The Under Secretary's Lodge was formerly the Dublin residence of the British Under-Secretary for Ireland (the British Administration's chief civil servant). After the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the office of Under Secretary disappeared. Dublins Hapenny Bridge. ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British and Irish...

The residence was rented by the Irish Free State to the Vatican for use as the Apostolic Nunciature (papal embassy). The Lodge was vacated by the Papal Nuncio in the mid 1970s, when he moved to a new purpose-built nunciature on the Navan Road in Dublin. It was intended to turn the Lodge into a taoiseach's residence (residence of the prime minister of Ireland). But after some years' delay it was decided that the Lodge (in a politically unappealing Georgian style) was in too poor a state of repair to be converted and so was demolished. An Apostolic Nunciature is a top level diplomatic mission of the Holy See, equivalent to an embassy or to a High Commission between members of the Commonwealth. ... A Papal Nuncio (also known as an Apostolic Nuncio) is a permanent diplomatic representative (head of mission) of the Holy See to a state, having ambassadorial rank. ...

A preservable mediaeval tower house was found to be at the centre of the demolished Georgian building. It has been restored and is used as an interpretative centre. Tours of Áras an Uachtaráin (residence of the President of Ireland) begin from the centre every Saturday. Áras an Uachtaráin (formerly the Viceregal Lodge) is the official residence of the President of Ireland, located in the Phoenix Park on the Northside of Dublin1. ... The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ...

While it served as the Apostolic Nunciature, one of its most famous residents was Giovanni Montini, later Pope Paul VI, who worked as a young diplomat there. Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Enrica Antonia Maria Montini (September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978), served as Pope from 1963 to 1978. ... His Holiness Pope Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978), served as Pope from 1963 to 1978. ...