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.
O'Connell Street, Dublin viewed from an open top tour bus.
Palace Gardens by Dublin City Hall which can just be seen on the left. This area is now a rather bland open square with seating.
