Mountjoy Square

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Georgian garden square in Dublin, Ireland,

title: "Mountjoy Square" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["squares-in-dublin-(city)", "parks-in-dublin-(city)", "georgian-architecture-in-dublin-(city)"] description: "Georgian garden square in Dublin, Ireland," topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountjoy_Square" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Georgian garden square in Dublin, Ireland, ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox street"]

FieldValue
nameMountjoy Square
native_namega
imageMounjoy-1.jpg
captionClockwise from top: Mountjoy Square South in the snow of January 2010; a tree decorated with a mosaic in Mountjoy Square Park; Mountjoy Square West
map_typeIreland Central Dublin
former_namesGardiner Square
namesakeLuke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy
area2 ha
locationDublin, Ireland
postal_codeD01
coordinates
inauguration_date
known_forGeorgian architecture
::

| name = Mountjoy Square | marker_image = | native_name = ga | alternate_name = | image = Mounjoy-1.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | image_map = | caption = Clockwise from top: Mountjoy Square South in the snow of January 2010; a tree decorated with a mosaic in Mountjoy Square Park; Mountjoy Square West | map_type = Ireland Central Dublin | map_size = | map_caption = | map_alt = | other_name = | former_names = Gardiner Square | part_of = | namesake = Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy | type = | owner = | maint = | length = | length_m = | length_ft = | length_km = | length_mi = | length_ref = | length_notes = | width = | area = 2 ha | addresses = | location = Dublin, Ireland | arrondissement = | quarter = | postal_code = D01 | metro = | coordinates = | direction_a = | terminus_a = | direction_b = | terminus_b = | junction = | north = | east = | south = | west = | main_contractor = | cost = | references = | commissioning_date = | construction_start_date = | completion_date = | inauguration_date = | demolition_date = | designer = | known_for = Georgian architecture | status = | website =

Mountjoy Square () is a garden square in Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside of the city just under a kilometre from the River Liffey. One of five Georgian squares in Dublin, it was planned and developed in the late 18th century by Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy. It is surrounded on all sides by terraced, red-brick Georgian houses. Construction of the houses began piecemeal in 1792 and the final property was completed in 1818.

Over the centuries, the square has been home to many of Dublin's most prominent people: lawyers, churchmen, politicians, writers and visual artists. The writer James Joyce lived around the square during some of his formative years, playwright Seán O'Casey wrote and set some of his most famous plays on the square while living there, W. B. Yeats stayed there with his friend John O'Leary, and more recently, much of the Oscar-winning film Once was made in the square. Historic meetings have taken place there, including planning for the Easter Rising and some of the earliest Dáil meetings. Prominent Irish Unionists and Republicans have shared the square.

Mountjoy can boast of being Dublin's only true Georgian square, each of its sides being exactly 140 metres in length. While the North, East and West sides each have 18 houses, the South has 19, reflecting some variation in plot sizes. Though each side was originally numbered individually, the houses are now numbered continuously clockwise from no. 1 in the north-west corner. While its North and South sides are continuous from corner to corner, the East and West sides are in three terraces, interrupted by two side streets, Grenville Street and Gardiner Place to the West and Fitzgibbon and North Great Charles Street to the East. Gardiner Street passes through the West side of the square, while Belvidere Place and Gardiner Lane run off the North- and South-East corners.

Although some of the original buildings fell to ruin over the 20th century and were eventually demolished, the new infill buildings were fronted with reproduction façades, so each side of the square maintains its appearance as a consistent Georgian terrace.

