Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [37]
Some forts were constructed entirely of stone; the Iron Age fort of Dún Aengus on Inishmór is a superb example.
After Christianity arrived in Ireland in the 5th century, the first monasteries were built. The early stone churches were often very simple, some roofed with timber, such as the 6th-century Teampall Bheanáin (Church of St Benen) on Inishmór of the Aran Islands, or built completely of stone, such as the 8th-century Gallarus Oratory on the Dingle Peninsula. Early hermitages include the small beehive huts and buildings on the summit of Skellig Michael off County Kerry.
As the monasteries grew in size and stature, so did the architecture. The 12th-century cathedral at Glendalough and the 10th- to 15th-century cathedral at Clonmacnoise are good examples, although they’re tiny compared with European medieval cathedrals.
Round towers have become symbols of Ireland. These tall, stone, needle-like structures were built largely as lookout posts and refuges in the event of Viking attacks in the late 9th or early 10th centuries. Of the 120 thought to have originally existed, around 20 survive intact; the best examples can be seen at Cashel, Glendalough and Devenish Island.
With the Normans’ arrival in Ireland in 1169 came the Gothic style of architecture, characterised by tall vaulted windows and soaring V-shaped arches. Fine examples of this can be seen in the 1172 Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin and the 13th-century St Canice’s Cathedral in Kilkenny.
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The thatched roof cottage is the oldest extant building style in Ireland, dating back nearly 9000 years.
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Authentic, traditional Irish thatched cottages were built of limestone or clay to suit the elements, but weren’t durable and have become rare, the tradition dying out around the middle of the 20th century.
In Georgian times, Dublin became one of the architectural glories of Europe, with simple, beautifully built Georgian terraces of red brick, with delicate glass fanlights over large, elegant, curved doorways. From the 1960s, Dublin’s Georgian heritage suffered badly, but you can still see fine examples around Merrion Square.
The Anglo-Irish Ascendancy built country houses such as the 1722 Castletown House near Celbridge, the 1741 Russborough House near Blessington and Castle Coole, which are all excellent examples of the Palladian style, with their regularity and classical correctness. Prolific German architect Richard Cassels (also known as Richard Castle) came to Ireland in 1728 and designed many landmark buildings including Powerscourt House in County Wicklow and Leinster House (Click here; home to Dáil Éireann, the Irish government) in Dublin.
Ireland has little modern architecture of note. For much of the 20th century the pace of change was slow, and it wasn’t until the construction of Dublin’s Busáras Station in the 1950s that modernity began to really express itself. It was designed by Michael Scott, who was to have an influence on architects in Ireland for the next two decades. The poorly regulated building boom of the 1960s and 1970s, however, paid little attention to the country’s architectural heritage and destroyed more than it created. From that period Paul Koralek’s 1967 brutalist-style Berkeley Library in Trinity College, Dublin, has been hailed as Ireland’s best example of modern architecture.
Since the 1980s more care has been given to architectural heritage and context, the best example of which has been the redevelopment of Dublin’s previously near-derelict Temple Bar area Click here. Ireland’s recent boom at the turn of the last century spawned a huge growth of building work, of mixed quality, around Dublin. Some good examples in the Docklands area include the imposing Financial Services Centre and Custom House Square; further downriver in the Grand Canal Docks, the centrepiece of the whole area will be a 2000-seat performing arts