Located on St Mary's Road, East Wall, Dublin.

I first noticed this building back in 2009 but at the time I got lost trying to locate it but I now know the area must better.

The building provides social resources and civic representation for the community of the East Wall, including a theatre, day-care, creche, educational and recreational facilities.

Built on reclaimed land, its street network swivelled against the dominant grid iron urban development, East Wall is a place apart, contained within city-scale infrastructural boundaries.

Circumscribed by the curved lines of nineteenth-century railway tracks and the straight line of the eighteenth-century sea wall, it is offset from the Georgian grid parallel with the River Liffey. The site for the project is on the cleared ground of a former school building, appropriated in recent years for community welfare and sports facilities. The site exists as a significant void within the low-rise density of the neighbourhood of two storey terraced housing.

According to various booking sites this hotel opened for bookings on the 27th September 2021 but my research indicates that it will not open to the public until 25th March 2022.

This new hotel has replaced River House at Chancery Street has been vacant since the motor taxation service moved out in 2007. It was owned for about 15 years by developers Joe and Patrick Linders who are best known for their involvement in the revival of the Smithfield area of Dublin.

River House was a 5-storey office block on Chancery Street, Dublin. It was described as a "brutalist eyesore" by the Sunday Times. It was ugly be any definition.

Permission to build River House was granted in 1972, and the building was completed in 1973. It had curtain walling at ground and 1st floor levels, with 4 additional storeys above with pre-cast cladding. The architect of the building has been disputed. Frank McDonald attributed it to John Thompson and Partners, but this led to a libel suit during which it was stated that "neither John or David Thompson of the firm John Thompson and Partners had anything to do with the design or erection of River House". It appears to have been the work of Patrick J. Sheahan and Partners.

After a dispute between the Department of Justice and the Dublin Corporation as to who would occupy the building, the Corporation established its motor tax office in the office block, and for many years it was Dublin's only motor tax office. The building stood vacant from the late 2000s, and attracted anti-social behaviour.

River House was described as "scourge" to the area, and "is considered to be of little or no architectural merit". It was recorded by the Dublin City Council as a dangerous building in February 2016.

River House was initially purchased by Joe and Patrick Linders, who were involved in the redevelopment of parts of the Smithfield area.[9] The building was purchased by Melonmount Ltd in 2017 for €8 million, and permission was sought to demolish it and replace it with a hotel. The financier, Derek Quinlan, was an advisor on the deal. An Taisce have been critical of the proposed replacement building, describing it as "monolithic" and "lumpen". River House was demolished in 2018.

I had not noticed but there were rain drops on my lens so some of the images contained multiple distortions.

The initial phases of the Heuston South Quarter (HSQ) complex were completed between 2005 and 2008 and resulted in six buildings with office, residential and retail accommodation. However, it includes a 3.63 acre development site with appropriate zoning and late in 2021 an application to build almost 400 apartments near the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin was lodged with the planning board.

According to the Office of Public Works (OPW) A 399 unit ‘built to rent’ apartment scheme reaching to 18 storeys in height will have “an unacceptable impact” on one of Ireland’s most important built heritage sites, Royal Hospital Kilmainham (RHK) and its gardens. The OPW informed An Bord Pleanala that the next phase of the Heuston South Quarter (HSQ) scheme “would have a significant detrimental impact on the architectural and historical setting of the Royal Hospital building”.

I had not noticed but there were rain drops on my lens so some of the images contained multiple distortions.

The initial phases of the Heuston South Quarter (HSQ) complex were completed between 2005 and 2008 and resulted in six buildings with office, residential and retail accommodation. However, it includes a 3.63 acre development site with appropriate zoning and late in 2021 an application to build almost 400 apartments near the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin was lodged with the planning board.

