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Ely Place ( ) is a street in central
The street was laid out in 1768. In 1773, it was marked as Hume Row. The first few houses on the street (2-4, the North end) are neo-Georgian and were built in the 1970s.
The first house to be built on the street was Ely House (now No. 7/8). Nos. 7, 9 and 10 now stand where its garden and carriage entrance used to be. Built in 1771 by Gustavus Hume, it was occupied in 1776 by John La Touche, of the banking family. The Dublin stuccatore 
Next door, at No.6, lived the Countess of Clare (Anne Whaley, wife of Lord Chancellor of Ireland John Fitzgibbon (1749–1802), died at Ely Place), who also employed Stapleton. Both ladies were known for their grand houses and their lavish entertainments therein. Both houses are richly decorated with elaborate plasterwork. The two houses at Nos.5 and 6 were taken into Government service in 1859, when they became the Offices of the General Valuation and Boundary Survey of Ireland under Sir Richard Griffith, Bart. It was here that Sir Richard completed his magisterial work on the land and tenement valuation of Ireland, which over time became known as the "Griffith Valuation". These buildings retained their grandeur through the next century until in 1998, the Valuation Office moved away from Ely Place after a tenancy of 138 years. The building is now occupied by the advertising agency
Ely Place Upper is a continuation on the south end of Ely Place. It consists of a terrace of five houses built in 1828. In 1837 it was marked on maps as Smith's buildings after the builder, Thomas Smith who lived in number 1 from 1836 to 1849.
No. 3 Ely Place Upper was the residence in the 1890s of Frederick and Annie Dick, and it became the meeting place of the
Around 1970 the property developer Matt Gallagher intended to build a grand new gallery, to be called the "Gallagher Gallery", for the Royal Hibernian Academy. His offer was accepted with gratitude by the RHA, and work started in 1972. The academy's old headquarters, a Victorian house which had once been the property of Oliver St. John Gogarty was demolished and it was expected that the modern building, designed by
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
with Georgian architecture. It is a continuation of Upper Merrion Street
Merrion Street (; ) is a major Georgian street on the southside of Dublin, Ireland, which runs along one side of Merrion Square. It is divided into Merrion Street Lower (north end), Merrion Square West and Merrion Street Upper (south end). It ...
and the place where Lower Baggot Street and Merrion Row meet. Both the latter and Hume Street link it to St Stephen's Green
St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...
.
History
The street was laid out in 1768. In 1773, it was marked as Hume Row. The first few houses on the street (2-4, the North end) are neo-Georgian and were built in the 1970s.
The first house to be built on the street was Ely House (now No. 7/8). Nos. 7, 9 and 10 now stand where its garden and carriage entrance used to be. Built in 1771 by Gustavus Hume, it was occupied in 1776 by John La Touche, of the banking family. The Dublin stuccatore Michael Stapleton
Michael Stapleton (born Dublin, Ireland, in 1747, died 8 August 1801, in Dublin) is regarded as having been the most skilled stuccodore working in the neoclassical or "Adam" style that dominated Dublin interior decoration in the final decades of ...
(1747–1801) worked this house - Stapleton's designs were for "Mrs. La Touche's Eating Parlour" and "Mrs. La Touche's Dining Parlour". It later became the residence of the Countess of Ely (Frances Monroe, wife of Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely, both originally from Fermanagh
Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of a ...
). On the death of Lord Ely, Lady Ely lived here for a further 40 years. At one time it belonged to Sir William Thornley Stoker, brother of Bram Stoker, whom Oliver St. John Gogarty
Oliver Joseph St. John Gogarty (17 August 1878 – 22 September 1957) was an Irish poet, author, otolaryngologist, athlete, politician, and well-known conversationalist. He served as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's novel ...
used to visit when he lived on the street.Brendan Lehane, The Companion Guide to Ireland, p. 17 The Knights of Saint Columbanus
The Order of the Knights of Saint Columbanus () is an Irish national Catholic fraternal organisation. Founded by Canon James K. O'Neill in Belfast, Ireland, in 1915, it was named in honour of the Irish saint, Columbanus. Initially established ...
bought this house in 1922 and made it their headquarters.
Next door, at No.6, lived the Countess of Clare (Anne Whaley, wife of Lord Chancellor of Ireland John Fitzgibbon (1749–1802), died at Ely Place), who also employed Stapleton. Both ladies were known for their grand houses and their lavish entertainments therein. Both houses are richly decorated with elaborate plasterwork. The two houses at Nos.5 and 6 were taken into Government service in 1859, when they became the Offices of the General Valuation and Boundary Survey of Ireland under Sir Richard Griffith, Bart. It was here that Sir Richard completed his magisterial work on the land and tenement valuation of Ireland, which over time became known as the "Griffith Valuation". These buildings retained their grandeur through the next century until in 1998, the Valuation Office moved away from Ely Place after a tenancy of 138 years. The building is now occupied by the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based advertising agency, agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging wit ...
.
A neighbour on this street was John Philpot Curran
John Philpot Curran (24 July 1750 – 14 October 1817) was an Irish orator, politician, wit, lawyer and judge, who held the office of Master of the Rolls in Ireland. He was renowned for his representation in 1780 of Father Neale, a Catholic pri ...
(1750–1817), the lawyer and wit who defended the United Irishmen
The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional refor ...
and whose daughter became enamoured of Robert Emmet
Robert Emmet (4 March 177820 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Prote ...
.
Ely Place Upper
Ely Place Upper is a continuation on the south end of Ely Place. It consists of a terrace of five houses built in 1828. In 1837 it was marked on maps as Smith's buildings after the builder, Thomas Smith who lived in number 1 from 1836 to 1849.
No. 3 Ely Place Upper was the residence in the 1890s of Frederick and Annie Dick, and it became the meeting place of the Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
. W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
, Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride ( ga, Maud Nic Ghoinn Bean Mhic Giolla Bhríghde; 21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an English-born Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. Of Anglo-Irish descent, she was won over to Irish nationalism ...
and George Russell were visitors.
The writer George Moore lived in No. 4 at the start of the 20th century. He got into a row with his neighbours over the colour of his hall door.
On the other side of the street lived the writer, surgeon and wit Oliver St. John Gogarty (1878–1957). The Royal Hibernian Academy
The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the RIA, the academy retained the word "Royal" after most of Ireland became in ...
later took over the house.
Developments
Around 1970 the property developer Matt Gallagher intended to build a grand new gallery, to be called the "Gallagher Gallery", for the Royal Hibernian Academy. His offer was accepted with gratitude by the RHA, and work started in 1972. The academy's old headquarters, a Victorian house which had once been the property of Oliver St. John Gogarty was demolished and it was expected that the modern building, designed by Raymond McGrath
Raymond McGrath (7 March 1903 – 23 December 1977) was an Australian-born architect, illustrator, printmaker and interior designer who for the greater part of his career was Principal Architect for the Office of Public Works in Ireland.Nich ...
, formerly Principal Architect with the OPW, would be ready for its first exhibition in 1975. Matt Gallagher died unexpectedly in January 1974. His son, Patrick Gallagher, inherited the business, and within a few months, all work on the site stopped. For many years the building site was used as a storage yard for various Gallagher projects around the city centre. Around 2002 the old building was renovated and assumed its present shape.Frank McDonald, The Destruction of Dublin, Dublin, Gill and Macmillan, 1985. . p. 222
Many of the buildings on the street are used for offices and the Irish ''National Parks and Wildlife Service'' department has its office on this street.
See also
* List of streets and squares in DublinReferences