Pearse Steet Garda Station
The building of the Custom House for Dublin was the idea of John Beresford, who became first commissioner of revenue for Ireland in 1780. In 1781 he appointed James Gandon as architect. This was Gandon's first large scale commission. Construction started in 1781, it was completed and opened for business on 7 November 1791, and had cost £200,000 to build – a considerable sum at the time. The four facades of the building are decorated with coats-of-arms and ornamental sculptures by Edward Smyth representing Ireland's rivers. Another artist, Henry Banks, was responsible for the statue on the dome and other statues. As the port of Dublin moved further downriver, the building's original use for collecting custom duties became obsolete, and it was used as the headquarters of the Local Government Board for Ireland. During the Irish War of Independence in 1921, the Irish Republican Army burnt down the Custom House, in an attempt to disrupt British rule in Ireland. Gandon's original interior was completely destroyed in the fire and the central dome collapsed. A large quantity of irreplaceable historical records were destroyed in the fire. Despite achieving its objectives, the attack on the Custom House was a setback for the IRA as a large number of Volunteers were captured either during the attack or when falling back. After the Anglo-Irish Treaty, it was restored by the Irish Free State government. The results of this reconstruction can still be seen on the building's exterior today – the dome was rebuilt using Irish Ardbraccan limestone which is noticeably darker than the Portland stone used in the original construction. This was done as an attempt to promote Irish resources. Further restoration and cleaning of the stonework was done by an Office of Public Works team in the 1980s. Today it houses the Department for Planning, Housing and Local Government.
The Garden of Remembrance (Irish: An Gairdín Cuimhneacháin) is a memorial garden in Dublin dedicated to the memory of "all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish Freedom". It is located in the northern fifth of the former Rotunda Gardens in Parnell Square, a Georgian square at the northern end of O'Connell Street. The garden was opened by Eamon de Valera during the bicentenary of the Easter Rising in 1966. The Garden was designed by Dáithí Hanly. It is in the form of a sunken cruciform water-feature. Its focal point is a statue of the Children of Lir by Oisín Kelly, symbolising rebirth and resurrection, added in 1971. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II laid a wreath in the Garden of Remembrance during her state visit to Ireland in May 2011, a gesture that was much praised in the Irish media, and which was also attended, upon invitation, by the widow and daughter of the garden's designer Dáithí Hanly.
