Reply To: James Gandon’s LOSING design

I think you denigrate Cooley’s building too easily. Granted it isnt Gandon’s Custom Huuse but then many of Gandon’s other buildings aren’t up to that standard either.

Take the King’s Inns [finished by Henry Aaron Baker] – its main facade onto Constitution Hill is bland and unconvincing while its most impressive view is from Henrietta Street where very little can be seen of the main blocks.

The Four Courts is heavy with a too-shallow portico and overly heavy drum. Like the Custome House and Kings Inns, this benefits from being built on a flat site. Cooley had to contend with an awkwardly sloping site on Cork Hill for his Royal Exchange.