Architecture of The Republic of Ireland - The Restoration and After

The Restoration and After

In the early 18th century classical Palladian architecture swept through Ireland, the driving force behind this new fashion was the Irish architect Edward Lovett Pearce. Pearce, born in County Meath in 1699, had studied architecture in Italy, before returning in 1725 to Ireland to oversee, and later, almost, co-design Ireland's first Palladian mansion Castletown House.

Castletown house was a milestone in Irish architecture, designed originally by the Italian Alessandro Galilei, circa 1717, in the manner of an Italian town palazzo, for Ireland's most influential man, the politician Speaker William Conolly, it set a new standard and fashion in Irish architecture. The original architect had returned to Italy before the first stone was laid, subsequently the Irish Pearce was responsible not only for the construction, but modification and improvement to the original plan. From the mid-1720s onwards almost every sizeable building, in Ireland, was cast in the Palladian mould.

Through Castletown and his later work, including the Irish Houses of Parliament Pearce had firmly established many of the Italian architectural concepts in Ireland. Following Pearce's death in 1733, his protegee Richard Cassels (also known as Richard Castle) was to design many of Ireland's finest buildings in a similar, if not more robust form of Palladian. Many fine country houses were built in the palladian style around the country by the rich ascendancy in Ireland. Some, such as Leinster House, and Russborough House (illustrated above), were the finest examples of Palladian architecture. Palladianism in Ireland often differed from that elsewhere in Europe because of the ornate rococo interiors, often with stucco by Robert West and the Lafranchini brothers. Although many of these mansions, such as Pearce and Cassels joint design Summerhill House, were destroyed in the numerous Irish rebellions, many examples of this unique marrying of the rococo and Palladian still remain today as unique examples of Irish Palladianism.

Also notable was Thomas Burgh (1670–1730), the architect of Trinity College Library (1712), Dr Steevens' Hospital (1719) and the Royal Barracks (1702). Elsewhere in Dublin George Semple built St. Patrick's Hospital (1747) and Thomas Cooley the Royal Exchange (1769; now City Hall).