By J. Herbert Silverman

As Ireland approaches St. Patrick’s Day, a wave of heritage programs is currently sweeping Erin with massive efforts to remind the populace of a Celtic, Norman, Viking, even English traditions in Tralee, Cork and Galway.

An exemplar, Merrion Square in the heart of Dublin is one possibly of the most literary and artistic addresses in the world. It is also the epitome of that elegant eighteenth century architectural phenomenon, The Georgian Square. And by odd coincidence, Leinster House, seat of the Irish government on one side of the square was designed by James Hoban, the architect for the White House.

The government complex was built in 1745 for the Duke of Leinster and was the first of the great houses to be erected in the then unfashionable southern part of the city. 

Now in a current renaissance, the square is undergoing some period restoration that will gladden the hearts of those who have seen an arcaded glass shopping mall intrude on St. Stephen’s Green, a parking lot replacing the historic Hotel Russell and concrete office blocks erected along the Grand Canal in Ireland's capital. 

During the course of the 18th century, Dublin was transformed from a mediaeval town into one of the finest Georgian cities in Europe. It was an exciting and vibrant time. Peace and stability in the country had given rise to great social and economic activity. Dublin became a thriving capital city with a glittering social scene. Architecture was one of the major outward expressions of this vigorous revival of spirit. 

Dublin owes many of her great civic buildings to this era, and most of the imposing rosy brick streets and grand squares for which the city is famous were built at this time. Government dignitaries and the aristocracy built townhouses of impressive scale. Parallel with the burgeoning architecture, there was an upsurge in the intellectual life of the city. One of the results of this was the forming of the Dublin Society in 1731. The Society encouraged many different disciplines; it opened the Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin in 1731 and founded schools of drawing, ornament and architecture.

Large private houses and palatial public buildings provided the backdrop for a society enhanced by luminaries such as Dubliner Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels; the composer Handel (whose Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742), Anglo-Irish playwright and novelist, Oliver Goldsmith (The Vicar of Wakefield was published in 1766), and Dublin-born dramatist Richard Sheridan, (his The School for Scandal opened in 1777). 

Garrett Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, contributed to this revived interest in the arts. In 1757, he established a musical society for "the entertainment of the aristocracy." He later became the first professor of music at Trinity College.

The planning of Georgian Dublin was assisted by the establishment, in 1757, of the "Commission for Making Wide & Convenient Streets" which left an enduring legacy in the city’s wide and gracious streets -- Upper Merrion Street measures 102 feet across. The Paving Board, set up in 1773, for "paving, cleaning, lighting, draining and improving the streets," was another example of careful planning. Classical principles were applied to buildings. Symmetry and spaciousness were considered an appropriate background for power.

Some background: Oscar Wilde resided at No. 1 Merrion Square North. George Bernard Shaw played hooky from school spending his time at the nearby National Gallery, one of the world's loveliest art museums.

Here the playwright delighted in the memories of Parnell, Yeats, Synge, O'Casey and James Joyce portrayed on the museum's walls in pastels, pen and ink or oil. The National Gallery so endeared itself to Shaw that in later years he bequeathed the royalties from My Fair Lady to the institution. Incidentally, the museum is undergoing a renovation so the public will be able to view even more of its extensive collection.

When James Joyce was studying at Trinity College, the chic literati met for tea and sympathy at the home of the great Irish poet, George Moore, just around the corner on Ely Place.

The aforementioned Leinster House stands in the heart of a quadrangle, the meeting place of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) which consists of Dail Eireannn (House of Representatives) and Seanad Eireann (The Senate). 

To the left of this imposing legislative institution is Ireland's National Museum which is home to such Irish treasures as the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch, the Cross of Cong and the Shrine of St. Patrick's Bell. 

As noted, historic Merrion Square (oddly enough, owned by the Archbishop of Dublin, its greensward closed to the public) is undergoing a spectacular renaissance albeit on a microcosmic scale. Similarly, the five-star Merrion Hotel, a classic of Georgian architecture, is one of the most significant restoration projects which has taken place in Dublin. The Merrion is located on Upper Merrion Street, opposite Government Buildings, the home of the Irish Government. General manager is Peter McCann, one of Ireland’s most distinguished hoteliers.

The Main House of the hotel is comprised of four meticulously restored Georgian townhouses and a specially commissioned contemporary Garden Wing is arranged around two private period gardens.

The houses were built in the 1760’s by Lord Monck (Charles Stanley Monck) for wealthy Irish merchants and nobility. He lived in No. 22, which became known as Monck House. The most important of the four houses is, however, No. 24 Upper Merrion Street. This was leased to the Earl of Mornington, in 1769, and it has since been known as Mornington House. The house is remembered historically as being the birthplace of Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington.

All four houses had been in use as state offices for most of this century. The well-known Irish writer, Flan O’Brien, (also known as Myles na Gopaleen) author of The Third Policeman, allegedly worked in the buildings when he worked for the government.

The four houses forming the Main House of The Merrion are typical of domestic Georgian architecture in Ireland. The plain exteriors rely for effect on the carefully worked out classical proportions of the timber sash windows and their relation to the whole façade. The door cases, with their varied treatment and intricate beautiful fanlights, were where the builder could impose some individuality on the building. In most other areas, the normal lease laid down strict requirements.

