Dublin Custom House

Going downstream from O'Connell Bridge on Eden Quay, we come, passing under the unsightly railroad bridge (1889), to the Custom House, a magnificent building designed by James Gandon (1743-1823), an English architect of Huguenot descent who was responsible for many buildings in Dublin. After the building had been completely burned out in 1921, during the Civil War, the exterior was restored on the basis of the original plans. The long facade with the Doric portico and the 125ft/38m high domed tower which surmounts it is best seen from the opposite side of the river. Most of the fine statues and sculpture are by the Dubliner Edward Smyth.

The north front, although less magnificent than the main facade, is also of notable