Development of the square

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Mountjoy_Square,_Dublin,Ireland(Park).jpg" caption="Mountjoy Square Park, facing towards a house connected to [[W. B. Yeats]], on the south-west corner"] ::

The first Luke Gardiner (died 1755) was a highly successful banker, developer and Member of Parliament for Dublin in the early 18th century. During his career, he acquired a wide variety of properties throughout the city. The major continuous part, much of which he purchased from the Moore family in 1714, was a large piece of land to the East of the then-established city. This estate corresponds to the modern area bounded by The Royal Canal, Dorset Street, the Western Way, Constitution Hill, Parnell Street, O'Connell Street and the River Liffey. As owner of this land, Gardiner led the development of the Northside of the city east along the river, developing what is now O'Connell Street (then Sackville Street), Dorset Street, Parnell Street and Square (then Rutland Street & Square). After his death, his son and heir Charles continued the development, finishing Rutland Square before his grandson, the second Luke Gardiner (later Lord and Viscount Mountjoy) inherited the estate and accelerated the development further East. A powerful figure, Luke II was a member of the Wide Streets Commission and MP for County Dublin.

Mountjoy Square was developed as part of this third development phase. An early plan and elevation, known then as Gardiner Square was drawn up in 1787 by Thomas Sherrard, surveyor to the Wide Streets Commissioners. Gardiner and Sherrard had an ambitious vision for the square. It was on high ground, so all streets off it led downhill. It overlooked The Custom House and was connected to it by Gardiner Street. The plan included a rebuilt St. George's Church in the centre of the park. The original West side plans show a palatial stone-clad street frontage with a terrace of brick residential houses behind the cladding. A less ambitious compromise of red-brick façades, consistent with other nearby streets, eventually prevailed.

The square was laid out and construction began first on the south side, about 1790, continuing until 1818. The stuccatore Michael Stapleton was one of the first to acquire leases (dated October 1789), corresponding to Nos. 43, 44 and 45 Mountjoy Square (all demolished in the 1980s, despite the presence of Stapleton's decoration). His houses were complete by 1793. Luke Gardiner II was killed at the Battle of New Ross during the Rebellion of 1798 with the third side still under construction.

After completion, contemporaries Warburton, Whitelaw and Walsh said of it: This square, which is now completely finished, is neat, simple and elegant, its situation elevated and healthy … the elevation of the houses, the breadth of the streets, so harmonize together, as to give pleasure to the eye of the spectator, and to add to the neatness, simplicity, and regularity everywhere visible, entitling this square to rank high among the finest in Europe. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Number_20_Mountjoy_Square_doorway.jpg" caption="The door to number 20, Mountjoy Square. As is typical of Dublin's Georgian doorways, it is wide-set, painted brightly, and capped by a distinctive [[fanlight]]."] ::

In 1825, George Newenham Wright described the square: This small, regular and elegant square, which is named after the proprietor, Viscount Mountjoy (now Earl of Blessington) is not far from Rutland Square ... The air in this neighbourhood is considered extremely pure, being at the extremity of Dublin, and on the most elevated ground.}}

| short_title = Mountjoy Square (Dublin) Improvement Act 1802 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act for inclosing and improving Mountjoy Square in the Parish of Saint George, in the County of Dublin. | year = 1802 | citation = 42 Geo. 3. c. xxxiv | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 30 April 1802 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo3/42/34/pdfs/ukla_18020034_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes In 1802, Parliament passed the Mountjoy Square (Dublin) Improvement Act 1802 (42 Geo. 3. c. xxxiv) to govern the election of commissioners for Mountjoy Square on a yearly basis. Commissioner were drawn from residents of the square, and included Joseph Napier, Jacob Owen, James Whiteside, and William Trench, 3rd Earl of Clancarty In the late nineteenth century the park that forms the beating heart of the square was closed to all but the square's residents. Calls from Sir Charles Cameron to throw open the park to the public were rebuffed by the commissioners who called Cameron's open letter an 'audacious proceeding.' The residents' resistance to the attempt to 'provide an additional lung for congested Dublin' were so fierce that The Lancet wrote that despite the park's small size it 'seems sufficient for an Irish battlefield in the holidays.' The park was subsequently opened to the public in the twentieth century.

In 1939, a plebiscite of local ratepayers rejected a proposal to change the name of the square.

