Iveagh House | |
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General information | |
Architectural style | Neoclassical |
Location | St Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland |
Coordinates | 53°20′12″N6°15′34″W / 53.336538°N 6.259376°W |
Current tenants | Department of Foreign Affairs |
Completed | 1736 |
Inaugurated | 1939 |
Renovated | 1862 |
Owner | Government of Ireland |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Richard Castle |
Renovating team | |
Architect(s) | Benjamin Guinness |
References | |
[1] |
Iveagh House is a Georgian house which now contains the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, Ireland. It is also sometimes used colloquially as a metonym referring to the department itself.
Iveagh House was originally two houses, nos 80 and 81 St Stephen's Green. No 80 was designed by Richard Castle in 1736 for Bishop Clayton. It was later the home of barrister and Master of the Rolls John Philpot Curran. [2]
After both houses were bought by Benjamin Guinness in 1862 he served as his own architect, combined the two houses and produced the building as it now stands. On the Portland stone facade pediment he placed his parents' arms: on the left the Milesian lion, with the Red Hand of Ulster above, for the Magennis clan of County Down; and on the right the arms of the Lee family, Dublin builders from about 1700. The building has nine bays, with the central three broken forward and pedimented. The interior of the building is hugely elaborate and decorative, with a staircase and ballroom lined with alabaster. The staircase also has ornate ironwork, marble columns and circular roof lights.
The building was donated to the Irish state by Benjamin Guinness's grandson, Rupert, Lord Iveagh, in 1939, and was renamed Iveagh House. The original Iveagh House is still a part of the Iveagh Trust nearby.
The Iveagh Gardens at the back of the house were given to University College Dublin (UCD), by The 1st Lord Iveagh in 1908, in connection with the formation of its campus on Earlsfort Terrace. The gardens have since been transferred to the OPW and are now used as a public park. The conservation and restoration of the Gardens commenced in 1995 and to date most of the original features have been restored, for example the Maze in Box hedging with a Sundial as a centre piece. The restored Cascade and exotic tree ferns all help to create a sense of wonder in the 'Secret Garden'.
Farmleigh is the official Irish state guest house. It was formerly one of the Dublin residences of the Guinness family. It is situated on an elevated position above the River Liffey to the northwest of the Phoenix Park, in Castleknock. The estate of 78 acres (32 ha) consists of extensive private gardens with stands of mature cypress, pine and oak trees, a boating pond, walled garden, sunken garden, out offices and a herd of rare native Kerry cattle. It was purchased by the Government of Ireland from Edward Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh in 1999 for €29.2 million. A state body—the Office of Public Works (OPW)—spent in the region of €23 million restoring the house, gardens and curvilinear glasshouses, bringing the total cost to the state to €52.2 million. Farmleigh was opened to the public in July 2001.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, was an Anglo-Irish businessman and philanthropist. A member of the prominent Guinness family, he was the head of the family's eponymous brewing business, making him the richest man in Ireland. A prominent philanthropist, he is best remembered for his provision of affordable housing in London and Dublin through charitable trusts.
Arthur Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun,, styled Sir Arthur Guinness, Bt between 1868 and 1880, was an Anglo-Irish businessman, politician and philanthropist. He is perhaps best known for giving St Stephen's Green to the Dublin Corporation for public use.
Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet was an Irish brewer and philanthropist.
St Stephen's Green is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by Lord Ardilaun. The square is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street, and to a shopping centre named after it, while on its surrounding streets are the offices of a number of public bodies as well as a stop on one of Dublin's Luas tram lines. It is often informally called Stephen's Green. At 22 acres (8.9 ha), it is the largest of the parks in Dublin's main Georgian garden squares. Others include nearby Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square.
Sir Edward Lovett Pearce was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of Palladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, Sir John Vanbrugh. He is best known for the Irish Houses of Parliament in Dublin, and his work on Castletown House. The architectural concepts he employed on both civic and private buildings were to change the face of architecture in Ireland. He could be described as the father of Irish Palladian architecture and Georgian Dublin.
St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product of the brewery is Draught Guinness.
Saint Anne's Park is a 240-acre (97 ha) public park situated between Raheny and Clontarf, suburbs on the northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is owned and managed by Dublin City Council.
Fencing Ireland – formerly the Irish Fencing Federation – is the governing body for the sport of fencing in Ireland. It was formally established in 1933, although the sport of fencing has been practised in Ireland since the beginning of the 1900s. The Federation is recognised by Sport Ireland and the Olympic Council of Ireland, and it is also affiliated to the Federation Internationale d'Escrime and European Fencing Confederation.
Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh, was an Anglo-Irish businessman, politician, oarsman and philanthropist. Born in London, he was the eldest son of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh. He served as the 20th Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1927 to 1963, succeeding his father who was Chancellor between 1908 and 1927.
Arthur Francis Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh, styled Viscount Elveden between 1945 and 1967, was an Irish businessman and politician. He was chairman of Guinness plc from 1962 to 1986, and then its president from 1986 until his death in 1992.
Arthur Edward Rory Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh,, styled Viscount Elveden until 1992, is an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and businessman. Lord Iveagh is a member of the Guinness family.
The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its achievements in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout Guinness Beer. The founder of the dynasty was Arthur Guinness. Beginning in the late 18th century, they became a prominent part of what is known in Ireland as the Protestant Ascendancy.
The Iveagh Trust is a provider of affordable housing in and around Dublin, Ireland. It was initially a component of the Guinness Trust, founded in 1890 by Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, great-grandson of the founder of the Guinness Brewery, to help homeless people in Dublin and London. It is not otherwise related to the brewery company.
The Iveagh Gardens is a public park located between Clonmel Street and Upper Hatch Street, near the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland. It is a national, as opposed to a municipal park, and designated as a National Historic Property. The gardens are almost completely surrounded by buildings making them less noticeable and a little hard to find, unlike other green spaces in Dublin.
Miranda Daphne Jane Guinness, Countess of Iveagh was a Scottish aristocrat who married into the Guinness family.
The Iveagh Markets is a former indoor market built in the Victorian style on Francis Street and John Dillon Street in The Liberties neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, that was open from 1906 until the 1990s.
The International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures was a world's fair held in Dublin, Ireland in 1865 attended by almost 1 million visitors.
Earlsfort Terrace is a street in Dublin, Ireland which was laid out in the 1830s.