History of No. 25 Mountjoy Square

In 1797,  Anne Preston, widow of Arthur Preston, an army officer who held lands in counties Meath and Dublin, took ownership of a plot of land of 60ft, where Frederick Darley senior build nos 25 and 26.

Frederick Darley Senior was Lord Mayor of Dublin at one point, and was married to Elizabeth Guinness, daughter of Arthur Guinness of the Guinness Brewing Family.  His son, Frederick was also central to the design of a number of famous Dublin buildings in the nineteenth century, including the King’s Inns buildings and the Merchant’s Hall. Frederick Darley was a well known Dublin stone mason and his work can be seen to this day inside the walls of 25 Mountjoy Square.

There is uncertainty in the records as to when the exact layout of nos. 25 and 26 were established as separate houses.

Christine Casey, architectural historian, states that nos 25 to 27 were the ‘largest and grandest’ houses built on Mountjoy square. ‘Deeper and wider’ than other houses on the square, unusual features of the houses include the granite ashlars to the basements, Portland stone stairs and vaulted ceilings in the halls. The plasterwork ceilings, although probably ‘by the same hand’ are different and unique, to each one in all three.

A deed made between Lord Mountjoy and Ann Preston states that she acquired a part of the land fronting on the eastern side of Mountjoy Square at a yearly rent of seventy five pounds Sterling. From 1798 to 1808 the records show a Deed of Release between Ann Preston and Miss Sarah Jacob (spinster and part of the branch of Quaker families) to develop the plot of land. This Preston-Jacob registration states Ann Preston had at some earlier date ‘relinquished’ half of the original sixty-foot frontage held by her to Lord Mayor Jeremiah D’Olier (1745-1817). He was later resident at no. 26. D’Olier was a descendent of Huguenot refugees who had subsequently come to Ireland in the 1680s, he was a silversmith, prominent politician in Dublin city and member of the Wide Streets Commission.

According to Christine Casey, no. 25 is unusual in having an elegant vaulted room on the first return, entered through an Ionic screen. This wing appears on the Ordinance Survey of 1837, and may have been added by Andrew Christopher Palles, who occupied the house in 1833.

Table 1.1 shows the chronological record of those who occupied and owned no. 25 from 1797 until the present day.

Table 1.1 History of 25 Mountjoy Square

Date	Name
1796	Deed made between Lord Mountjoy and Ann Preston (Widow of Arthur Preston, an army officer) states that she acquired the plot of land where no. 25 and no. 26 now stand
1797 -1808	Deed of Release between Anne Preston and Sarah Jacob (branch of Quaker families) to further develop the plot of land
1798-1799	Ann Preston’s house was first to be built on the East side of Square Preston-Jacob registration states that Ann Preston had at some earlier date ‘relinquished’ half of sixty-foot frontage held by her to Mayor Jeramiah D’Olier (Silversmith, Politician) – this was most likely no.26 as it is now known.
1808	Sarah Jacob paid £3,812:10:0 when the house changed hands for the first time
1815	Sarah Jacob recorded on the earlier list of Nobility and Gentry in Wilson’s Directory as resident at no. 9 (now no.25) Mountjoy Square East
1817	Sarah Jacob’s sister Miss E. Jacob listed from 1817 on as resident presumably up to change of occupancy in 1833
1833	Andrew Christopher Palles (Lawyer) occupied the house and it is probable that he resided there until 1844
1845-1846	House listed as vacant
1847	Edmund Hayes (Solicitor-General for Ireland in 1859 and Third Justice, Court of Queen’s Bench from 1869) occupied the house
1867-1874	Andrew M’Cullagh resided at the house
1875-1879	James Scully Esq., J.P (High Sheriff, Co. Tipperary) occupant in no. 25
1880	Mrs Scully, listed alone in the house
1881	John Scully (Barrister) resident in the house
1882	Joseph A.Scully Esq. joined John Scully to reside in the house
1883	House is listed as vacant
1884-1890	T.J Callaghan (Esq., of Fort William, Glasthule) occupied the house
1891	William O’Brien (Journalist, M.P, Irish Nationalist, Politician and Party Leader) listed as resident
1892-1895	James J. Carroll Esq. was listed at no.25
1896-1909	Rev William Anderson (Headmaster of the Mountjoy School) listed as resident of the house along with Rev. Thomas Anderson, M.A Rathmolyn, Co. Meath
1911	Larence Coyle (wood turner); Anne Kehoe (French polisher); and Mary Anne Kehoe (widow) listed in the 1911 census
1912	Rev. Ernest H. Lewis Crosby purchased no. 25 and no. 26 for £385
1913-1964	Hostel for Church of Ireland Divinity Students under Rev. Ernest H. Lewis Crosby
1965	Edward Dillon and co. Wine Merchants bought no. 25 Mountjoy Square East
2008	Public Affairs Ireland acquired no. 25 Mountjoy Square East