According to the Office of Public Works (OPW) A 399 unit ‘built to rent’ apartment scheme reaching to 18 storeys in height will have “an unacceptable impact” on one of Ireland’s most important built heritage sites, Royal Hospital Kilmainham (RHK) and its gardens. The OPW informed An Bord Pleanala that the next phase of the Heuston South Quarter (HSQ) scheme “would have a significant detrimental impact on the architectural and historical setting of the Royal Hospital building”.

There was no church of any denomination in Terenure until the second half of the 19th Century. The original Catholic church of St. Joseph was designed by William Henry Byrne & Son, constructed between 1897 and 1905, and it’s an asymmetric romanesque building separated from the street by a short fence.

The current building is a large Gothic revival church started in 1904 but later extended in 1952, leaving the altar in the centre of the long nave, and two main entrance fronts. The intended spire was never completed. Inside, there are stained glass windows by Harry Clarke dating from the 1920s – the Crucifixion, the Annunciation, and the Coronation of Virgin in Glory, but unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to photograph them this visit.

From The Building News, May 20, 1898: “At Terenure a new Roman Catholic Church, dedicated to St. Joseph, is in course of erection from designs by Mr. W. H. Byrne, of Suffolk-street, Dublin. The building is Romanesque in style. It consists of nave 46ft. by 30ft., with north and south aisles lift, wide, chancel and sanctuary 70ft. in length and 30ft. wide, side chapels and transepts, and a tower and spire rising to a height of 160ft. The architects are Messrs. Michael Moade and Sons, of Great Brunswick-street, Dublin.”

Architect, of Dublin. William Henry Byrne was born on 17 May 1844. Byrne is particularly associated with Catholic church architecture and was architect to the Catholic dioceses of Killala, Ossory, Tuam, and Achonry and to the Sisters of Charity in Ireland, who ran the Mater, St Vincent's and Temple Street hospitals in Dublin. He was also architect to the South City Markets Co. Dublin, responsible for the reconstruction of the markets after the fire of 1893, and to Pim Brothers' large drapery establishment on the opposite side of South Great George's Street. He was architect to the North Dublin Union and architectural adviser to the Congested Districts Board and to the Inspectors of Lunatics. In 1903 he acted as assessor in the competition for a new public library in Drogheda.

There was no church of any denomination in Terenure until the second half of the 19th Century. The original Catholic church of St. Joseph was designed by William Henry Byrne & Son, constructed between 1897 and 1905, and it’s an asymmetric romanesque building separated from the street by a short fence.

The current building is a large Gothic revival church started in 1904 but later extended in 1952, leaving the altar in the centre of the long nave, and two main entrance fronts. The intended spire was never completed. Inside, there are stained glass windows by Harry Clarke dating from the 1920s – the Crucifixion, the Annunciation, and the Coronation of Virgin in Glory, but unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to photograph them this visit.

From The Building News, May 20, 1898: “At Terenure a new Roman Catholic Church, dedicated to St. Joseph, is in course of erection from designs by Mr. W. H. Byrne, of Suffolk-street, Dublin. The building is Romanesque in style. It consists of nave 46ft. by 30ft., with north and south aisles lift, wide, chancel and sanctuary 70ft. in length and 30ft. wide, side chapels and transepts, and a tower and spire rising to a height of 160ft. The architects are Messrs. Michael Moade and Sons, of Great Brunswick-street, Dublin.”

Architect, of Dublin. William Henry Byrne was born on 17 May 1844. Byrne is particularly associated with Catholic church architecture and was architect to the Catholic dioceses of Killala, Ossory, Tuam, and Achonry and to the Sisters of Charity in Ireland, who ran the Mater, St Vincent's and Temple Street hospitals in Dublin. He was also architect to the South City Markets Co. Dublin, responsible for the reconstruction of the markets after the fire of 1893, and to Pim Brothers' large drapery establishment on the opposite side of South Great George's Street. He was architect to the North Dublin Union and architectural adviser to the Congested Districts Board and to the Inspectors of Lunatics. In 1903 he acted as assessor in the competition for a new public library in Drogheda.

