The International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures was a world's fair held in Dublin in 1865 attended by almost 1 million visitors.

Site and buildings

Main site

In 1862 the

Duke of Leinster Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, ...

, Lord Talbot de Malahide and

Benjamin Guinness Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet (1 November 1798 – 19 May 1868) was an Irish brewer and philanthropist. Brewer Born in Dublin, he was the third son of the second Arthur Guinness (1768–1855), and his wife Anne Lee, and a grandson of ...

created a Dublin Exhibition Palace and Winter Garden company to establish a Dublin exposition, the first in Dublin since the Great Industrial Exhibition (1853). Guinness supplied the Coburg Gardens, a 15-acre site to the company, which lay between Hatch Street, Harcourt Street and Earlsfort Terrace; and they additionally leased 2 more acres for exhibition grounds. In 1862 the company called for designs at a cost of £35,000 or less. None of the submitted plans came within this cost constraint, but plans from Alfred G Jones were accepted with the proviso that they were revised. In the final design there were three buildings: a brick and stone building, a stone building with iron roof and an iron and glass building, the latter influenced by

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...

. The foundations were started in 1863.

Auxiliary site

In addition to the main site and gardens; vegetable, seeds, and farm implements were displayed at the Royal Dublin Society buildings (now

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

and

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

buildings) in

Kildare Street Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of the ...

The fair

The iron and glass building was stress tested by 600 soldiers marching along the galleries on 31 March 1865 and the exhibition opened by the then

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

on either 9 May or 8 May, 1865. The fair attracted 956,000 visitors with averages of 5,000 day visitors, and 3,000 evening visitors Displays of fine arts, textiles, manufactured goods and raw materials occupied 4,781 display cases (2,413 British Isles, 2,368 foreign countries, cities and colonies).

Aftermath

After 1911, the building that lay along Earlsfort Terrace and the winter gardens became part of one of the city's

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and later the building became the

National Concert Hall The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...

with the winter gardens forming the

Iveagh Gardens The Iveagh Gardens (; ga, Gairdíní Uí Eachach) is a public park located between Clonmel Street and Upper Hatch Street, near the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland. It is a national, as opposed to a municipal park, and designated as a ...

. A rustic grotto and some statues remain in Iveagh Gardens.

References

External links

Engraving showing the main building

Print of the interior of the Dublin Exhibition Palace and Winter Garden