Sir, – The acquisition by the Irish Georgian Society of the former Dublin Civic Museum on South William Street from Dublin City Council on a 30-year lease (Home News, July 25th) will breathe new life into one of the capital’s most historic buildings.
In pointing out the historic importance of the museum to the city of Dublin, Donough Cahill, executive director of the Irish Georgian Society, notes the building is thought to have been the first purpose-built public exhibition gallery in Ireland or Britain.
The Dublin Civic Museum has indeed had a most chequered and interesting past and was used by Dublin city councillors and aldermen as a debating chamber up to the mid-19th century. However, the museum was also the site of Dublin’s first fire brigade station in 1863. Following the bombing of Nelson’s Pillar in 1966, Nelson’s “head” was for a time exhibited in the museum. – Yours, etc,