Much of the square became tenements from the 1900s when the south side of the city became more fashionable. By the 1960s, large portions of the square were in such poor condition that many were condemned and demolished as dangerous. Half of the south side of the square was bought up by Leinster Estates, a company owned by the property developer Matt Gallagher, in the early 1970s. His plan was to build a large office block designed by Desmond FitzGerald. Despite high objections from the Irish Georgian Society (IGI), permission for the office block scheme was granted in October 1967. After a public inquiry, Gallagher offered to sell his land with 7 standing houses and 13 demolished or partly demolished houses to the IGI for £68,000. Despite the formation of Mountjoy Square Estates in an attempt to take up Gallagher's offer, permission was granted for the office scheme again in July 1969. This stipulated that all of the house facades be reinstated, which called into question the financial viability of the project. This led to Mountjoy Square Estates purchasing the plots in December 1969 for £68,000 with the condition that all the houses would be restored individually, and all adhere to the Georgian aesthetic. However, the group could not secure the funds or purchasers willing to restore the buildings, and then continued to decay. After brickwork began to fall into the street, Dublin Corporation demolished many of the houses to first-floor level for safety reasons. In June 1972, the plot was sold to Patrick McCrea. McCrea began work on the site redeveloping it with a Georgian facade, but he ran out of funds. Following his death, the site remained untouched until 1978 when it was purchased by Stephen Treacy, though he failed to progress the project and by 1981 parts of brick cladding from the 1970s construction fell into the street, crushing two cars. Eventually, the whole site was developed with a replica Georgian facade designed by Sean Clifford and Associates.

More recently in 2005, architecture critic Christine Casey stated: The outstanding feature of Mountjoy Square is its Neoclassical plasterwork, which is finer even than that found in the contemporary terraces on the south side of Merrion Square.}} ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Mountjoy_Square_from_park.jpg" caption="Mountjoy Square as seen from Mountjoy Square Park"] ::

Notable residents

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Patrick_Pearse.jpg" caption="[[Patrick Pearse]] attended meetings in Mountjoy Square in planning the 1916 [[Easter Rising]], of which he was a leader."] ::

Mountjoy Square has had many famous inhabitants throughout its history. The earliest was Arthur Guinness, who died there in January 1803. Subsequently, his descendant Desmond Guinness and first wife Mariga, attempted to save and restore the gracious character of the square in 1966–75, buying No. 50 and several demolished lots with members of the Irish Georgian Society.

Seán O'Casey, the Irish playwright and founder member of the Irish Citizen Army, lived in a tenement in no. 35 Mountjoy Square, during the Irish War of Independence. During his time there, it is said that the house was raided by the Black and Tans. John O'Leary, a leading Fenian, poet, editor of The Irish People, mentioned in W. B. Yeats' poem September 1913, lived at no. 53 Mountjoy Square West in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Yeats, as a friend of O'Leary, is known to have stayed at 53 Mountjoy Square and sent letters from there. |author1=William Butler Yeats |author2=John Kelly |author3=Ronald Schuchard |title=The Collected Letters of W.B. Yeats |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn= 9780198126843 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-DdGwpJb_wC&pg=RA2-PA936 |date=22 December 2005 }} Dáil Éireann, the parliament of Ireland, having been suppressed by the British authorities as a dangerous organisation in September 1919, met before the foundation of the Irish Free State at the home of the republican Walter L. Cole in Mountjoy Square.{{Cite book |last=McCracken |title=Representative Government in Ireland: A Study of Dáil Éireann 1919–48 |first=J. L. |year=1958 |asin=B0006D7GSU |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/representativego0000mccr |url-access=registration |quote=Dáil Éireann Mountjoy Square. |last=McNally & Dennis |title=Easter Rising 1916 |pages=25, 39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X_LY5lZ62w8C&pg=PA39 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84603-067-3 |date=27 March 2007 |last=Sheahan & Levy |title=Dublin Handbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X_LY5lZ62w8C&pg=PA39 |page=39 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84603-067-3 |date=27 March 2007 | page = 84 | last = Cowell | first = John | title = Dublin's Famous People and Where They Lived | year = 1996 | publisher = O'Brien Press Ltd.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/James_Whiteside.jpg" caption="Statue of James Whiteside in [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin]]"] ::

