Formation | 1976 |
---|---|
Founders | An Taisce (The National Trust for Ireland), Dr Edward McParland and Nicholas Robinson |
Type | Non-governmental organisation |
Purpose | Archiving of architectural materials, museum and gallery |
Headquarters | 45 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 |
Location |
|
Region served | Ireland |
CEO | Colum O’Riordan |
Website | www.iarc.ie |
Formerly called | National Trust Archive |
The Irish Architectural Archive was established in 1976 by Dr Edward McParland and Nicholas Robinson as the National Trust Archive. [1] Its objective is to collect and preserve material of every kind relating to the architecture of Ireland, and make it available to the public. It is based at 45 Merrion Square, Dublin, [2] [3] and is an independent private company with charitable status. [4] The repository serves as the main collection of diverse materials pertaining to Irish architecture. [5]
Founded under the authority of An Taisce, the Irish Architectural Archive seeks to accumulate authentic or, if unavailable, replicated documentation of Irish architecture, with the intention of providing unrestricted access to the public. The expanding assortment encompasses many forms of material, such as publications, books, sketches, etchings, paperwork, models, images, and prints. The focus lies on the time span ranging from 1560 to the contemporary. The diverse records encompass a wide range of structures found throughout Ireland, including both stately and traditional structures. They provide comprehensive information about the surroundings and characteristics of these buildings. In addition to the reading and research amenities, the archive offers a duplication service. [6] The archive is an impartial entity that refrains from participating in any form of development or preservation disputes. In addition, the archive actively implements a policy of publishing and engaging with the public through programmes for outreach. [7]
As of 2020, Colum O'Riordan was the director. [8]
The IAA is governed by a Board of Directors, which is supported by a lay Community Advisory Group (CAG). Ruairi Quinn served as IAA Chairperson from 2020-2023. [9] [10]
Edward McParland and Nicholas Robinson founded the National Trust Archive in 1976, with Nick Sheaf appointed the first director, and premises at 63 Merrion Square. [1] Among the founding items in the collection were drawings “from the practice established in Ireland by Augustus Pugin in the late 1830s”. [1]
Alistair Rowan was appointed director in 1981, and the organisation was renamed the Irish Architectural Archive and moved to number 73 Merrion Square. [1] [11]
The organisation was formally designated National Archive status in 1996, by Ruairi Quinn, who was then Minister of Finance. [1]
A dedicated new headquarters at 45 Merrion Square, a Georgian building and the former home of Gustavus Hume constructed in 1794, was restored between 2002 and 2004 for use as an archive by the Office of Public Works. [12] [13] [1] [14]
The Irish Architectural Archive oversees the Dictionary of Irish Architects which it developed over a period of 30 years and launched formally in 2009 as an online archive. [15]
The archive comprises over 3,500 individual acquisitions, ranging from single items - a book, pamphlet, drawing or photograph - to the thousands of drawings and files created by large architectural practices.[ citation needed ] The IAA's collections represent the largest body of historic architectural records in Ireland.[ citation needed ] They include more than 250,000 architectural drawings, ranging in date from the late seventeenth to the twentieth centuries.[ citation needed ] Also housed in the archive are over 400,000 photographs, making it one of the largest collections of photographs in Ireland.[ citation needed ] The archive also holds a reference library, with over 15,000 prints.[ citation needed ] The IAA holds a collection of photographs and drawings, the Peter and Mary Doyle Collection, which was bequeathed by Irish modernist architects Peter and Mary Doyle. [16] [17]
In 2001, Maurice Craig, an architectural historian, made a donation of two thousand pictures to the Irish Architectural Archive. [18] The Irish Architectural Archive released a publication in 2019 that delved into the architectural aspects of Irish courthouses, spanning from the early 17th century to the present day. The book, titled 'Ireland's Court Houses,' was edited by Paul Burns, Ciaran O'Connor, and Colum O'Riordan. The book also includes a gazetteer that, for the first time in one volume, offered a thorough catalogue of courthouses throughout the entirety of Ireland. [19]
In June 2022, a display, organised by the National Archives in conjunction with the Irish Architectural Archive, opened to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the decimation of the Public Record Office during the Irish Civil War. The installation featured a collection of images, architectural schematics and designs, maps and elevations, film clips, and salvaged records. [20] [21] In September 2022, Robert O'Byrne, an architecture blogger, donated a comprehensive digital collection of photographs he had captured from 2012 to 2022 to the IAA. In addition, he organised a showcase in the offices of the IAA. [22]
The IAA also possesses the initial design of Leinster House, created by Richard Castle. [23]
Exhibitions, held at the IAA, have included:
Dublin is the capital of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2022 census, the city council area had a population of 592,713, while Dublin City and its suburbs had a population of 1,263,219, and County Dublin had a population of 1,501,500, making it the largest city by size on the island of Ireland.