There was no church of any denomination in Terenure until the second half of the 19th Century. The original Catholic church of St. Joseph was designed by William Henry Byrne & Son, constructed between 1897 and 1905, and it’s an asymmetric romanesque building separated from the street by a short fence.

The current building is a large Gothic revival church started in 1904 but later extended in 1952, leaving the altar in the centre of the long nave, and two main entrance fronts. The intended spire was never completed. Inside, there are stained glass windows by Harry Clarke dating from the 1920s – the Crucifixion, the Annunciation, and the Coronation of Virgin in Glory, but unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to photograph them this visit.

From The Building News, May 20, 1898: “At Terenure a new Roman Catholic Church, dedicated to St. Joseph, is in course of erection from designs by Mr. W. H. Byrne, of Suffolk-street, Dublin. The building is Romanesque in style. It consists of nave 46ft. by 30ft., with north and south aisles lift, wide, chancel and sanctuary 70ft. in length and 30ft. wide, side chapels and transepts, and a tower and spire rising to a height of 160ft. The architects are Messrs. Michael Moade and Sons, of Great Brunswick-street, Dublin.”

Architect, of Dublin. William Henry Byrne was born on 17 May 1844. Byrne is particularly associated with Catholic church architecture and was architect to the Catholic dioceses of Killala, Ossory, Tuam, and Achonry and to the Sisters of Charity in Ireland, who ran the Mater, St Vincent's and Temple Street hospitals in Dublin. He was also architect to the South City Markets Co. Dublin, responsible for the reconstruction of the markets after the fire of 1893, and to Pim Brothers' large drapery establishment on the opposite side of South Great George's Street. He was architect to the North Dublin Union and architectural adviser to the Congested Districts Board and to the Inspectors of Lunatics. In 1903 he acted as assessor in the competition for a new public library in Drogheda.

I HAVE SEEN THIS DESCRIBED AS THE WATCH TOWER - THE SUMMER HOUSE AT ST ENDA'S PARK

Built to look like a small castle or tower, this building originally had a stairs which allowed visitors to go up on its roof and see the impressive views of Dublin city below.

St Enda's was not always a public park. Patrick Pearse, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916 ran a school there, St Enda's School (or Scoil Éanna in Irish), in The Hermitage. This magnificent house was built in 1780 for the Dublin dentist Edward Hudson. Pearse, who was a teacher at the time, bought the building in 1910 as his school in Ranelagh was getting too small. Pearse considered the site ideal as his curriculum had a heavy emphasis on nature.

Erected in the early thirteenth century on the site of a Viking settlement, Dublin Castle served for centuries as the headquarters of English, and later British, administration in Ireland. In 1922, following Ireland’s independence, Dublin Castle was handed over to the new Irish government. It is now a major government complex and a key tourist attraction.

The 100th year celebration, 16 January 2022, of the handing over of Dublin Castle by the British to the Free State was a very low key event but I decided that it might be a good idea to visit and photograph the memorial plaques.

Most of the current construction dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland. The Castle served as the seat of English, then later British, government of Ireland under the Lordship of Ireland (1171–1541), the Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800), and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1800–1922).

After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921, the complex was ceremonially handed over to the newly formed Provisional Government led by Michael Collins.[1] It now hosts the inauguration of each President of Ireland and various State receptions.

The castle was built by the dark pool ("Dubh Linn") which gave Dublin its name. This pool lies on the lower course of the River Poddle before its confluence with the River Liffey; when the castle was built, the Liffey was much wider, and the castle was effectively defended by both rivers. The Poddle today runs under the complex.

Central Plaza, also known as the Central Bank of Ireland Building for its former tenant, is an office building on Dame Street in Temple Bar, Dublin. It was the headquarters of the Central Bank of Ireland from 1979 to 2017. It is Ireland's only suspended structure building', with its 8 floors hanging from central concrete cores. Each floor was built on the ground and then raised into place. It was controversial for being out of scale with its surroundings and for being constructed 30 feet (9.1 m) taller than approved.

