Irish Architectural Archive, Archive and museum at Merrion Square East, Dublin, Ireland
The Irish Architectural Archive occupies 45 Merrion Square, a Georgian house built in 1794 for Gustavus Hume and restored between 2002 and 2004 by the Office of Public Works. It holds over 250,000 architectural drawings and more than 400,000 photographs, the largest body of historic architectural records in Ireland, alongside a reference library of over 15,000 prints.
Founded in 1976 by Edward McParland and Nicholas Robinson as the National Trust Archive, it began at 63 Merrion Square under An Taisce, with Nick Sheaf as first director. Renamed the Irish Architectural Archive in 1981 under Alistair Rowan, it moved to 73 Merrion Square. It gained national archive status in 1996 and moved to 45 Merrion Square, a 1794 Georgian house restored in 2002–2004.
The collection reflects how Irish architects designed buildings across different periods and styles, shaping the country's built environment. Walking through the displays shows how construction methods and design ideas changed over time.
The venue is housed in a historic Georgian building and welcomes visitors on weekdays with free access to view the collections. It helps to call ahead or check online before visiting to confirm opening times and any special arrangements for viewing materials.
The archive holds the original design of Leinster House by Richard Castle, along with drawings from Augustus Pugin's Irish practice of the late 1830s, among its founding items. It also keeps the Peter and Mary Doyle Collection, bequeathed by the modernist architects, and in 2001 Maurice Craig donated two thousand pictures.
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