The Custom House, Dublin

The Custom House is the grand riverside government building before you, designed by James Gandon in Palladian architecture. Its dome and broad stone façades give the building a powerful presence, but its history is marked by destruction and renewal. Construction began in 1781, and the building opened for business on 7 November 1791, after costing £200,000.

Edward Smyth supplied ornamental sculptures representing Ireland’s rivers, while Henry Banks created the statue on the dome. In 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Republican Army burned the building to destroy tax records. The fire consumed Gandon’s interior and brought down the dome.

The Irish Free State later restored the building; the replacement dome uses Ardbraccan limestone, darker than the original Portland stone. A visitor experience now explores the building, its burning, and its restoration.