As of 2022, the building is undergoing renovations including the addition of a "rooftop venue" and observation deck. It had been reported that the developers of spent more than €100 million renovating the main building and associated buildings as a mix of offices, retail, restaurants and cafes. The complex was due to be available for fit out from August 2020.

In 2016 it was confirmed that ‘tree of gold’ sculpture by Eamonn Doherty at the Central Bank's old headquarters on Dame St would remain in situ despite speculation that it was to be incorporated into its new offices in the Dublin Docklands. However, that the sculpture has been relocated to the Fownes Street corner of the complex.

For many years I thought that the sculpture outside the Central Bank was the ‘Money Tree’ but it is officially named "Crann an Oir" which means "Tree of Gold”.

In 2015 the Central Bank announced that it was to spend €500,000 to move its iconic golden ball from outside headquarters on Dame Street in Dublin to its new base at North Wall Quay. Soon after publishing some photographs of the sculpture I was contacted by a number of people indicating that it could not possibly cost so much to relocate a sculpture. I contacted the bank and they advised me that the cost included much more than just the removal of the sculpture. Later a journalist contact supplied the following quote: "It is believed the estimated cost was accurate, despite a Central Bank official dismissing it as ridiculous at the time".

The sculpture, by the late Eamonn O'Doherty, was chosen in 1991 as the result of a competition.

Éamonn O'Doherty (1939 – 4 August 2011), born in Derry, Northern Ireland, was an Irish sculptor, painter, printmaker, photographer and lecturer. He was best known for his sculptures in public places. He died, aged 72, in Dublin.

Well known sculptures by Éamonn O'Doherty include the Quincentennial Sculpture on Eyre Square in Galway and the famous Anna Livia installation.

There is an impressive stone building on Camden Row which was the “Home of Rest for Protestant Dying”. In 1962 it became the home of the Dublin Conservative Club. According to a friend that lives in the area the Dublin Conservative Club is a Protestant working-class association. Only men can be members but women can attend [I have not been able to verify this claim].

I have found some information about the building: Built in 1904 and described as "New home, 'a splendid new building...the gift of an anonymous donor'. £5000 received from anonymous friend of Archbishop of Dublin in England. Formally opened by Lord Lieutenant, 10 Jun 1904. Contractor: J. & P. Good." Architect: Charles Astley Owen Refs: Irish Times, 11 Jun 1904; IB 51, 15 Mar 1909, 297

I am trying to locate some earlier photographs of Kevin Street College and I will publish them as soon as I locate them.

It should be noted that the attractive red brick building in some of my photographs is Kevin Street Public Library which officially reopened in 2018 after being closed for five years while undergoing long-needed renovations. The building itself is a modest but important one, and though not a protected structure, it has served as a public library for over 100 years. It boasts beautiful reading rooms that have been hidden from public view for many years. The interior is bright, airy, and charming with substantial natural light.

In 1963, the Minister for Education signed a contract for a new building for the College of Technology at Kevin Street. The project was completed in 1968, with Hooper & Mayne as the architects. It was described as an International Style building, with the administration and entrance block to Kevin Street capped by a wavy canopy on the fourth floor.

The Kevin Street College site was sold in April 2019 for €140 million: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/frank-mcdonald-what-s-not-to-like-about-dublin-s-new-kevin-st-development-quite-a-lot-1.4321803

In 2021 An Bord Pleanála granted a 10 year planning permission to Shane Whelan’s Westridge Real Estate for the development of 53,110 sq ft of office accommodation in two 11-storey blocks alongside 299 build to rent apartments across three buildings of up to 14 storeys in height. Westridge acquired the 3.57 acre site for €140 million in August 2019 and a report lodged with the plans by EY estimates that the total output that the redevelopment will generate over 10 years is €7.67 billion.

