1760s – Royal Hibernian Hotel, Dawson Street, Dublin

The former Royal Hibernian Hotel dated back to 1751 as a pair of buildings making up a coaching inn, making it one of the country’s first hotels. Following the Act of Union 1800, the premises became popular with wealthy British and Irish countrymen visiting Dublin. Sold to Charles Bianconi in the 1840s, and the hotel became the terminus in Dublin for Bianconi’s mail coaches.

During the early 20th century a Winter Garden and Ballroom werre added, and the restaurant became known for its haute cuisine. By the 1970s, haute cuisine was falling out of fashion, and the hotel was in terminal decline. Despite an extensive renovation in 1980, the building was demolished in 1984, and redeveloped as The Royal Hibernian Way. This created a new pedestrian thoroughfare.