Molesworth Street, Dublin
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Molesworth Street () is a street in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland named after
Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth Field Marshal Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, PC (Ire), FRS (1680 – 12 October 1758) was an Anglo-Irish army officer and politician. He fought in the Battle of Blenheim before being appointed aide-de-camp to the Duke of Marl ...
and links the more notable
Dawson Street Dawson Street (; ) is a street on the southern side of central Dublin, running from St Stephen's Green to the walls of Trinity College Dublin. It is the site of the residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, the Mansion House, Dublin, Mansion House. ...
with
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 t ...
and lies just over 200 m to the north of St. Stephens Green in Dublin's central business district.


History and environs

Molesworth Street is named after
Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth Field Marshal Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, PC (Ire), FRS (1680 – 12 October 1758) was an Anglo-Irish army officer and politician. He fought in the Battle of Blenheim before being appointed aide-de-camp to the Duke of Marl ...
. and was originally known as "Molesworth Fields". Acknowledged as the first adaption of
Early English style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...
to street architecture in the city of
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. One of the most important buildings is Freemasons' Hall, home of the
Grand Lodge of Ireland The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. Since no specific record of its foundation exists, 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries, as ...
designed by the architect Edward Holmes of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and completed in 1866 on the site of the townhouse of the first grandmaster, the
Earl of Rosse Earl of Rosse is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, both times for the Parsons family. "Rosse" refers to New Ross in County Wexford. History The Parsons were originally an English family from Dishworth ( Disew ...
. Buswells Hotel, which comprises three adjoining Georgian buildings, is frequented by politicians due to its proximity to Irish government buildings. 10 Molesworth Street was re-constructed around 2017 as a building and was the first to achieve a platinum
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...
sustainability accreditation. Both houses of the
Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...
are located in
Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...
, Kildare Street (adjacent to Molesworth Street).


St Anne's Schools and Molesworth Hall

In 1857, numbers 38 to 44 of the street were the site of the building of the St Anne's School, replacing what had previously been a terrace of Queen Anne-style houses demolished sometime before 1843. The school's foundation stone was laid on 7 March 1857. Designed by architects Deane and Woodward, it was a freestanding building comprising the earliest adaptation of early English architectural style in Dublin. Built of Portland, Calp, and Caen stone, with red brick, the building had horizontal bands of contrasting materials, which was very much the architectural fashion of the time. The adjoining also freestanding Molesworth hall was added later around 1867 after the death of Woodward. The school, hall and an adjoining brick building in the manner of Frederick Darley were purchased by the property developer Patrick Gallagher. The Hall was the venue for the first staging of ''
Riders to the Sea ''Riders to the Sea'' is a play written by Irish Literary Renaissance playwright John Millington Synge. It was first performed on 25 February 1904 at the Molesworth Hall, Dublin, by the Irish National Theater Society with Helen Laird playing Mau ...
'' by
John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909), popularly known as J. M. Synge, was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, essayist, and collector of folklores. As an important driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, Ir ...
. Gallagher wanted to replace the buildings with an office block designed by Desmond FitzGerald. The planners wanted any new design to incorporate at least the historic facades, but as they were not listed for protection, this was not enforced. FitzGerald described the buildings as "decrepit business premises". Planning permission was granted to demolish the buildings in 1974, and Gallagher expanded the site by buying up a series of buildings between these two and the corner of Dawson Street. When the demolition of Molesworth Hall began in 1978, several groups, including from
An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; "An Taisce" meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established on a provisional basis in September 1946, and incorporated as a company based on an “association not for profit” in June 1948, is ...
and local architecture students, began a protest. In response, Gallagher threatened to lay off 300 workers, which ultimately resulted in work resuming. The EEC Commission and StanChart Bank were the first tenants of the new office block.


See also

*
List of streets and squares in Dublin This is a list of notable streets and squares in Dublin, Ireland. __NOTOC__ References Notes Sources * External linksStreetnames of DublinaArchiseekArchitecture of Ireland– English-Irish list of Dublin street names aLeathanach baile Sh ...


References


Further reading

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External links


Archiseek.com - Molesworth Street
{{Streets in Dublin city, state=autocollapse Streets in Dublin (city) Georgian architecture in Dublin (city)