Decades before it housed the County Council, imagine the lively debates echoing within these very walls of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Hall. This building has quite a history. Let’s uncover its story.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Hall was formerly known as Dún Laoghaire Town Hall. Before that, it was Kingstown Town Hall. The municipal facility stands proudly on Marine Road.
After significant population growth linked to harbour development, Kingstown appointed town commissioners in 1855. They quickly saw the need for a town hall. A suitable site on the sea front was selected in the early 1870s. The foundation stone was laid in November 1877. John Loftus Robinson designed it in the Lombard Romanesque style. Meade & Son built it from ashlar stone. The cost was £16,000. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Hall officially opened on April 20, 1880.
The main frontage is symmetrical. It has nine bays facing Marine Road. The central bay projects forward slightly. It features a recessed doorway with lancet windows. Colonnettes flank the doorway. On the first floor, there is a balcony. An arcade features three round-headed windows with architraves. Coloured voussoirs and colonnettes decorate these windows. The central bay has an entablature. The words “Town Hall” are carved into it. A pediment surmounts the bay. The wings each have four bays. Round-headed windows with architraves and coloured voussoirs adorn both floors. The first-floor windows are flanked by colonnettes. On the east side, a four-stage tower rises 120 feet. It provides access to a courthouse. The tower features a round-headed doorway. Round-headed windows are in the second and third stages. Clock faces are in the fourth stage. A pyramid-shaped roof surmounts it all.
Inside Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Hall, the principal rooms were carefully planned. A courtroom occupied the ground floor. A large assembly room and a board room were on the first floor. These were for the town commissioners.
In 1899, the building became home to Kingstown Urban District Council. It was renamed Dún Laoghaire Town Hall before the Irish Free State formed in 1920. The Corporation of Dún Laoghaire made it their home in 1930. Éamon de Valera, the Irish republican and leader of Fianna Fáil, even gave a speech there in November 1930.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Hall also hosted concerts and plays. The Pike Theatre Players performed their first play there in 1951. It was called The Millstone. Alan Simpson and Carolyn Swift founded the theatre group.
Extensive refurbishment took place in 1990. The plaster and timberwork were replaced at a cost of £800,000. Gerry McEvoy designed the refurbishment. Following the Local Government Act of 1993, the old post office was converted. It became an entrance block for a large extension. McCullough Mulvin-Robinson Keefe Devane designed this extension around a central courtyard. It was built west of the town hall. The complex was renamed County Hall. It reopened as the headquarters of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council in the mid-1990s.
Further refurbishment costing €3 million occurred in 2018. This significantly changed the internal layout.
Now, as we stand before Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Hall, remember its journey. From Kingstown Town Hall to the modern County Hall. It has been a witness to history. It has been a center for community and governance. Its walls hold stories of change and progress.