James Whiteside (1804–1876), writer, orator, politician and barrister lived at no. 2 Mountjoy Square North in the mid-19th century.{{cite news |last=Bunbury |first=Turtle |title=James Whiteside (1804–1876) – Lord Chief Justice in Ireland |url=http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_heroes/hist_hero_whiteside.htm |access-date=25 August 2008 |archive-date=12 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512002747/http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_heroes/hist_hero_whiteside.htm |url-status=live |last = Griffith |first = Richard |year = 1847–1864 |pages = 115 |title = Griffith's Valuation – Dublin 1848–51 |url = http://griffiths.askaboutireland.ie/gv4/gv_family_search_results.php?PlaceID=505654&county=Dublin&barony=&parish=St%20george&townland=Mountjoy%20square,%20south |access-date = 6 September 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721122035/http://griffiths.askaboutireland.ie/gv4/gv_family_search_results.php?PlaceID=505654&county=Dublin&barony=&parish=St%20george&townland=Mountjoy%20square,%20south |archive-date = 21 July 2011 |url-status = dead |df = dmy-all |title=States and Regents of the World — Ireland |url=http://geocities.com/CapitolHill/Rotunda/2209/Ireland.html |access-date=7 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730200550/http://geocities.com/CapitolHill/Rotunda/2209/Ireland.html|archive-date=30 July 2009}}{{cite web |title = Irish American Murders |first = Seamus |last = Breathnach |url = http://irishcriminology.com/15d.html |access-date = 7 September 2008 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080505094953/http://www.irishcriminology.com/15d.html |archive-date = 5 May 2008 |df = dmy-all |title=Sir Robert Anderson, Secret Service Theologian |first=Alan |last=Newble |url=http://www.newble.co.uk/anderson/biography/biog1.html |access-date=16 September 2008 |archive-date=6 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906184602/http://www.newble.co.uk/anderson/biography/biog1.html |url-status=live |title=From Dublin Castle to Scotland Yard: Robert Anderson and the Secret Irish Department (Alan Sharp) |first=Adrian |last=Morris |url=http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/ws-dublincastle.html |access-date=16 September 2008 |archive-date=28 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928094408/http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/ws-dublincastle.html |url-status=live |last = Mullens |first = Dave |year = 1996 |isbn = 978-0-7515-1642-5 |title = Ladies of the Kasbah |publisher = Time Warner Books, UK |url = http://www.worldretailstore.com/item/BE-0751516422.html |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110716200141/http://www.worldretailstore.com/item/BE-0751516422.html |archive-date = 16 July 2011 |df = dmy-all

Seán O'Casey set all three of his "Dublin Trilogy" (The Shadow of a Gunman, Juno and the Paycock and The Plough and the Stars) in tenement houses in Georgian Dublin. In particular, The Shadow of a Gunman opens in A return-room in a tenement house in Hilljoy Square which is raided by the Auxiliaries during the play.{{Cite book |last=O'Casey |title=The Shadow of a Gunman: A Tragedy in Two Acts |first=Seán |isbn=978-0-573-01409-3 |publisher=French |url=https://archive.org/details/shadowofgunman00ocas |url-access=registration |year=1958 |title=Georgian North Dublin |access-date=13 July 2008 |publisher=Footprint Travel Guides |url=http://www.footprintguides.com/Dublin/Georgian-north-Dublin.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203145832/http://www.footprintguides.com/Dublin/Georgian-north-Dublin.php |archive-date=3 December 2008 |url-status=dead | page = 136 | last = Cowell | first = John | title = Dublin's Famous People and where they lived | year = 1996 | publisher = O'Brien Press Ltd.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Sir_John_Gray.JPG" caption="Sir John Gray]], sculpted by Thomas Farrell who lived on Mountjoy Square, and erected in nearby [[O'Connell Street]] in 1879."] ::

