and migrated to the new southside developments, even though many of the developments, particularly in Fitzwilliam Square, were smaller and less impressive than the buildings in Henrietta Street. While the wealthier people lived in houses on the squares, those with lesser means and lesser titles lived in smaller, less grand but still impressive developments off the main squares, such as Upper and Lower Mount Street and Leeson Street. St. ...

The Act of Union and Georgian Dublin

Leinster House
18th century ducal palace but by the Duke of Leinster. Since 1922 it has served as the seat of the modern Irish parliament, Oireachtas Éireann.

The old Irish Houses of Parliament
Built in the 1720s, the building served as the seat of The House of Commons and House of Lords until 1800. It is now a branch of the Bank of Ireland.

photograph of Irelands parliament, Leinster House. ... The Oireachtas is the National Parliament of the Republic of Ireland1. ... Photograph by Jtdirl of old irish parliament. ...

Georgian house on St. Stephen's Green
A surviving Georgian house on St. Stephen's Green, stuck between a victorian building (picture right) and a 1960s office block (left). Over half the Georgian buildings on St. Stephen's Green having been lost since the Georgian era, with many demolished in the 1950s and 1960s .

Through the Irish Parliament was exclusively made by up of the representatives of the minority protestant community in Ireland, it did show sparks of independence, most notably the achievement of full legislative independence in 1782, where all the restrictions previously surrounding the parliament in College Green, notably Poyning's Law were repealed. This period of legislative freedom however was shortlived. In 1800, under pressure from the Dublin Castle administration of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and amid mass bribery, both the House of Commons and the House of Lords passed the Irish Act of Union, uniting both the KIngdom of Ireland and its parliament with the Kingdom of Great Britain and its parliament in London. As a result, from 1 January 1801 Dublin found itself without a parliament with which to draw hundreds of peers and bishops, along with their thousands of servants. While many did come to Dublin still for the Social Season, where the Lord Lieutenant hosted debutantes balls, state balls and drawing rooms in a period from January until St. Patrick's Day (17 March) every year, many found the appeals of such most less than in the days when they could sit in parliament for a session in College Green. Many of the leading peers, including the Duke of Leinster and Viscount Powerscourt, almost immediately sold their palatial Dublin townhouses, Powerscourt House and Leinster House. Though many still flocked to Dublin every social season, many didn't or went to London. The loss of their revenue and that of their extensive staff hurt the Dublin economy severely. While the 'new' Georgian centres southside continued to flourish, the northside Georgian squares soon fell into squalor, as new owners of the buildings crammed in massive numbers of poor into the former residences of earls and bishops, in some cases cramming an entire family into one old drawing room. Mountjoy Square in particular became run-down, until such was its state and degree of dereliction in the 1980s that it was used as a film set for stories set in post blitz London and post-war Berlin. The empty shells of the graceful houses, reduced to unsanitary tenements before being demolished in the 1980s, were used as a backdrop for a U2 rock video. georgian building in Dublin - my image. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... 1800 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Dublin Castle. ... Official standard of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (also known as the Viceroy or in the Middle Ages as the Lord Deputy) was the head of the Kingdom of Englands (before the Act of Union 1707) or Kingdom of Great Britains (after 1707... (Redirected from 1800 Act of Union) The 1800 Act of Union merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain (itself a merger of England and Scotland under the Act of Union 1707) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1801 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... U2 (L to R): The Edge, Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. ...