Leinster House is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster.
Georgian Dublin is a phrase used in terms of the history of Dublin that has two interwoven meanings:
Merrion Square is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre.
James Hoban was an Irish-American architect, best known for designing the White House.
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh was an Irish republican political and military leader. He was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1958 to 1959 and again from 1960 to 1962, president of Sinn Féin from 1970 to 1983, and president of Republican Sinn Féin from 1987 to 2009.
The National Museum of Ireland is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the archaeology and natural history museums adjacent on Kildare Street and Merrion Square, and a newer Decorative Arts and History branch at the former Collins Barracks, and the Country Life museum in County Mayo.
The National Library of Ireland is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the documentary and intellectual record of the life of Ireland and to contribute to the provision of access to the larger universe of recorded knowledge."
The architecture of Ireland is one of the most visible features in the Irish countryside – with remains from all eras since the Stone Age abounding. Ireland is famous for its ruined and intact Norman and Anglo-Irish castles, small whitewashed thatched cottages and Georgian urban buildings. What are unaccountably somewhat less famous are the still complete Palladian and Rococo country houses which can be favourably compared to anything similar in northern Europe, and the country's many Gothic and neo-Gothic cathedrals and buildings.
James Gandon was an English architect best known for his work in Ireland during the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House and the surrounding Beresford Place, the Four Courts and the King's Inns in Dublin and Emo Court in County Laois.
The Great Industrial Exhibition in 1853 was held in Dublin, Ireland. In its day, it was the largest international event to be held in Ireland. The Irish Industrial Exhibition Building, located on the grounds of Leinster House, housed the entire fair. It lasted from 12 May to 31 October, Queen Victoria accompanied by the Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales, paid an official visit on 29 August.
Dublin 2, also rendered as D2 and D02, is a historic postal district on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. In the 1960s, this central district became a focus for office development. More recently, it became a focus for urban residential development. The district saw some of the heaviest fighting during Ireland's Easter Rising.
Merrion Street is a major Georgian street on the southside of Dublin, Ireland, which runs along one side of Merrion Square. It is divided into Merrion Street Lower, Merrion Square West and Merrion Street Upper. It holds one entrance to the seat of the Irish Parliament, the Oireachtas, major government offices and two major cultural institutions.
The National Museum of Ireland – Natural History, sometimes called the Dead Zoo, a branch of the National Museum of Ireland, is housed on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland. The museum was built in 1856 for parts of the collection of the Royal Dublin Society and the building and collection were later passed to the State.
The Irish Manuscripts Commission was established in 1928 by the newly founded Irish Free State with the intention of furthering the study of Ireland's manuscript collections and archives. Its foundation was primarily motivated by the loss of many historical documents when the Irish Public Record Office was destroyed during the Battle of Dublin in the Irish Civil War, and by the destruction of most Irish family records by the IRA at the Burning of the Custom House in 1920.
The office of Surveyor General of Ireland was an appointed officer under the Dublin Castle administration of Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Surveyor General was typically responsible for the surveying, design and construction of civic works, and was often involved in overseeing the construction of military barracks and public buildings. Though Surveyors General were officially appointed by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, it was not unknown for the post to be "sold" by one holder to the next. For example, Arthur Jones-Nevill succeeded Arthur Dobbs in 1743, having paid £3,300 to secure the position. And despite being dismissed for maladministration, Nevill was allowed to sell the post on to Thomas Eyre in 1752. Eyre was the last holder of the office, which was abolished in 1763.
The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Dublin is the chief diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Ireland. The Embassy is located on Merrion Road in the Ballsbridge area of the city. The current British Ambassador to Ireland is Paul Johnston.
Longford Courthouse is a judicial facility in Main Street, Longford, County Longford, Ireland.
Edward Joseph McParland is an Irish architectural historian and author. He was elected as Pro-Chancellor of University of Dublin, Trinity College in 2013, and continues to give lectures after his retirement in 2008. McParland is the co-founder of the Irish Architectural Archive which was established in 1976, and he has contributed extensively to architectural conservation in Ireland.
Clare Street is a street in central Dublin, Ireland.
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