Lower O’Connell St. Info

I don’t know of any drawings but there’s a book in Hanna’s bookshop on Nassau St at the moment – I think its just called ‘The Rising’ – and it has loads of pics of the street just after 1916 – it would appear that these corner buildings survived with just broken windows.
The book was €30 last year but now is €7.99

One of the buildings on Bachelors walk just underneath the nasty Baileys sign is an original Georgian I think, albeit in appalling condition and coated in yellow paint. For this to have survived is remarkable.
The drab corner building with O’ Cll St with the fire escape tacked on at the top appears to be pre-1916

Little help I know but…
Might have some relevant pics at home I’ll drag out

Passed yesterday – they’re all Georgian – the corner building also, it was just rendered over because it’s brickwork was riddled with bullet holes. The building next door – its bricks were never rendered over, and although it fared better than its neighbour, its facade is crumbling away, presumably partially to do with 1916.

I don’t know how detailed you need, but wouldn’t the O’Connell St IAP be a good place to start.
If you went to DCC IAP section I am sure they would have a lot of what you are looking for, I know when doing a project on the North East Inner city a few years ago they couldn’t have been more helpful

The first one in on O’Connell Street is Georgian too, with a fifth storey and a fancy gable added in the late nineteenth century. The brickwork to the lower part of the facade is original, but dyed that strange colour.

It is often said that 42 upr O’Connell Street is the last Georgian house on O’C St., but this block of buildings on the Bachelors Walk cnr are late-Georgian.

A number of buildings at the Henry St./Upr O’C St. cnr are also Georgian or immediately post-Georgian.

I’m just looking at a picture of the first building now, and certainly the window proportions are that of a Georgian – can’t believe I overlooked this building before, bloody Victorians and their Dutch frippery!
I’ve always liked that gable nonetheless.
The whole building was covered in nasty blue paint in the 70s.

Here are some pics of the corner buildings with Henry St (from a previous posting) which are probably the oldest on the street – dating from around 1743-45.

There are differences in the various artists’ accuracy with regard to windows etc.

There are several useful photos in a recent book, well a booklet really, called

” A walk through rebel Dublin 1916″
by M o’Farrell ISBN 1 85635 276 5

Interesting images GH. The buildings at the corner of Henry St are older than I’d thought.

A few more of the 2 bay 5 storey Georgians on Lr. O’C St may survive at 49 (Champion Sports) behind a Victorian facing and 50 (MacDonalds) – may have some original brick surviving. But you’d need to get inside and see the detailing etc. to be sure.

Two definite Georgians survived next door to this (where Schuh is now) until the 1970s. There’s a good picture of them in that new book on the Harcourt St rail line.

So much for Lr. O’Connell Street being completely levelled in 1916.

Indeed – most of this terrace survived, even if it didn’t survive the 70s!

I thought of Champion Sports as an original as well – unfortunately it is an example of very average Victorian design. And the dirt does it no favours either.

I saw the pics of the Georgians in the Harcourt book as well (then put it back on the shelf and sneaked out of the bookshop)

Supermacs is a fine building – unfortunately the schuh bldg beside it does it no favours at all, the window courses arn’t even continued.
Schuh is a disgrace as it stands out like a sore thumb.

It’s facinating that the Henry St corner bldgs are amongt the oldest Georgians in the city considering how the rest of the street was destroyed, the fact that they were right beside the GPO in 1916, and that the street’s buildings have been subject to such changes in fashions – hence demolitions and alterations etc. For these to have survived is extraordinary.
One indicator of their age is evident on the Henry St facade, where there’s still an original window. Note how small it is, and the panes of glass, and how unadorned and simple the surround is – so typical of the early/mid 18th century.

It would be fantastic if the render and pediments etc could be removed and the original brickwork exposed. It would look great and complement the GPO so well.
This is how so much of Dublin was planned – have simple classical, brick clad ‘ordinary’ stock contrasted with major stone feature buildings, like the GPO.

In their current state they’re an eyesore, and slap-bang on the nodal point of the street.