I was 15 years old when I completed my secondary education, too young to begin at Trinity College so my parents thought that it would make sense for me to undertake a pre-university course in science at Kevin Street College. Towards the end of 1965 I was offered a place on a new course due to begin in 1966 and I accepted the offer with the agreement of my parents. However, my Grandmother was furious as she could not understand why anyone would choose a Vocational Institution over Trinity College and unfortunately future events proved her right but that is a complicated story.

The four year course was known as "Telecommunications and Electronic Technicians Wholetime" [WRTT] and there is no doubt that it was an excellent education in every way. What was really sad was that most of the eighteen students on the initial course had to leave Ireland to find suitable employment. One or two went to the UK but the majority went to the USA. To this day I have never, again, met-up with any of the class.

https://arrow.tudublin.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1055&context=proskt

Number 55 on Prussia Street was formerly the City Arms Hotel, previously it was the home of the Jameson family, the well known distillers. I am not sure if the pub was in fact associated with the hotel.

Today I surprised myself when I discovered that I was in Rathfarnham Village. I must admit that I had thought that the area surrounding the Yellow House Pub was Rathfarnham Village.

I was in Bushy Park and left it via the new pedestrian bridge bridge which lead to Dodder View Road. I looked up and noticed a church tower at the top of the hill across the road and as I did not know what church it was I decided to investigate. I walked up Church Lane only to arrive at the main street in Rathfarnham, a street that I have never visited before.

When I first use my iPhone XR a few years ago I did not realise that the images were HEIC which was a format that I could not easily process and today I was reviewing my catalogues I re-discovered many photographs from June 2019 that had been automatically converted to a usable format on the 16th November 2021. Now I know why my system had slowed to a crawl a few weeks ago.

This church has been regarded as the finest Dublin church designed by J.J. McCarthy, the well-known architect of Catholic church buildings. It is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture, complete with finely wrought stone masonry and architecural details.

In 1974 St. Saviour’s became the parish church for the surrounding area and in 2000 was made the Studium for the formation and training of priests for the Irish Dominicans. A further major step in these years was the establishment of the Dominican Polish Chaplaincy in St. Saviour’s which today sees large numbers of Polish faithful attending Mass and services every week, along with the Irish and Spanish-language congregations, making St. Saviour’s a truly international church in the heart of Dublin.

When I first use my iPhone XR a few years ago I did not realise that the images were HEIC which was a format that I could not easily process and today I was reviewing my catalogues I re-discovered many photographs from June 2019 that had been automatically converted to a usable format on the 16th November 2021. Now I know why my system had slowed to a crawl a few weeks ago.

This church has been regarded as the finest Dublin church designed by J.J. McCarthy, the well-known architect of Catholic church buildings. It is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture, complete with finely wrought stone masonry and architecural details.

In 1974 St. Saviour’s became the parish church for the surrounding area and in 2000 was made the Studium for the formation and training of priests for the Irish Dominicans. A further major step in these years was the establishment of the Dominican Polish Chaplaincy in St. Saviour’s which today sees large numbers of Polish faithful attending Mass and services every week, along with the Irish and Spanish-language congregations, making St. Saviour’s a truly international church in the heart of Dublin.

This building, which I have always liked, is at the corner of Rathmines Road and Blackberry Lane and it is known as Kodak House or the Kodak Building.

The Kodak Building is one of two listed Art Deco buildings in Dublin. It was designed by Architects Donnelly, Moore and Keatinge in 1930. A complete refurbishment was undertaken in 1998 to convert the building into modern office space by Paul Keogh Architects . The project received an RIAI Award and won a prestigious Glen Dimplex Design Award in 2002. It was short listed for the RIAI Silver Medal for Conservation and has featured in international publications on the design principles of remodelling existing buildings for contemporary use.

https://c20society.org.uk/building-of-the-month/kodak-house-dublin

This building, which I have always liked, is at the corner of Rathmines Road and Blackberry Lane and it is known as Kodak House or the Kodak Building.

