Parnell Square, Dublin
Encyclopedia
O'Connell Street
O'Connell Street is Dublin's main thoroughfare. It measures 49 m in width at its southern end, 46 m at the north, and is 500 m in length...
, and west of Mountjoy Square, in the city of Dublin, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
Formerly named Rutland Square, it was renamed after Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
(1846–1891), as was Parnell Street
Parnell Street
Parnell Street is located on Dublin's Northside and runs from Capel Street in the west to Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square in the east, and is at the north end of O'Connell Street, where it provides the south side of Parnell Square....
, which forms the southern side of the square. Surrounded on three sides by terraces of original intact Georgian houses
Georgian Dublin
Georgian Dublin is a phrase used in the History of Dublin that has two interwoven meanings,# to describe a historic period in the development of the city of Dublin, Ireland, from 1714 to the death in 1830 of King George IV...
, much of the southern part of the square and its centre is taken up by extensions of the Rotunda Hospital
Rotunda Hospital
The Rotunda Hospital is one of the three main maternity hospitals in the city of Dublin, the others being the The Coombe and The National Maternity Hospital...
. The Garden of Remembrance
Garden of Remembrance (Dublin)
The Garden of Remembrance is a memorial garden in Dublin dedicated to the memory of "all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish Freedom"...
is located along the northern side of this area. Its main entrance is on the eastern side of the square, with a smaller entrance on the northern side of the square.
In the south easterly corner of the square, where it meets with O'Connell Street, is sited the Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
, and the Ambassador and Pillar Room venues. Entertainments were originally developed here as part of the Rotunda Hospital scheme by Bartholomew Mosse
Bartholomew Mosse
Bartholomew Mosse was an Irish surgeon and impresario responsible for founding the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin.-Early life:...
as a revenue engine to pay for the running of what was Europe's first lying-in maternity hospital. Extensive pleasure gardens, subsequently forming the body of the square, were located to the rear of the hospital in the original development.
The Hugh Lane Gallery
Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery
Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane is an art gallery funded by Dublin City Council and located in Charlemont House in Dublin, Ireland. Charlemont House was originally the town house of James Caulfeild, the 1st Earl of Charlemont and was designed by Sir William Chambers.Previously called the...
is on the north side of the square. It was erected in cut stone by Lord Charlemont
James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont
James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont KP PC was an Irish statesman.The son of the 3rd Viscount Charlemont, he was born in Dublin, and succeeded his father as 4th Viscount in 1734...
to a design by William Chambers
William Chambers (architect)
Sir William Chambers was a Scottish architect, born in Gothenburg, Sweden, where his father was a merchant. Between 1740 and 1749 he was employed by the Swedish East India Company making several voyages to China where he studied Chinese architecture and decoration.Returning to Europe, he studied...
during the Georgian period. On this side also is the Dublin Writers Museum
Dublin Writers Museum
The Dublin Writers Museum was opened in November 1991 at No 18, Parnell Square, Dublin, Ireland. The museum occupies an original 18th-century house, which accommodates the museum rooms, library, gallery and administration area. The annexe behind it has a coffee shop and bookshop on the ground floor...
and the Irish Writers' Centre. The striking Gothic Revival Findlater's Church just up from the gallery on the same side was erected in the 1860s by
Alexander Findlater, at his own expense, and which he presented to the Presbyterian congregation. The James Joyce Centre
James Joyce Centre
The James Joyce Centre is a museum dedicated to promoting an understanding of the life and works of James Joyce.The Centre is situated in a restored 18th-century Georgian townhouse at 35 North Great George's Street Dublin, dating from a time when north inner city Dublin was at the height of its...
is located nearby on North Great Georges Street, a street notably rich for its Georgian houses
Georgian Dublin
Georgian Dublin is a phrase used in the History of Dublin that has two interwoven meanings,# to describe a historic period in the development of the city of Dublin, Ireland, from 1714 to the death in 1830 of King George IV...
as is the nearby and historic Mountjoy Square. One of Dublin's most acclaimed restaurants, Chapter One, is located on the northern side of Parnell Square between the Hugh Lane Gallery and the Writers Museum. On the south side of the square is Conway's bar, outside of which Pearse
Pearse
Pearse is a surname, and may refer to:* Patrick Pearse , leader of the Irish Easter Rising in 1916* Barbara Pearse, British biological scientist* Charles Pearse, South African cricketer...
surrendered to the British army after the 1916 Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
. The political party Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
has its Dublin head office and shop on the western side of the square. The western side also is known for offices of a number of trade unions and other organisations. Also on the western side is the St. Martin's Apostolate office, which includes a small basement chapel. The St. Martin's Apostolate office is well known in Dublin for its moving crib that is open to the public each Christmas.
Famous historic residents and events
No 5 – Birthplace of Oliver St John Gogarty (1878–1957); writer, surgeon, and senator. A friend of Michael CollinsMichael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
and the writers WB Yeats and James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, Gogarty was unwillingly immortalized as Buck Mulligan
Buck Mulligan
Malachi "Buck" Mulligan is a fictional character in James Joyce's novel Ulysses. He appears most prominently in episode 1 , and is the subject of the novel's famous first sentence:...
in the Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
.
No 9 Cavendish Row – Dr Bartholomew Mosse
Bartholomew Mosse
Bartholomew Mosse was an Irish surgeon and impresario responsible for founding the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin.-Early life:...
