1865 – Former Town Hall, Blackrock, Co. Dublin

The Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act 1854 allowed electors of populous places to choose to establish town commissioners. This enabled many newer communities that had never had municipal status to gain local government bodies.

This led to the establishment of the Blackrock Town Commissioners which also included Monkstown and Booterstown within the jurisdiction. The building cost more then was originally intended and £1,500 had to be borrowed to complete it. The total cost was £3,500 and an extension was added to the building in 1880.

The building was designed with five bays in neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone. The central bay, which is slightly projected forward, features a round headed opening flanked by pairs of Ionic order pilasters supporting a cornice.

The postcard shows the former town hall (on the left), the library (in the centre) and the former technical institute (on the right). The Carnegie library, dates from 1905 and was the centre-piece to the long façade of buildings (the technical institute was built as a mirror image of the townhall). Andrew Carnegie provided a grant of £3,000, although again the project went over budget. It ceased to be the local seat of government in 1930 when Blackrock became part of the borough of Dún Laoghaire. The entire complex now accommodates the Blackrock Further Education Institute as well as an enlarged public library.