The Irish Heritage Trust and Poetry Ireland have begun conservation works at Number 11 Parnell Square East in Dublin to transform the iconic Georgian building into a inclusive cultural center dedicated to Irish poetry, heritage, and culture.
The refurbishment, led by conservation architects McCullough Mulvin and managed by the Irish Heritage Trust in partnership with Poetry Ireland, is expected to be completed by summer 2025 and will make the building universally accessible, including the unique council chamber known from James Joyce’s works.
Upon completion, No. 11 Parnell Square will contribute to the cultural renaissance of Dublin’s North Inner City, alongside other cultural landmarks, establishing itself as a permanent home for poetry, heritage, and Dublin’s civic history.
The €5.2 million project is funded through the Project Ireland 2040 Urban Regeneration and Development Fund and philanthropic support secured by the Irish Heritage Trust and Poetry Ireland, with Minister of State for Heritage, Malcolm Noonan, expressing excitement for the public benefits the renovated building will bring.
Anne O’Donoghue, CEO of the Irish Heritage Trust, said: “a number of great organisations are involved in bringing No.11 Parnell Square back to life, from our partners in the building, Poetry Ireland, to our design team, McCullough Mulvin Architects, and Bourke Builders who bring their expertise to No.11 to develop our home to the highest possible conservation standards. We look forward to breathing new life into this wonderful building and by protecting and sharing it, we hope to offer public benefits while enhancing this vibrant cultural quarter centred on historic Parnell Square. We would like to thank Fingal County Council for entrusting the care of this wonderful Georgian building to the Irish Heritage Trust. In addition, we are grateful for the generous philanthropic support that both the Irish Heritage Trust and Poetry Ireland have received, and for the Project Ireland 2040 Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF).”
Liz Kelly, Director of Poetry Ireland said, “No.11 Parnell Square will be home to Poetry Ireland and our partners Irish Heritage Trust. At its core will be The Seamus Heaney Poetry Library encompassing the late Laureate’s private library, bequeathed by his family to Poetry Ireland. The poetry library will also include the Austin Clarke collection and a fine contemporary poetry library amassed over the past 40 years creating a centre similar to those in major cities including New York, Berlin and Paris. Elegant performance/reading spaces and a workshop area for all ages will enable the public to enjoy Ireland’s national art form in a building of national historical significance and unique architectural merit. It will greatly enhance Ireland’s global reputation in the arts, and most especially in poetry”.
Historic house
Number 11 Parnell Square, Dublin, was the earliest and, for a time, the largest house on the new street laid out by Luke Gardiner (c.1699-1755) and named Cavendish Street in honour of viceroy William Cavendish (1698-1755). The Abstract of Deeds Inrolled in Chancery (1840) records that the first plot of ground on the east side, named Cavendish Street in honour of William Cavendish (1698-1755), was leased by Richard Steele (1701-1785). This was No.11.
John Butler MP (1740-95) of Kilkenny Castle took possession of the property circa 1770 and built over the carriageway producing a symmetrical frontage with the Doric doorcase centrally placed.
The four-storey over basement five-bay Georgian Protected Structure has direct access to Parnell Square East and to Rutland Place at the rear. During Dublin County Council’s occupancy from 1901, the building underwent a series of changes including the replacement of Georgian floor finishes, removal of some decorative ceiling plasterwork and the fitting of ornate Victorian furniture and panelling in the Council Chamber and ante-room on the first floor. The chamber boasts Art Nouveau sconces, tiles, and a low-relief fibrous plaster ceiling adorned with neo-Tudor pierced quatrefoils framed by a Classical plasterwork cornice and rinceau frieze.
The architect responsible for Number 11 Parnell Square is not known. John Ensor (1715-87), one-time apprentice to Richard Castle (1690-1751) and the architect who completed Castle’s “lying in” hospital (1751-1757), is known to have designed a number of houses on the east side of the square and is a potential candidate.