The Kodak Building is one of two listed Art Deco buildings in Dublin. It was designed by Architects Donnelly, Moore and Keatinge in 1930. A complete refurbishment was undertaken in 1998 to convert the building into modern office space by Paul Keogh Architects . The project received an RIAI Award and won a prestigious Glen Dimplex Design Award in 2002. It was short listed for the RIAI Silver Medal for Conservation and has featured in international publications on the design principles of remodelling existing buildings for contemporary use.

https://c20society.org.uk/building-of-the-month/kodak-house-dublin

When I first use my iPhone XR a few years ago I did not realise that the images were HEIC which was a format that I could not easily process and today I was reviewing my catalogues I re-discovered many photographs from June 2019 that had been automatically converted to a usable format on the 16th November 2021. Now I know why my system had slowed to a crawl a few weeks ago.

This church has been regarded as the finest Dublin church designed by J.J. McCarthy, the well-known architect of Catholic church buildings. It is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture, complete with finely wrought stone masonry and architecural details.

In 1974 St. Saviour’s became the parish church for the surrounding area and in 2000 was made the Studium for the formation and training of priests for the Irish Dominicans. A further major step in these years was the establishment of the Dominican Polish Chaplaincy in St. Saviour’s which today sees large numbers of Polish faithful attending Mass and services every week, along with the Irish and Spanish-language congregations, making St. Saviour’s a truly international church in the heart of Dublin.

This architectural icon stands on the Liffey quays, which were once Ireland’s major trade route to the wider world. The architect James Gandon completed the building, a masterpiece of European neoclassicism, in 1791. Admire the decorative detail of Edward Smyth's beautifully executed stonework carvings on the exterior and the famous carved keystones depicting the terrible heads of the river gods. There are 14 of these – one for every major river of Ireland.

CITY ARTS CENTRE BUILDING [ON MOSS STREET]

In 2012 CityArts voluntarily liquidated.

To the best of my knowledge the building featured in this photograph has been unoccupied since it was last sold in 2003 for €4.2 million to a consortium of developers. The area surrounding the building has been transformed as site is now flanked by the recently-developed eight-storey Grant Thornton HQ on City Quay and Irish Life’s newly-redeveloped 1GQ office complex on George’s Quay

Recently this, much neglected building, was placed on the market with guide price of €35 million and could well sell for over €40 million.

I have never liked this building but I am certain that if it is demolished it will be replaced by something even worse.

Liberty Hall is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest building in the country, at 59.4 metres, (195 feet) high until it was superseded by the County Hall in Cork city, which was itself superseded by The Elysian in Cork.

Liberty Hall is now the fourth tallest building in Dublin, after Capital Dock, Montevetro (now Google Docks) and the Millennium Tower in Grand Canal Dock.

Liberty Hall is more historically significant in its earlier form, as the headquarters of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union early in the 20th century, and also as the headquarters of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA).

On 19 October 2006 it was announced that SIPTU (into which the Irish Transport and General Workers Union had merged in 1990) was seeking planning permission to demolish Liberty Hall and build a new headquarters on the same site. By October 2007 SIPTU had selected a shortlist of architects to design the new building and was planning to demolish the current building in 2009. In January 2008 the Dublin architects Gilroy MacMahon, who had designed the new stands at Croke Park, were chosen to design the new Liberty Hall. In February 2012 SIPTU was granted planning permission by Dublin City Council to demolish the present structure and build a 22-storey replacement, with a height of about 100 metres. The new building would have included office space, a theatre and a "heritage centre". However, in November 2012 the planning permission was overturned by An Bord Pleanála, which ruled unanimously that the new building would be "unacceptably dominant in the city".