Georgian Dublin today

In the years after independence in 1922, independent Ireland had little sympathy for Georgian Dublin, seeing it as a symbol of British rule and of the unionist protestant community that was alien to Irish identity. By that stage, many of the gentry to had lived in them had moved elsewhere; some to the wealthy victorian suburbs of Rathmines and Rathgar, Killiney and Ballsbridge, where victorian residences were built on larger plots of land, allowing for gardens, rather that the lack of space of the Georgian eras. Those that had not moved in many cases had by the early twentieth century sold their mansions in Dublin. The abolition of the Dublin Castle administration and the Lord Lieutenant in 1922 saw an end to Dublin's traditional Social Season or masked balls, drawing rooms and court functions in the Castle. Many of the aristocratic families lost their heirs in the First World War, their homes in the country to IRA burnings during the Irish War of Independence and their townhouses to the Wall Street Crash. Daisy, the Countess of Fingall, in her regularly republished memoirs Seventy Years Young, wrote in the 1920s of the disappearance of that world and of her change from a big townhouse in Dublin, full of servants to a small flat with one maid. By the 1920s and certainly by the 1930s, many of the previous homes in Merrion Square had become business addresses of companies, with only Fitzwilliam Square of all the five squares having any residents at all. (Curiously, in the 1990s, new wealthy businessmen such as Sir Tony O'Reilly began returning to live in former offices they had bought and converted back into homes. However, Dermot Desmond's excellent restoration of his Merrion Square house to residential use has encountered unreasonable opposition from the planning authorities.) By the 1930s, plans were discussed in Eamon de Valera's government to demolish all of Merrion Square, perhaps the most intact of the five squares, on the basis that the houses were "old fashioned" and "un-national". They were only saved by Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939; the plans were put on hold in 1939 and forgotten about by 1945. 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Dublin Castle. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... This article primarily deals with the Irish Republican Army up to 1922. ... An Irish War of Independence memorial in Dublin The Anglo-Irish War (also known as the Irish War of Independence) was a guerrilla campaign mounted against the British government in Ireland by the Irish Republican Army under the proclaimed legitimacy of the First Dáil, the extra-legal Irish parliament... For the protest against the Communications Decency Act, see Black World Wide Web protest. ... Sir Anthony Joseph Francis OReilly (born 7 May 1936) is an Irish businessman and one of the richest men in Ireland. ... Dermot Desmond is an Irish businessman. ... Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, Irish name Éamonn de Bhailéara (October 14, 1882 – August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from Britain in the early 20th Century, and the Republican anti-Treaty opposition in the...   Adolf Hitler? (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Chancellor) of Germany from 1934, to his death. ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Though that did not stop the destruction of some of Georgian Dublin. Mountjoy Square was ultimately reduced to a state of near collapse, with many of its finest houses on what had once been Dublin's finest Georgian square, reduced to rubble by property developers. The world's longest row of Georgian houses, running from the corner of Merrion Square down to Lesson Street Bridge, was sliced in two by the decision of the Irish government in the early 1960s to demolish part of the row and replace them by a modern office block.

Georgian Houses on Capel Street
These buildings were refronted in the 19th century and later used as shops. The grey house of the right was bought by an Irish gay resource centre, Outhouse in early 21st century. On restoration, the building which had been used as a warehouse turned out to have 18th century ceiling decoration and a large tiled hall floor, all of which had been obscured over the previous two centuries.

The decision in the late 1950s to demolish a row of Georgian houses in Kildare Place and replace them with a brick wall was greeted with jubilation by a republican minister at the time, Kevin Boland, who said they stood for everything he opposed. He described members of the fledgling Irish Georgian Society, newly formed to seek to protect Georgian buildings, of being "belted earls". By the 1990s, attitudes had changed dramatically. Strict new planning guidelines sought to protect the remaining Georgian buildings, though some property owners still found their way around the restrictions. A surprising number of old houses in poor repair, if an owner wished to demolish them but had been refused planning permission, just happened mysteriously to go on fire and be burnt to the ground, facilitating 'development'. However, in contrast with the lax development controls applied in Ireland for many decades, by the 1990s a whole new mindset among politicians, planners and the leaders of Dublin City Council (formerly Dublin Corporation) produced a determination to preserve as much as possible of the remaining Georgian buildings, with prosecutions for unathorised developments a regular occurrence. Capel Street in Dublin - my image, no c/r This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder. ... The Irish Georgian Society (IGS) is a group concerned with conservation of the Irish architectural heritage. ...

Perhaps the biggest irony of all is that residence that marked the move of the aristocrats from the northside to the southside (where the wealthier Dubliners have remained to this day), and that in some ways embodied Georgian Dublin, Leinster House, home of the Duke of Leinster, ended up as the parliament of independent republican Ireland. Leinster House The former palace of the Duke of Leinster. ...

Footnote

¹ Under the anti-catholic Penal Laws, Roman Catholics, though the overwhelming majority on the island of Ireland, were harshly discriminated against, barred from holding property rights or from voting in parliamentary elections. Thus the houses of Georgian Dublin, particularly in the early phase before Catholic Emancipation was granted in 1829, were almost invariably owned by a small Church of Ireland anglican elite, with Catholics, if they gained admittance at all, only gaining admittance to the houses as skivvies and servants. In the most general sense, penal is the body of laws that are enforced by the State in its own name and impose penalties for their violation, as opposed to civil law that seeks to redress private wrongs. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...