 

When Sarah Jacob bought the house in 1808 she paid a sum of £3,812:10:0. It is interesting to note that Mornington House in Merrion Street, which was built by the Duke of Wellington’s father around 1765 sold for £2, 500 in 1801, and a half a century later was considered to be worth only £500. In 1912, Rev. Lewis Crosby bought both no. 25 and no. 26 Mountjoy Square East for an astounding figure of £385.

In 1891, directory lists show William O’Brien as resident at no. 25 Mountjoy Square. O’Brien was a journalist, M.P, Irish Nationalist, politician and party leader throughout his life, and was particularly instrumental in the campaigns for land reform which followed the Famine in Ireland. Parallel to the struggles for land reform was the movement for national independence. O’Brien was an associate of Charles Stewart Parnell, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) and with whom he was committed to Kilmainham prison with by William Gladstone, Prime Minister, for their poor cooperation following the passing of the Land Act in 1881. They were released in March of 1882, where O’Brien then put together the ‘Plan of Campaign’ which mobilised tenants to protect each other from eviction.

By 1891, when O’Brien was listed at 25 Mountjoy Square, he was becoming increasingly disillusioned with Parnell’s leadership and tried to persuade him to retire, however when Parnell died later that year, O’Brien was reluctant to align himself to either side of the IPP split, but ended up siding with the anti-Parnellites, along with Michael Davitt, John Dillon and Timothy Healy. He retired from parliament in 1895, and later established the United Irish League (UIL) with Michael Davitt and John Dillon in 1898. The UIL campaign for land purchase by tenant farmers, resulted in the monumental Wyndham Land Purchase Act (1903) which ended landlordism, in Ireland. The main goal of the UIL was to bring about party reunification, however William O’Brien believed that partial independence in Ireland was not worth the partition of Ireland and disagreed with the establishment of a southern Free State, and in 1914 O’Brien and his supporters abstained from the final vote passing the Home Rule Act 1914, blocking John Redmond’s efforts towards unity.

 

From 1896 to 1909, Rev. William Anderson, M.A, who was headmaster of the Mountjoy School, resided at no. 25, and in later years he was instrumental in the discussions for the opening up of the Square to the general public. It is shown in some records that the house was vacant from 1910 until 1912, however the 1911 Census shows three residents were listed at no. 25, Mountjoy Square; Larence Coyle, a wood turner, was listed along with his niece, Anne Kehoe, a French polisher and her mother, Mary Anne Kehoe, widow. Many of the other houses in the square were in tenements at this time.

For much of the early part of the 20th century, no. 25 served as a hostel for Church of Ireland Divinity students, as a result of the purchase of no. 25 and no. 26. in 1912 by Rev. Ernest H. Lewis – Crosby, who then set up the hostel in 1913. 

Some of the most influential characters in the development and history of Mountjoy Square were close neighbours to no. 25 on the East side of the Square.

Alderman John Campbell, who was twice Lord Mayor of Dublin lived at no. 27 Mountjoy Square East from 1870 until 1890. Following this, no. 27 and no. 28 became Mountjoy Private Hospital from 1910 until 1940. The private hospital is listed in the 1911 Census, and remained as a hospital until 1940.  At address no. 20 and 21 Mountjoy Square East, the ‘Private Hospital of Mountjoy Square,’ is also listed under the household returns for the Census of 1911.

