Dublin City Hall

The City Hall, Dublin, originally the Royal Exchange, is a civic building in Dublin, Ireland. It was built between 1769 and 1779 to the designs of architect Thomas Cooley and is a notable example of 18th-century architecture in the city. The building was restored to its 18th-century appearance at the beginning of the 21st century, and Dublin City Council won an award for the conservation work on the building. Most Dublin City Council staff are located in the newer and brutalist design Civic Offices, controversially built from 1979 on the site of a national monument, the Viking city foundations on Wood Quay. Dublin Corporation itself was renamed in the early 21st century as Dublin City Council, previously the name of the assembly of councillors only. Some council meetings take place in City Hall There is an exhibition on the history of Dublin City, called "Dublin City Hall, The Story of the Capital", located in the vaults. Sean Connolly and volunteers under his command seized control of Dublin City Hall at the begining of the Easter Rising. The siege was short lived with the British Army assaulting City Hall taking control of the building the same day, roughly 12 hours after it had been seized. Sean Connolly while on the roof of the building was shot and killed. It is thought he was the first nationalist victim of the rising. DMP Constable James O'Brien, was killed by the Connolly and it is believed he was the first victim of the Rising.