(1713–1759); Philanthropist and surgeon. Mosse lived here, having originally hailed from Portlaoise. He founded the Rotunda Hospital, located in the square and which was built to designs of Richard Cassels
Richard Cassels
Richard Cassels , who anglicised his name to Richard Castle, ranks with Edward Lovett Pearce as one of the greatest architects working in Ireland in the 18th century. Cassels was born in 1690 in Kassel, Germany. Although German, his family were of French origin, descended from the...
between 1751 and 1757. The emergence of Parnell Square as a square is largely attributable to the pleasure gardens him as he laid out pleasure gardens in order to pay for the hospital.
No 25 Parnell Square, Gaelic League Building. This building is of great significance during the period surrounding the War of Independence as it was here on September 9, 1914 that a meeting held by Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
(IRB) with selected others agreed to rise up against the British before the Great War, subsequently known as the First World War, would be finished: In attendance were Eamonn Ceannt
Éamonn Ceannt
Éamonn Ceannt , born Edward Thomas Kent, was an Irish republican, mostly known for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916.-Background:...
, Thomas Clarke
Tom Clarke (Irish republican)
Thomas James "Tom" Clarke was an Irish revolutionary leader and arguably the person most responsible for the 1916 Easter Rising. A proponent of violent revolution for most of his life, he spent 15 years in prison...
, James Connolly
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
, Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...
, John McBride
John McBride
John McBride was an American labor union leader.McBride was born in Wayne County, Ohio, in 1854. He started working in the coal mines at the age of nine. In 1870, McBride joined the Ohio Miners' Union, and in 1883 he became its president—a post he retained until 1889...
, Sean MacDermott
Sean MacDermott
Seán Mac Diarmada was one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland.-Early life:...
, Sean McGarry, William “Bill” O'Brien, Seán T. O'Kelly
Sean T. O'Kelly
Seán Thomas O'Kelly was the second President of Ireland . He was a member of Dáil Éireann from 1918 until his election as President. During this time he served as Minister for Local Government and Minister for Finance...
, Padraig Pearse, Joseph Plunkett.
No 29 – 30 Parnell Square – Formerly Vaughan’s Hotel; a favourite hiding and meeting place for freedom fighter Michael Collins.
No 41 Parnell Square – this building was formerly the Irish National Forester’s Hall. Prior to 1916 it was used for drilling both by the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
(IRB) and the Volunteers; on the eve of the outbreak of the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
assembled the 3rd Battalion here. In 1922, subsequent to the Treaty and prior to the Civil War, the IRB again met here in a failed attempt at achieving consensus on the Treaty; among the attendees were Michael Collins, Harry Boland
Harry Boland
Harry Boland was an Irish Republican politician and member of the First Dáil.-Early life:Boland was born in Phibsboro, Dublin on 27 April 1887. He was active in GAA circles in early life, and ultimately joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood...
, Liam Lynch and Eoin O'Duffy
Eoin O'Duffy
Eoin O'Duffy was in succession a Teachta Dála , the Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army , the second Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, leader of the Army Comrades Association and then the first leader of Fine Gael , before leading the Irish Brigade to fight for Francisco Franco during...
– all of whom, with the exception of O’Duffy, were dead by the end of the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
.
No 44 Parnell Square - The Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry
Kevin Gerard Barry was the first Irish republican to be executed by the British since the leaders of the Easter Rising. Barry was sentenced to death for his part in an IRA operation which resulted in the deaths of three British soldiers.Barry's death is considered a watershed moment in the Irish...
memorial hall is the current headquarters of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
.
No 46 Parnell Square – Formerly the Headquarters of Conradh na Gaeilge
Conradh na Gaeilge
Conradh na Gaeilge is a non-governmental organisation that promotes the Irish language in Ireland and abroad. The motto of the League is Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin amháin .-Origins:...
, the Irish language league, this was the venue where Thomas MacDonagh
Thomas MacDonagh
Thomas MacDonagh was an Irish nationalist, poet, playwright, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.-Early life:MacDonagh was born in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary...
assembled the 2nd Battalion the Sunday night on the eve of the 1916 Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
. In August 1917, the meetings that led to the National Executive of the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
being established were also here, with persons present including Éamon de Valera, Thomas Ashe
Thomas Ashe
Thomas Patrick Ashe born in Lispole, County Kerry, Ireland, was a member of the Gaelic League, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and a founding member of the Irish Volunteers...
, Cathal Brugha
Cathal Brugha
Cathal Brugha was an Irish revolutionary and politician, active in the Easter Rising, Irish War of Independence, and the Irish Civil War and was the first Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann.-Background:...
, and Michael Collins. Subsequently on September 19, 1919, in the company of Richard Mulcahy
Richard Mulcahy
Richard James Mulcahy was an Irish politician, army general and commander in chief, leader of Fine Gael and Cabinet Minister...
, Michael Collins set up his famous “Squad”, composed of top-level operatives – men who would ultimately be involved with highest priority missions, such as the elimination of the British “G Men” agents in 1920.
No 58 Parnell Square - The Sinn Féin Bookshop and the offices of the An Phoblacht
An Phoblacht
An Phoblacht is the official newspaper of Sinn Féin in Ireland. It is published once a month, and according to its website sells an average of up to 15,000 copies every month and was the first Irish paper to provide an edition online and currently having in excess of 100,000 website hits per...
newspaper.