Internally, there were no such restrictions. This explains the wealth of varied plasterwork and woodwork contained in the houses. The architectural detail of the houses clearly indicates the progression of their construction. No. 21 has intricate rococo plasterwork and a particularly heavy staircase. The detail lightens as one progresses along the terrace, although No. 22, the first to be built, is an exception. Here the main stair hall and the principal reception rooms have much lighter detailing, in the neo-classical, Adam style. In the midst of this lighter decoration, there are examples of heavier detail, such as the intricate Corinthian cornice in the stairwell, and the superb third floor room with coved ceilings and dramatic rococo plasterwork. Monck House was "modernized" in the late 18th century or the beginning of the 19th century.

No. 23 was also "modernized" 30 or 40 years after completion. The reception rooms in particular changed after 1790 when the windows were enlarged, window boxes and shutters modified and connections made to the front room. The removal of the principal stairs and hall inside the front door may have been done later in order to increase the number of rooms in the house. Immense care was taken before work began on the site. 

The Merrion comprises 125 rooms and 20 suites. The interior is designed using Irish fabrics and antiques to reflect the architecture and original interiors of the Main House. Throughout the hotel, guests benefit from the latest technology. There is a choice of two restaurants and two bars. A luxurious spa and swimming pool, six magnificent meeting and private dining rooms, and a private car park complete list of facilities. 

Dublin’s celebrated Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud moved from its former location off Lower Baggot Street, to the Merrion, which opened in October 1997. 

Seventeen years ago, following a successful career with his own restaurant in Cheshire, Patrick Guilbaud opened Europe’s first purpose built restaurant in Dublin in St James’s Place. From the outset, the restaurant -- designed by Arthur Gibney & Partners, with its elegant, airy atrium and white walls hung with contemporary art -- continually set the standards by which others are judged and won every major food award in the world.

Guilbaud once again joined forces with Arthur Gibney & Partners to create the spectacular new home for the restaurant in The Main House of The Merrion. The original entrance to the house is now the entrance to the restaurant.

In addition to the Main House, The Merrion features a specially commissioned Garden Wing, arranged around a large private, 18th century style, landscaped garden, which has been designed by Ireland’s most respected garden designer, Jim Reynolds. Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud looks into this garden.

An unlikely but highly profiled leader of the Dublin conservation effort is Noel O'Callaghan, an accountant turned hotelier who has elected to restore two historic buildings on Merrion Square eschewing a regrettable Irish tendency to substitute sandstone for glass.

O'Callaghan became intrigued by the hotel field and acquired the historic Mont Clare Hotel several years ago.

With a distinguished past, the hotel was once owned by Captain Jury, an Irish hotelier of note, who at one time also owned the classic Shelbourne on St. Stephen's Green. Carefully restoring the Mont Clare, which had declined severely over the years but happily situated opposite Wilde's residence, O'Callaghan elected to create a boutique hotel keeping its 19th century facade updated but unchanged.

Although there doesn't seem to be a crying need for more pubs in the Irish capital, the hotelier installed a classic Dublin bar on the first floor in a building that was once a temperance residence in Victorian times. 

The original mahogany paneling throughout has been carefully reworked. Stained glass windows, a Dublin hotel signature, have been retained, and the original checkerboard black, yellow and red tiles in the bar have been cleaned and polished.

O'Callaghan and his energetic staff then went on to create a five-star house restaurant by leveling and then reconstructing the building next door, once a branch of the Allied Irish Bank and now symbiotically linked to his hotel.

Five years ago, a fire gutted the venerable Merrion Hall across the street, once the home of a religious group called the Plymouth Brethren.

The building which had been constructed in 1865 at a then astronomical cost of £16,000, was acquired by a far-sighted O'Callaghan who has now restored it to the tune of $10 million euro and created another period hostelry, the Davenport, albeit with such contemporary touches as a "President's Bar." 

Resident portraits include one of Douglas Hyde, first to preside over the fledgling Irish Republic, but ecumenically including other heads of states, sports executives and major corporations world-wide.

In retaining the original design elements of the Davenport (named for an obscure 18th century cleric), the original facade has been carefully preserved framed by handsome Doric columns. New to the eight-floor hotel is an interior six-story atrium. Dormered windows have been reglazed and offer views of old Dublin that are oddly reminiscent of a Parisian atelier. 

Taking some legal liberties with the past (both hotels are on a National Preservation Order, the renovation includes a Cupola on the roof "to top it off" providing a unique view of another Dublin masterwork, the spire of Christ Church. 

On yet another note of eminence, prior to the fire, the Davenport served as a locale for the award-winning film, Hear My Song.

Traditionally, Buswell's Hotel on Kildare Street has been the haunt of politicians, newspeople and the foreign press covering the Dail. 

With the growth of Ireland's participation in the international community, both the Mont Clare and the Davenport are providing an alternate pub "club" for the thirsty among these movers and shakers.

 

Author J. Herbert Silverman can be reached at jhsilverman@att.net