The stuccatore Michael Stapleton, who built three houses there, was resident in the square from 1793 to 1795.{{cite web |title=Stapleton, Michael |work=Dictionary of Ireland Architects 1720–1940 |access-date=17 May 2009 |publisher=Irish Architectural Archive |url=http://www.dia.ie/architects/view/5103 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721123955/http://www.dia.ie/architects/view/5103 |url-status=live |title=Thorp, Charles |work=Dictionary of Ireland Architects 1720–1940 |access-date=17 May 2009 |publisher=Irish Architectural Archive |url=http://www.dia.ie/architects/view/2713 |archive-date=9 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409095445/http://www.dia.ie/architects/view/2713 |url-status=live | page = 63 | last = Cowell | first = John | title = Dublin's Famous People and Where They Lived | year = 1996 | publisher = O'Brien Press Ltd. Padraig O'Faolain, an Irish painter, lived next to the Kasbah on Mountjoy Square West in the 1980s. Irish radio presenter, journalist, former Trinity College SU president and student activist Joe Duffy was born on Mountjoy Square in 1956.{{cite web | title = Tadhg Kennelly, Joe Duffy, MJTE | publisher = RTÉ | url = http://www.rte.ie/tv/ttv/thecafe/tadhgjoe.html | access-date = 15 September 2008 | archive-date = 5 October 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081005044630/http://www.rte.ie/tv/ttv/thecafe/tadhgjoe.html | url-status = live

Much of John Carney's 2007 feature film Once which won the Academy Award that year for best original song was filmed in an apartment on Mountjoy Square East, where the female lead character, played by Marketa Irglova, lives with her family.{{cite news |last = Lynch |title = Once Upon a Time |first = Paul |url = http://www.thevastpictureshow.com/2007/03/once-upon-time.html |url-status = dead |df = dmy-all |access-date = 22 August 2008 |archive-date = 17 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717040926/http://www.thevastpictureshow.com/2007/03/once-upon-time.html

The rock/pop band U2 used to rehearse in a squat on Mountjoy Square in the late 1970s and were photographed by Patrick Brocklebank, published in "The Dublin Music Scene and U2, 1978–81".{{cite web |title=Dublin exposure: Citizen photography of U2 and other early punks |first=Tony |last=Clayton-Lea |access-date=27 January 2014 |publisher=Irish Architectural Archive |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/dublin-exposure-citizen-photography-of-u2-and-other-early-punks-1.1663035 |archive-date=27 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140127054511/http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/dublin-exposure-citizen-photography-of-u2-and-other-early-punks-1.1663035 |url-status=live

Education

  • The School of Art, Design & Printing and the Department of Social Sciences of the Dublin Institute of Technology are based at nos. 40–45 Mountjoy Square.
  • Public Affairs Ireland is based at 25 Mountjoy Square.
  • The Incorporated Society for Promoting Protestant Schools in Ireland and Mountjoy School were located at nos. 6–7 Mountjoy Square until a move to Malahide Road in 1950, becoming Mount Temple School.
  • Dorset College currently has an office on the corner of Mountjoy Square East and Great Charles Street.
  • The Dublin Adult Learning Centre is currently based at 3 Mountjoy Square.
  • The St. Francis Xavier Pioneer Club of Dublin is based at 27 Mountjoy Square.
  • CELT Ireland English School is based on the east side of the square in an historic Georgian house.
  • Divinity Hostel, for the training of Anglican priests, was located at 25 Mountjoy Sq., from 1913 until 1964 eventually becoming the Church of Ireland Theological Institute.

Amenities

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Mountjoy_Square_Park_Sundial.jpg" caption="Granite sundial in green area of Mountjoy Square"] ::

The square's own park has both playing areas for football, basketball and table tennis, playgrounds for children and a green park area. It's also a short walk to the Blessington Street Basin in Broadstone.