CITYTEST COVID-19 TEST CENTRE - THIS WAS A VERY COLOURFUL BUILDING

Back in 2012 St Marys creche was transformed by the Dulux team for the Let's Colour project. Located in Dublin city centre, it has already become an iconic building in the city and the children were delighted with the colourful transformation made to their pre-school.

HEUSTON SOUTH QUARTER - ANOTHER PLAN FOR THE AREA HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED

I came across a new phrase this week and it is "Transport Orientated Development". TOD is a form of urban development that seeks to maximise the provision of housing, employment, public services and leisure space within close proximity to transport nodes (e.g. rail and/or bus) that are serviced by frequent, high quality services. I do hope that it is not as disappointing or regressive as Privately Owned Public Spaces or POPS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privately_owned_public_space

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit-oriented_development

As, yet another, Heuston Master Plan was announced this week [16 November 2021] I decided to revisit some photographs of the area as it was in 2016. Back then it was the Heuston South Quarter and was described as mixed use urban quarter located in an area of immensely important historic and cultural heritage. The development includes a full mix of symbiotic functions working closely to create a new urban quarter. The development includes residential, office, hotel, cultural and retail uses and required the development of new streets and public spaces. The 350 new residential units ensures the occupancy and lively redevelopment of the once neglected area of Dublin.

Heuston Masterplan Summary [New Plan]

Key features of the Heuston Station Masterplan include:

• Opportunity for a substantial quantum of mixed-use development (210,000+ sqm) including 1,000+ residential units;

• The creation of an exemplar of Transport Orientated and Sustainable Development;

• Provision of substantial new pedestrian and cycling infrastructure to include new cross-Liffey bridges, 5000 cycle parking spaces and high quality public realm;

• Opening up of circa 1km of river frontage and interlinking the green assets of Phoenix Park and IMMA;

• Safeguarding of ongoing transport operations and planned enhancements.

https://www.cie.ie/CIECorporate/media/reports/Heuston-Masterplan-final.pdf

Maynooth Castle is a ruined 12th century castle in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland which stands at the entrance to the South Campus of Maynooth University. Constructed in the early 13th century, it became the primary residence of the Kildare Fitzmaurice and Fitzgerald family.

The area covered by modern Kildare was granted by Strongbow to Maurice Fitzgerald, Lord of Llanstephan in 1176. The original keep was constructed about 1203. The castle was built by Gerald Fitzmaurice (1st Lord of Offaly), 2nd eldest son of Maurice Fitzgerald, Lord Llanstephan at the junction of two streams in the late 12th century and became the home of the Fitzmaurice and Fitzgerald family. From then on it was expanded by Sir John Fitzgerald in the 15th century. Gerald Fitzmaurice's descendants became the Earls of Kildare and Earls of Leinster. Lords Deputy of Ireland.

The Fitzgerald occupation of the castle ended with the 1534 rebellion of Silken Thomas, the son of the ninth Earl of Kildare. An English force led by William Skeffington bombarded the massive castle in March 1535, the heavy modern siege guns of the English army making a ruin of much of the Medieval structure. The castle fell after a ten-day siege and the garrison summarily executed before the castle gate. Silken Thomas was captured shortly after and committed to the Tower of London with his five uncles. They were executed for treason at Tyburn on 3 February 1537.

The Castle was restored in 1630-35 by Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, after his daughter had married George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare but much of this building was destroyed in the 1640s during the Eleven years war. Only the gatehouse (on which united arms of the Boyles and FitzGeralds can still be viewed) and the Solar Tower survive. The Fitzgeralds left Maynooth Castle for good and made first Kilkea Castle and then Carton House their family seat.

Restoration work on the castle was restarted by the Office of Public Works in February 2000 to develop it into a Heritage Site. Up until Covid-19 restrictions came into force it was open to the public from May to September, 10.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.. Today the partly ruined building remains as a tourist attraction, with limited access.