Refurbished Custom House visitor centre opens

The Custom House, James Gandon’s architectural masterpiece in Dublin, opens to the public today for the first time in more than a decade.

A newly refurbished visitor centre will tell the story of the building and its occupants from its construction, beginning in the early 1780s and lasting 10 years, to its destruction in 1921 and subsequent restoration.

While its part in the Civil War is well known, when the building was gutted by fire that destroyed its dome and most of the interiors, its use during the 1916 Rising is less recognised.

A new exhibition details the events of Easter week 1916 when, within hours of the outbreak of the rebellion, the building was occupied by British forces, largely saving it from destruction at that time.

The Custom House became an army base during Easter week and was also used as a prison with 250 people having been held there after arrest. The exhibition gives the details of some of the more notable figures held, including Roddy Connolly, son of James Connolly, and Frank Thornton, one of Michael Collins's intelligence men. It also tells the stories of local government staff dismissed for participating in the Rising.

Weather room

The exhibition occupies ground- and first-floor rooms in the centre of the riverfront side of the building underneath the dome. It also features a Met Éireann “weather-themed” room which looks at the development of scientific meteorology in Ireland. It has a special focus on the weather of Easter Week 1916, when it was unusually warm, reaching almost 18 degrees, and the weather on May 25th, 1921, when the Custom House was attacked.

Destruction

The first floor of the building details the work of Gandon and the construction of the Custom House. It also features Gandon’s original drawing desk.

The final part of the exhibition deals with the fire in 1921, the destruction of the building and its restoration from 1924-1930.

The visitor centre, which has free entry, will remain open from 10am-4.30pm until April 3rd, but this could be extended if there is sufficient interest, the Department of the Environment said .