Custom House, Dublin – Office of Public Works

*Custom House, Dublin, by James Gandon, 1781-91. Photograph by Chris Hill, 2014, for Tourism Ireland. Ireland’s Content Pool.* [1]

General enquiries: 086 606 2729, customhousevc@opw.ie

From the website:

“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.

“The Custom House witnessed not only the development of a great city, but also some of the most turbulent milestones in its history. The building was destroyed by burning in 1921 and later restored to its former splendour.

“The stories of the building, burning and restoration of Dublin’s Custom House are now brought to life in a new and fascinating exhibition, revealing a rich, many-layered story that spans over 200 years.“

*Custom House, from James Malton, English, 1761-1803, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.*

*Customs House, Dublin, February 2015.* Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

*Custom House detail, 21st November 2023.* Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

*Custom House, 21st November 2023.* Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

A previous Custom House was located further up the river at Essex Quay, built in 1707. By 1780 it was judged to be unsafe for ships to come all the way up the river to that point, where the Clarence Hotel is now located, and a new building was required. John Beresford (1738-1805) determined position for the new Custom House against much objection as its position affected property prices – raising prices in the area and lowering the value of properties nearer the previous Custom House. Beresford sought to move the city centre eastwards from the Capel Street-Parliament Street axis towards College Green. The new Custom House was built on land reclaimed from the estuary of the Liffey. He wanted to shift the city near to his developer brother-in-law’s estate, the Gardiner estate, where Luke Gardiner Ist Viscount Mountjoy had developed an exclusive area for the gentry to inhabit. Both Luke Gardiner and John Beresford married sisters, daughters of William Montgomery of Magbiehill, 1st Baronet of England, who served as an MP in Ireland.

John Beresford, (1738-1805), First Commissioner of Revenue in Ireland G. Cowen, Dublin and at T. Macklin’s, London, 1st November 1790, Engraver Charles Howard Hodges, English, 1764-1837 After Gilbert Stuart, American, 1755-1828. Photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.

*John Beresford was related to Luke Gardiner who developed the Gardiner estate.*

John Beresford was the son of Marcus Beresford 1st Earl of Tyrone and Catherine De la Poer of Curraghmore in County Waterford.

On the main pediment, Hibernia is seen embracing Britannia while Neptune drives away famine and despair. Above the pediment stand four figures symbolising Neptune, Mercury, Industry and Plenty. At the top of the dome stands a figure of Commerce. [2] Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

*At the roof line is the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Ireland, with a lion and a unicorn either side of an Irish harp.* Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

James Gandon was an English-born architect who settled in Dublin in 1781 and was responsible for three major public buildings there – the Custom House, the Four Courts, and the King’s Inns – as well as for Carlisle Bridge and for extensions to the Parliament House. He also designed Emo in County Laois for John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington (formerly 2nd Viscount Carlow). He was apprenticed to William Chambers, who designed on the Casino at Marino.

*James Gandon, (1743-1823), Architect, against the Custom House, Dublin, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.*

The Custom House has four different but consistent facades, linked by corner pavilions. The south facade is of Portland stone, the others of mountain granite. The exterior is adorned with sculptures by Thomas Banks, Agnostino Carlini and Edward Smyth. Smyth carved the series of sculpted keystones symbolising the rivers of Ireland: the Bann, Barrow, Blackwater, Boyne, Erne, Foyle, Lagan, Lee, Liffey, Nore, Shannon, Slaney and Suir. On the north face are personifications of the four continents of world trade: Africa, America, Asia and Europe. [3]

*Custom House, photograph taken 1943, Dublin City Library archives.* [4]

*Custom House 1982 photograph from Dublin City Library archives.* [see 4] *Smyth carved the series of sculpted keystones symbolising the rivers of Ireland: the Bann, Barrow, Blackwater, Boyne, Erne, Foyle, Lagan, Lee, Liffey, Nore, Shannon, Slaney and Suir.*

*Custom House 1982 photograph from Dublin City Library archives.* [see 4]

*Allegorical statues and motifs on the north façade of Custom House, photograph courtesy of Swire Chin, Toronto.*

During the Irish Civil War, the buildings was engulfed in flames and the interior destroyed. The dome was rebuilt with Ardbraccan limestone instead of Portland stone.