Maurice Craig might have Milltown Park i mind when he coined this phrase, but curiosuly he never recorded it. Peter Somervile-Large is charmed by a return visit to its secluded setting in County Offaly.
A bridge to live in? Louise Cotter visits the project in County Dublin that attracted awards from the RIAI and the AAI Downes Medal for architects Clanc
Diana Vreeland’s axiom is apt for architects Heneghan Peng whose global competition success expands unabated. John Mclaughlin looks at their recent win in Moscow
Peter Pearson outlines the history of the former City Assembly House on Dublin’s South William Street, now the flagship of the Irish Georgian Society
Robert O’Byrne documents the events leading up to the destruction and consequent resurrection of Cappoquin House in Co Waterford
Michael O’Neill recalls the architectural and social history of this former Viceroy’s church, revered by many as the final resting place of Lord Edward FitzGerald.
Belfast’s new leviathan echoes the form of the ships once visible from the drawing offices where they were designed, writes Marianne O’Kane-Boal
Making a virtue of necessity, Belfast’s Metropolitan Arts Centre has triumphed over its tight location in Cathedral Quarter, writes Paul Harron.
Terence Reeves-Smyth explores the quiet charm of Benvarden, an early 19th-century house in north County Antrim
James Howley examines the description and typology of follies, as restoration on three remarkable examples in Dublin reaches completion
William Laffan discusses the architectural ambitions of Waterford’s Bishop Este and his successor Richard Chevenix whose imposing 18th-century residence is now restored to its original splendour.
Peter Murray traces the evolution of Christchurch in Cork, from an historic parish church to its latest incarnation as a venue for the arts.
The restoration of Ballyfin represents a unique achievement, where sensitivity to character and place triumph, writes Kevin Mulligan.
Judith Hill examines how the disparate spheres of academia and performance are united in Limerick’s dynamic Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.
Tintern Abbey at Bannow Bay in Wexford is today a place of beauty and tranquillity, secured if not fully restored by the OPW: a lasting monument to the earliest days of the Norman invasion from which its foundation sprung, as John Mulcahy reports
Is 2014 the moment when a tide of enthusiasm, funding, and vision will lead to a transformation of Limerick city, asks Judith Hill
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On the 150th anniversary of its completion, Michael O’Neill traces key chapters in the Pakenham-Guinness Restoration of St Patrick’s Cathedral 1845-1865
Love it or loath it, the current ESB headquarters will soon be a thing of the past: Shane O’ Tooles considers the history of its contested ground
First opened for service on Christmas day 1814, the 200-year-old Chapel Royal is taking its place in 21st-century Dublin, writes Judith Hill
Few sites in Ireland are as resonant as Dublin’s GPO, where the new Witness History Centre enriches our understanding of this symbol of nationhood, writes James Howley
Despite banks rationalising their business through closure or reuse of branches, architectural patronage has recently been boosted by the Central Bank’s imminent move from Dame Street to North Wall Quay, writes Frank McDonald
Kevin V Mulligan reminds us of the cultural aspirations associated with the architectural competition for the National Museum of Ireland in the 1880’s
In terms of conception and achievement, historic demesnes as designed landscapes constitute the most inventive, monumental, and certainly the most complex of all artistic creations. The break up of estates through the concerted campaigns of the Land Commission, the commercially driven monocultural policies of the state forestry and latterly the incompatible demands of industrialized agriculture and stealthy spread of sterile golfing resorts means that these fragile and beautiful landscapes have come to represent the rarest and most endangered art forms. The 20th-century decline of the Dartrey demesne on the Monaghan – Cavan border might stand as one of the most egregious examples of the impacts of dispassionate and poorly conceived polices that conspired, wittingly or otherwise, to erase these creations, either in a heartbeat or with a slow and painful demise. It seems unlikely therefore that the same landscape should in recent years have become the focus of two major building restoration projects by a voluntary local community group working with state bodies, which has not only achieved the physical redemption of two exceptional works of classical architecture, but has also brought about greater awareness of the historical and cultural significance of Dartrey as a designed landscape of exceptional quality, and one worth preserving in spite of its degradation.
James Howley pays a visit to the National Gallery as it prepares to reopen following a major refurbishment programme
Raymund Ryan assesses the career of Níall McLaughlin, the Irish architect whose research engages with the values of humanism.
Can the pragmatic 21st-century East range at Trinity College Dublin match the 18th-century splendour of the West Front? James Howley appraises recent developments on the campus
In his design for the new Coast Guard Station in Doolin, County Clare, Dominic Stevens has discovered his architecture of the Burren; an architecture of abstract rocks, describing the material nature of place, writes Steve Larkin
Overcoming the slow down at home, Irish architects Heneghan Peng, Grafton Architects, O’Donnell+Tuomey amongst others have looked to international competitions, but overseas projects are not without risk, writes John McLaughlin
Frederick O’Dwyer follows the evidence to unearth the design sources for Dublin Airport’s original terminal at Collinstown
The new Lexicon is a worthy member of Dublin’s distinguished group of public libraires, writes James Howley in his appraisal of the controversial new building.
Paul Larmour visits the new theatre, which he describes as a boon for the dramatic arts and the most exciting building in Belfast
In his assessment of Fitzgerald Kavanagh and Partners’ award-winning Student Centre at UCD Seán ó Laoire charts the evolution of Ireland’s largest campus since its foundation
As a building commissioned by a State entity charged with the stewardship of a precarious energy resource, Bord Gáis Network Services Centre warrants some reflection on its relevance as a benchmark and path-finder, writes Seán O’Laoire
John McLaughlin assesses heneghan peng’s dramatically sited but elegantly unobtrusive visitor centre for the Giant’s Causeway in Antrim
This summer the Casino in Marino hosts an exhibition that captures the original splendour of the lost demesne, writes Rose Anne White