{"id":509362,"date":"2026-06-20T09:10:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T09:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/509362\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T09:10:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T09:10:21","slug":"four-courts-dome-decade-long-restoration-of-a-dublin-landmark-finally-ready-to-unveil-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/509362\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Courts dome: Decade-long restoration of a Dublin landmark finally ready to unveil \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a sense of history repeating itself in the view of Dublin<\/a> from Grattan Bridge west along the Liffey towards the Four Courts. Over recent months the dense scaffolding that has shrouded the landmark 18th-century building for the best part of a decade has finally been dismantled, slowly revealing, like a classical striptease only the Romans could concoct, the landmark drum and dome.<\/p>\n

The seductive view of this neoclassical colossus, looming over the chimney tops of Ormond Quay, revives the sensation that stirred its London-born architect, James Gandon<\/a>, to record in his diary in January 1794 that four of the columns, complete \u201cwith their entablature, were raised, and set around the drum of the dome, so that some idea could be formed of what was intended\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also wrote that \u201cthe dome, from its eminence, was now become the most conspicuous feature of the public buildings of Dublin, and from many adjacent parts of the country was seen to imposing effect\u201d.<\/p>\n

Gandon\u2019s pride was also tinged with relief after years of political and financial wrangling that bedevilled the early years of the Four Courts project. It\u2019s a mood that would not be unfamiliar to the design team overseeing its \u20ac11 million conservation, which has taken almost as long as building the entire complex did in the late 18th century.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the boyo that started it all,\u201d Audrey Farrell, senior architect at the Office of Public Works, says, pointing to a photograph of a richly carved capital adorning one of the dome\u2019s 24 columns, which are designed in the Corinthian order. \u201cIt was a fall of masonry from this capital in 2011 that started our investigations into the drum and dome. They were last assessed when we were up there in the 1990s.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019re standing in the OPW\u2019s offices on George\u2019s Quay, downstream from the Four Courts, which coincidentally have sensational views of Gandon\u2019s Custom House masterpiece, on the other side of the Liffey. Covering the boardroom table is a mosaic of photographs documenting the Four Courts project, from investigations into stonework defects in 2015, when the first major scaffolding was erected, to subsequent repairs. <\/p>\n

\u201cBy 2021 we had a very clear picture of what was required,\u201d Farrell says. \u201cMany of the capitals were in distress, and extensive stone and roof works were required in parallel to their repair.\u201d<\/p>\n

That masonry decay was a direct result of the turbulent history of this magnificent building. Constructed between 1786 and 1802 on a scenic bend of the river \u2013 absorbing an earlier public-record office, designed by the architect Thomas Cooley, on the western side \u2013 the Four Courts replaced Dublin\u2019s earlier law courts and offices that had been nestled against Christ Church since the 1600s. <\/p>\n

The new commission was a coup for Gandon, whose concurrent accomplishments at the Custom House \u2013 a project begun in 1781 \u2013 benefited from the deep pockets and architectural ambitions of his influential judicial client.<\/p>\n

\"DublinDublin landmark: the Four Courts in an engraving by WH Bartlett and EJ Roberts, from The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland, published in the early 1840s. Photograph: Universal History\/Getty \"FourFour Courts restoration: the drum and dome of the Dublin landmark stand over neighbouring buildings. Photograph: OPW <\/p>\n

Gandon grabbed the opportunity, parachuting from antiquity on to the Liffey quays a monumental Roman silhouette of a scale and bombast never seen in Ireland before or since. The colossal neoclassical drum, 22 metres in diameter, cleverly compensates for the shortcomings of the site, which was constricted in depth and positioned just out of view of the commercial core of the city, to the east.<\/p>\n

By raising the building like a lantern floating above the city, Gandon delivered usable floor area above its four courtrooms while ornamenting the capital city with a stupendous new landmark.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more monumental than just embodying justice,\u201d says Tom\u00e1s O\u2019Connor, the OPW\u2019s architectural head of conservation in Dublin. \u201cEveryone knows it as part of our collective memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

That recognition is probably best known from the devastating Four Courts bombardment in June 1922, when occupying anti-Treaty parties were attacked by the Free State army.<\/p>\n

The loss of centuries of Ireland\u2019s social and cultural annals in the adjacent public-record office is well known, less so the near-destruction of the Four Courts itself, or just how perilously close the building came to being demolished in the aftermath.<\/p>\n

It was the determination of the principal architect to the board of public works, TJ Byrne, that persuaded WT Cosgrave, the president of the executive council \u2013 taoiseach, essentially \u2013 that the building could even be saved, harnessing every pragmatic tool, from reinforced concrete to judicious stone recycling to stabilise and rebuild its shattered form.<\/p>\n

\"UnderUnder attack: the dome of the Four Courts on fire in 1922. Photograph: Culture Club\/Bridgeman via Getty \"FourFour Courts restoration: Audrey Farrell of the OPW inside the upper dome. Photograph: Enda O\u2019Dowd <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a seriously shell-shocked structure,\u201d Farrell says. \u201cJust think what Byrne had to contend with in the 1920s, with the Custom House, GPO and O\u2019Connell Street all being rebuilt and a shortage of skilled labour. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe had to act fast on saving or letting go [of] the Four Courts. Saving it called for innovative techniques to stabilise the structure and cap the dome as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

That solution came in the form of a new reinforced-concrete dome poured in a near-continuous 36-hour operation, replacing Gandon\u2019s original timber roof. This had the benefit of quickly and economically capping the exposed masonry drum, which was literally belted and braced outside, with a giant steel band, to prevent the walls spreading horizontally under the enormous weight.<\/p>\n