John Pollock who was one of the First Commissioners of the Square, in charge of ensuring the implementation of the Act of Parliament to enclose and improve the square, lived at no. 27 on the east side of the Square.

It is believed that Arthur Guinness of the famous Guinness Brewing Family lived on the west side of Mountjoy Square and died there in 1803.

James Joyce, and other celebrated writers, poets and playwrights such as W. B Yeats, Sean O’Casey, John O’Leary and actor Brendan Behan have resided at Mountjoy Square and the surrounding streets at different stages throughout the 20th century.

Improvements to the square began in the early twentieth century. Wine merchants Edward Dillon and Co. occupied and began to restore no. 25 after the two houses were split. The Dillon Company bought the house at no. 25 in 1965. Much of the preservation of no. 25 and indeed the revival of the Square can be attributed to the arrival of Dillons to the Square.

 

The development of Mountjoy Square

Building of houses on Mountjoy Square commenced in 1792 and some of the first residents of the square were William Pemberton, John Russell – both builders – and M. Stapleton, a stucco-worker. The development of the Square was finally completed in 1818.  Towards the end of the 18th Century many solicitors and barristers had taken up residency in the square.

Mountjoy Square boasts some of the finest neoclassical plasterwork in all of the Dublin Georgian squares, and it is said that this was due to the number of stuccodors involved in the development of the square.

The building of the square took twenty six years in all, and the slow pace with which building proceeded was partly due to what was deemed to be the new and fashionable development of Merrion and Fitzwilliam Squares in close proximity to Leinster House on the south side of the Liffey.

It is interesting to note the effort and dedication that went into the initial setup of the Square and its park in the centre.  F. A Ashe quotes McGregor who wrote the following in 1821 about the appearance of the Square:

‘The airy and elevated situation of Mountjoy Square, the elegance and convenience of the houses with the general splendour of the adjoining streets all combine to render it  one of the most agreeable city residences in the British Empire.’

In 1801, when the area of Mountjoy Square was known as a waste space, a notice was sent to the residents and property owners on the square calling them to attend a meeting in St. Thomas’s Church, Marlborough Street. At this meeting, it was agreed that an application be made to Parliament for an Act enclosing and improving the Square at an expense to the residents to cover the Act of Parliament costs. Jeramiah D’Olier, who was living in no. 26 Mountjoy Square East, was elected treasurer of the Square.  The Bill was read for the first time on the 1st of December 1801, on the 28th of April 1802, the Bill was agreed by the Lords and finally acquired Royal approval on the 30th of April 1802. Following this the erection of railings in the square commenced, where before the Square was merely a patch of waste land and hillocks. The total cost for the construction of the railings and gardens was £3,400.

Following the completion of the Park, the residents were permitted to enter at one guinea per family. Strict curfews were observed for the opening and closing hours of the park, and it is recorded that there was a warning bell after nightfall, when the park’s gates were then locked. There were also strict practices in relation to the activities which were permitted inside the square, with football, Hurl and ‘Prisoner’s Bar’ banned in 1835, and instead in later years, croquet and tennis were introduced to the Square. In 1836, it is said that band performances were held in the Square. Every Monday and Thursday on summer afternoons, the general public were admitted at a cost of 4d. each.

In 1899, that the Irish County Council Gazette published an extensive report arguing for the opening up of Mountjoy Square as a public park, it wasn’t finally until the 23rd of March 1924, when a public meeting of the inhabitants of the square was held to demand the immediate opening of the Square to the public. Following this the matter was brought before the Dail, and then referred to the Corporation of Dublin. Numerous discussions ensued with arguments for half the Square to be taken over as a public playground in 1933, and finally an Act was passed giving the whole square over to the Dublin Corporation on behalf of the citizens of Dublin.

