Government Buildings

Government Buildings is a large Edwardian building enclosing a quadrangle on Merrion Street. It was designed by the British architect Sir Aston Webb, who later redesigned the façade of Buckingham Palace. Thomas Manly Deane of Dublin, who had recently completed work at the National Gallery of Ireland, was appointed executant architect. The foundation stone for the building was laid by King Edward VII in 1904. The final completed building was opened by King George V in 1911. It was originally shared between the Dublin Castle administration and the Royal College of Science for Ireland. The building of Government Buildings was the last major public building constructed under British rule in Ireland. The building cost £225,000 to build. It was chosen to be the location for the first meeting of the new Parliament of Southern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, in June 1921. However, due to the creation of the Irish Free State, it was not used, only to ratify the Anglo Irish Treaty on the 14 of January 1922. With the coming into existence of the Irish Free State in December 1922 Leinster House, the headquarters of the Royal Dublin Society, located next door to the Royal College of Science, became the provisional seat of the Free State's parliament, Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann. The Executive Council of the Irish Free State immediately commandeered part of the college as temporary office space. The complex was completed in March 1922, and was available immediately to be occupied by the new Irish Free State government. In more recent times, the building has been converted and entirely refurbished to form modern accommodation for a number of departments including the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Finance and the Office of the Attorney General. Guided tours of Government Buildings normally take place every Saturday at 10.30, 11.30 and 13.00. Each tour is approximately 30-40 minutes long. Tickets are free of charge and are available on the morning of the tours from the Clare Street entrance of the National Gallery (open at 9:15 am). Advance booking is not permitted.