This had the unintended effect of turning the 24 column capitals into load-bearing elements, placing pressure on their delicate carvings. Falling masonry called for repairs as early as the 1940s, and again in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven the position of rotated capitals\u201d \u2013 their damaged faces were turned inward \u2013 \u201ctells us about the thinking in the 1920s,\u201d Alan Keenan, the project architect, says. \u201cThe concentration of rotated capitals on the northeastern elevation of the drum suggests the most damaged elements were moved out of the prevailing wind and rain because of their vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farrell agrees. \u201cEurope is far more familiar with this type of trauma to their historic buildings,\u201d she says, referring to damage inflicted during the second World War. \u201cConservation involves interdependent issues, and we couldn\u2019t have anticipated the scale of [column] capital repair that was required until we physically removed each of the units for inspection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FourFour Courts restoration: a damaged capital. Photograph: OPW \"FourFour Courts restoration: a damaged capital is removed. Photograph: OPW \"FourFour Courts restoration: Andy Waite carves a new capital at Irish Natural Stone in Co Clare. Photograph: OPW \"FourFour Courts restoration: Colin Grehan carves a new capital at Irish Natural Stone in Co Clare. Photograph: OPW <\/p>\n

This daunting task was undertaken by the construction company PJ Hegarty and Irish Natural Stone<\/a>, which is based in Co Clare. \u201cWe exhausted every type of technological survey to find cracks,\u201d Keenan says. \u201cEven capitals we thought were sound on site only revealed defects when they arrived in the workshop in Clare.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an incredibly rigorous process,\u201d O\u2019Connor says. \u201cUnlike at the Notre-Dame restoration\u201d \u2013 in Paris, much of the carving was replaced when the cathedral was restored after its fire of 2019 \u2013 \u201cwe endeavoured to retain as much of the original fabric as possible. In making the new capitals it was important for Ireland that we demonstrated a confidence that we could do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irish Natural Stone, the OPW and masons in England and Scotland carved trial capitals using both automated and traditional methods. The Irish company won the Europe-wide tender to undertake the Herculean carving of 22 of the 24 capitals, each consisting of two stones, overseen by its founder Frank McCormack.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the greatest challenges was trying to understand the original mason\u2019s intent,\u201d he says. \u201cSo much detail had been lost through weathering, fire and damage over time. Rather than simply copying a single surviving capital, each one had to be carefully studied on its own merits before creating a final piece that was both unique and authentically faithful to the original craftsmanship.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCormack\u2019s pride in steering the masonry team is palpable. \u201cOne of the key lessons was recognising the enormous educational value that major conservation works can provide. We\u2019re immensely proud of the quality of craftsmanship the team achieved in our workshops in the Burren and visiting masons from the Compagnons du Devoir<\/a>\u201d \u2212 a French guild of craftsmen \u2212 \u201call learning and refining their skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FourFour Courts restoration: master stonemason Frank McCormack of Irish Natural Stone. Photograph: Enda O\u2019Dowd \"FourFour Courts restoration: a historic capital is reinstated under the dome. Photograph: OPW \"FourFour Courts restoration: a reinstated historic capital. Photograph: OPW \"FourFour Courts restoration: a newly carved capital in place under the dome. Photograph: OPW <\/p>\n

Above the capitals, Gandon\u2019s carefully contrived Roman silhouette has been maintained through the replacement of the 1920s steel band with a new, stainless-steel version. This has been clad with L-shaped pieces of Portland stone, each shaped by hand into a gentle curve the entire way around the drum. <\/p>\n

The bitumen slurry that coated the granite capstones has also been removed, restoring the original classical form.<\/p>\n

Recent works have also extended to street level, conserving Gandon\u2019s arcaded screens and triumphal arches and their 19th-century railings and gates.<\/p>\n

The building\u2019s setting has been significantly enhanced by Dublin City Council\u2019s recent painting of the quayside balustrades in a matching Portland-stone colour.<\/p>\n

Less edifying is the eye-poppingly horrendous array of ugly new antennae on the roof of the Courts Service\u2019s own \u00c1ras U\u00ed Dh\u00e1laigh building next door, which seriously compromise the Four Courts. If we have any respect for Gandon\u2019s legacy, for the teams of craftspeople who have toiled to restore such beauty, and for the scenography of the Liffey, they should be removed with haste.<\/p>\n

Indeed, what better location than outside the Four Courts to host a televised national concert of celebration, with leading music acts, fireworks and a light show centred on this magisterial public building, giving Dublin a much-needed shot in the arm?<\/p>\n

The Four Courts is our capital\u2019s enduring emblem. Its resurrection should be celebrated in grand style.<\/p>\n

Graham Hickey is chief executive of Dublin Civic Trust<\/a><\/p>\n

\"FourFour Courts restoration: scaffolding inside the upper dome during the works. Photograph: OPW \"FourFour Courts restoration: a capital is hoisted to the top of the building. Photograph: OPW \"FourFour Courts restoration: the drum and dome of the 18th-century Dublin landmark. Photograph: OPW \"FourFour Courts restoration: looking down from the upper dome. Photograph: Enda O\u2019Dowd <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a sense of history repeating itself in the view of Dublin from Grattan Bridge west along the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509363,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[615,71903,61,60,166528,43,64428,32235],"class_list":["post-509362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-dublin","tag-dublin-7","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-james-gandon","tag-news","tag-notre-dame-cathedral","tag-office-of-public-works"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}