Leinster House, Parliament building and former ducal palace in Dublin, Ireland
Leinster House is a three-story limestone building with Georgian and Palladian style features in Dublin. The central entrance area is framed by two symmetrical wings that give the complex a balanced appearance.
Richard Cassels designed the residence in 1748 for the Earl of Kildare as an urban home. Later the Royal Dublin Society purchased the property and used it until the Irish Parliament moved in after independence.
The name comes from the province of Leinster, granted to James FitzGerald when he became first Duke of Leinster in 1766. The Oireachtas meets here: Dáil Éireann in a chamber adapted from the Royal Dublin Society's lecture theatre, and Seanad Éireann in the Duke's former ballroom. The term 'Leinster House' is used as a metonym for Irish political activity.
The complex sits between Kildare Street and Merrion Square, with the National Library and National Museum wings flanking the former ducal palace. The Kildare Street frontage once carried John Hughes's seated bronze of Queen Victoria, unveiled in 1908 and removed in 1947. On the Merrion Square side stands a triangular monument to Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins and Kevin O'Higgins.
The architecture served as inspiration for James Hoban's design of the White House in Washington. Both buildings share similar proportions and classical facade elements from the 18th century.
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