Architectural Conservation Area

In 2010 as part of the preparation by Dublin City Council of their City Development Plan, they received a number of representations calling for Mountjoy Square to be designated as an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA). On 14 May 2012, a meeting of Dublin City Council formally established Mountjoy Square as an Architectural Conservation Area.

ACA designation gives protection to the entire streetscape of the square. Works to any building in the area now require the permission of the Planning Authority, whether the building is a Protected Structure (Listed Building) or not.

In 2018, the Dublin City Council proposed restoring Mountjoy Square to its 1837 design by re-creating the 4.4-acre park at its centre. These plans were withdrawn in 2019.

Transport links

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Mountjoy_Square,_Dublin,Ireland(DublinBikes_Station).jpg" caption="DublinBikes Station on Mountjoy Square"] ::

Close to the centre of Dublin city and having the major artery Gardiner Street as its West side, Mountjoy Square has considerable transport links in its immediate locality.

The Dublin Bus termini for the 7, 7a, 7b, 7d and 46e are on the north side of the square and run toward the southeast of the city. Routes 33, 41, 41b and 41c stop on the west side of the square on their way to the northern suburbs. The square's bus stops are also covered by the hop-on, hop-off city centre 75-cent fare. The 41 bus is almost certainly the cheapest transport link to Dublin Airport from the city at €2.70 (as of 2017) from the square. The main entrance to Dublin Bus' Summerhill Depot is on Mountjoy Place, just off the southeast corner of the square.

In 2009, the Dublin Bikes bicycle sharing system was launched and has one of its more northerly stations on the west side of Mountjoy Square, providing easy access for commuters, locals, and tourists.

In 2013 a similar pay-as-you-go car hire scheme stationed a car on the square. The "Go-Car" is parked on Mountjoy Square West.

Period features

Over the centuries, new features have been added to the street furniture while for various reasons others have been removed.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Mountjoy_square_last_wicklow_granite_pavement.jpg" caption="Remaining granite paving"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Mountjoy_Square_West.jpg" caption="Mountjoy Square West in 2018"] ::

The footpath was originally paved with granite. By now, although the kerbs are generally still (probably Wicklow) granite, most of the paving stones have been replaced with concrete. The exception to this is the southwest corner in front of 53–54 which still has full granite paving and a small section just off of Mountjoy Square in front of the Free Church.

Many of the houses on the square still have their original coal holes and ornate cast iron covers. These small holes in the street outside each house lead to a coal house underneath the street. These elegantly solved the problem of how to quickly and cleanly deliver coal to the house, allowing the coal men to simply pull the hole open and empty their sacks of coal down through it. The basement of the house then had a doorway into the coal house under the street, many of which remain intact.

File:Mountjoy Square, Dublin, Ireland (ornate coal hole) 001.jpg|Ornate coal hole cover File:Mountjoy Square, Dublin, Ireland (ornate coal hole) 002.jpg|Ornate coal hole cover File:Mountjoy Square, Dublin, Ireland (ornate coal hole) 003.jpg|Ornate coal hole cover Image:Mountjoy_square_ornate_coal_hole_and_door.jpg|Coal hole and doorway under street

The street lamps on the square are of two different designs. Those on the outer sides, in front of the houses, are seemingly of the style called The Scotch Standard, dating from 1903 to 1920 when Dublin streets were being electrically lit as part of the Pigeon House scheme. |last = O'Connell |first = Derry |year = 1975 |title = The Antique Pavement |publisher = An Taisce |pages = 16–17 |url = http://www.scamp.ie/2007/08/16/the-antique-pavement/ |isbn = 978-0-903693-01-1 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071118223557/http://www.scamp.ie/2007/08/16/the-antique-pavement/ |archive-date = 18 November 2007 |df = dmy-all

