Mansion House, Dublin

The Mansion House on Dawson Street, Dublin, is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin and has been since 1715.

Its most famous features are:

• The Round Room of the House where the First Dáil assembled on January 21, 1919 to proclaim the Irish Declaration of Independence. On January 21, 1969 a special fiftieth anniversary joint session of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann assembled there and was addressed by the President of Ireland, Eamon de Valera.

• Its distinctive metal portico over the main door, erected for the visit of Queen Victoria in 1900;

• The large dining room, where the cabinet of the Irish Republic met on occasion under President de Valera

Its most famous occupants included Lords Mayor

• Daniel O'Connell nineteenth century nationalist leader
• Alfie Byrne[?] (1930s) longest serving Lord Mayor in the 800 year history of the office
• Jim Mitchell (1976-77) the youngest Lord Mayor of Dublin, aged 29, in the history of the office

Famous visitors to the mayoral residence include:

• HM Queen Victoria
• TSH Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco
• HH Pope John Paul II

In the 1930s and 1940s, plans were made to demolish the building, and all other buildings on the block on which it is located (which covered an area on Dawson Street, Molesworth St., Kildare St. and the North side of Saint Stephen's Green[?]), to enable the building of a new Dublin City Hall. However the decision of the Irish Government to erect a new Department of Industry and Commerce on a site on the block, on Kildare Street, led to the abandonment of the plans.

• For more information on Dublin City Council (of which the Lord Mayor is Chairperson) see:-

• Mayoral info website (http://www.dublincity.ie/profile/mayor2.html)