A House with Three Lives

The history of Leinster House falls naturally into three distinct phases. The house was initially built from 1745 as the Dublin residence of the FitzGeralds, Earls of Kildare and, from 1766, Dukes of Leinster. In 1815 it passed into the ownership of the Dublin Society, or Royal Dublin Society from 1820, serving as the Society’s offices, meeting house, museum and library. Finally, since 1922, Leinster House has been the home of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland.

The Irish Architectural Archive is grateful to the RDS and the OPW for making material available for this exhibition, and to the James Hoban Societies of Ireland and the United States for their support. The Irish Architectural Archive is supported by the Arts Council.