Image:Mountjoy_square_lamppost1.jpg|The Scotch Standard Lamp Post (outer side) File:Mountjoy Square, Dublin, Ireland.jpg|The Scotch Standard Lamp Post (outer side) Image:Mountjoy_square_lamppost2.jpg|Decorative Shamrock Lamp Post (park side) Image:Mountjoy_square_lamppost2a.jpg|Decorative Shamrock Lamp Post (park side)

In the late 18th century, mud streets were not uncommon{{Cite book |last = O'Connell |first = Derry |year = 1975 |title = The Antique Pavement |publisher = An Taisce |url = http://www.scamp.ie/2007/08/16/the-antique-pavement/ |page = 34 |isbn = 978-0-903693-01-1 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071118223557/http://www.scamp.ie/2007/08/16/the-antique-pavement/ |archive-date = 18 November 2007 |df = dmy-all and horses were also common on the streets. To avoid this muck being tramped into the houses, boot scrapers were commonly placed outside their front doors. Many of these were highly elaborate and many remain to this day.

Image:Mountjoy_square_footscraper1.jpg|Scraper Image:Mountjoy_square_footscraper2.jpg|Scraper Image:Mountjoy_square_footscraper3.jpg|Scraper Image:Mountjoy_square_footscraper4.jpg|Scraper

Some of the houses still contain their original wrought iron balconettes while others have since been replaced with more modern replacements.

References

References

  1. Heagney, John. (2006). "The Georgian Squares of Dublin". [[Four Courts Press]].
  2. (1941). "Mountjoy Square". Dublin Historical Record.
  3. Griffith, Richard. (1847–1864). "Griffith's Valuation – Dublin 1848–51".
  4. Craig, Maurice. (1952). "Dublin, 1660–1860". Hodges, Figgis & Co. Ltd..
  5. Nevin, Seamus. (2012). "History Repeating: Georgian Ireland's Property Bubble". History Ireland.
  6. Casey, Christine. (2005). "The Buildings of Ireland, Dublin". Yale University Press.
  7. Lucey, Conor. (2007). "The Stapleton Collection: Designs for the Irish Neoclassical Interior". Churchill Press.
  8. Newenham Wright, George. (1825). "An Historical Guide to the City of Dublin, Illustrated by Engravings, and a Plan of the City". Baldwin, Cradock and Joy.
  9. 'Commissioners of Mountjoy Square,' in Dublin Almanac and General Register of Ireland (Dublin: Pettigrew and Oulten, 1847),285
  10. 'The Dublin Sanitary Association and Mountjoy Square,'The Lancet, 26 August 1899, 595
  11. [http://databases.dublincity.ie/minutes/browse_home.php Dublin City Council Minutes] {{Webarchive. link. (29 October 2017 1939 p.37)
  12. McDonald, Frank. (1985). "The destruction of Dublin". Gill and Macmillan.
  13. Casey, Christine. (2005). "The Buildings of Ireland, Dublin.". Yale University Press, New Haven and London.
  14. Dublin Evening Post, 20 January 1803.
  15. Yeats, William Butler. (September 1913). "September 1913". The Irish Times.
  16. "OWEN, JAMES HIGGINS – Dictionary of Irish Architects".
  17. "OWEN, JACOB – Dictionary of Irish Architects".
  18. "Public Affairs Ireland".
  19. "CELT Ireland English School".
  20. "Architectural Conservation Area Report – Mountjoy Square". Dublin City Council.
  21. McGreevy, Ronan. (12 September 2018). "Plan to Turn Dublin's Mountjoy Square into Visitor Attraction Revealed". The Irish Times.
  22. McMenamin, Aura. (31 July 2019). "In Mountjoy Square, Disparate Visions for a Park's Future". Dublin Inquirer.
  23. "29 Mountjoy Square East, Dublin, Dublin".
  24. "13 Mountjoy Square North, Dublin, Dublin".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

squares-in-dublin-(city)parks-in-dublin-(city)georgian-architecture-in-dublin-(city)