The north side of the city was gravely affected by the collapse of the Gardiner estate, and much of the area built in the previous century fell into slums. Vacancies, neglect and dereliction followed in many of the houses. The 1800 Act of Union preceded the decline of the squares’ buildings into tenement dwellings, with the west and south sides of the square suffering neglect in the 20th century. The householders were increasingly replaced by flat-dwellers and many of the areas residencies were of tenement status by the time of the 1911 census. According to Dublin City Council, the north and east sides’ maintenance is largely due to the determination of the individuals and families who sought to preserve the existence of the square. 

It was also a time when Ireland had tumultuous political challenges in many areas of Irish life, and not to mention the destruction of the Irish population by the Famine, by slow death and mass emigration during the 1840s and 1850s.

The opening of Sackville Street to the South through what was then the new Westmoreland Street, as a result of the efforts of the Wide Streets Commission, encouraged people to move to the new ‘suburbs’ in the vicinity of the Earl of Kildare’s Leinster House and it became ‘fashionable’ to move there. This is also one of the reasons contributing to Mountjoy Square’s demise into ruin and tenement dwellings as the affluent moved to the new fashionable south side of the city.

 

The Gardiner Family

Three generations of Gardiner Family were central to the development of the North side city centre between 1720 and 1820. The first Luke Gardiner, who died in 1755 bought land around Bolton Street and George’s Quay and his first development was Henrietta Street.

The second Luke Gardiner was born in 1745 and inherited the Gardiner estate in 1769. He was later enobled as the first Lord Mountjoy. As the representative for Dublin in the Irish House of Commons on College Green, he argued for the relaxation of the Penal Laws. In the interest of carrying on a ‘family project’, he continued to develop the Gardiner estate and developed the land between the Custom House and Mountjoy Square. He intended that such a development would rival other  Dublin city squares such as Merrion Square and Stephen’s Green. Originally the Square was known as Gardiner’s Square. However, from the year building on the Square commenced in 1792 it became known as Mountjoy Square.

Gardiner was killed at the Battle of New Ross on the 5th June 1798, as Colonel of the County Dublin Militia.

It is interesting to note that the square is the only one in Dublin to be exactly symmetrical in lay out with the square measuring 140 metres x 140 metres exactly. It was initially intended that the centre of the square be marked by an entablature and angular pediment which would be supported by columns and in many sources it is stated that the intention was to place a Church in the centre which would represent the Parish of St. George. However, this was plan was abandoned for a less expensive arrangement.

Luke Gardiner, Lord Mountjoy, was succeeded by his son Charles, of which Great Charles Street was named after. He was born in 1782 and died in 1829. His first wife, Mary Campbell died in 1814 just two years after their wedding. The expense of her lavish funeral which cost around four thousand pounds is noted in much of the historic records as an example of Charles’s reckless expenditure. Charles was later created Earl of Blessington and in 1818 he married his second wife Margaret Farmer. It is said that during this period, the extensive travel through Europe and extravagant spending resulted in the loss in value to the Irish estates, and a lack of focus on development of the north side of Dublin embarked upon by the first Luke Gardiner. It is also said that the compulsory acquisition of the square by the Dublin Corporation lead to inadequate care and upkeep of the Square’s appearance and prestige.

Public Affairs Ireland is committed to continuing the efforts to place Mountjoy Square and its buildings at the centre of the history of Georgian Dublin, and in efforts to preserve its architectural integrity and conservation going forward.

 

References:

Ashe, F.A: ‘Mountjoy Square’, Dublin Historical Record, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Jun-Aug, 1941) pp. 98-115

Casey, Catherine: ‘The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin

Dublin City Council: ‘The Georgian Squares of Dublin: An Architectural History.’

Edward Dillon & Company, LTD: ‘A House in Dublin: 25 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1.’ (1970)

Perkins, Sarah Ward., and Geddis, Wesley: ‘Gardiner Papers’, National Library of Ireland Collection List No. 67 [Mss 36, 501-626, Mss Map 152-155] (Accessions No. 1118) Dublin (2002)

Links:

www.heritagecouncil.ie

www.dublinheritage.ie

www.ireland.archiseek.com

www.mountjoysq.com