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Built to accommodate the Irish House of Lords and House of Commons, the building is almost as magnificent as its English counterpart. Three architects were involved in its creation: Sir Edward Lovett Pearce designed the Palladian central block, with temple and portico flanked by colonnaded wings, in 1729; James Gandon contributed the portico to the east in 1785; and Richard Parkes added the western Ionic portico. In 1803, the building was taken over by the Bank of Ireland.

Originally rectangular in shape, Dublin Castle was designed as a “keepless castle”, involving four circular corner towers and, midway along the south wall, a fifth tower. However, much of the medieval castle was destroyed by fire. The remodelling we see today began at the turn of the 18th century.

The first of architect Richard Cassels’ notable Dublin houses, sadly the only part that now remains of the original is the first-floor saloon. Sir Benjamin Guinness linked two houses into one in the 1870s. His grandson, the second Earl of Iveagh, later presented the house to the Irish Government.

Designed by Richard Cassels in 1745, Leinster House is notable for its two contrasting façades, one resembling a townhouse, the other a country abode. Built for the Earl of Kildare, since 1921 it has been the seat of Dáil Eireann , the Irish Parliament.

This powerful looking building with its grand entrance was designed in 1771 by Robert Mack as a home for the third Viscount Powerscourt. The first-floor reception rooms, by Michael Stapleton, and the elegant hall can still be appreciated even though the house was imaginatively converted into a shopping precinct in 1981.

Purpose-built as the first maternity hospital in Europe, founded by Dr Bartholomew Mosse in 1745, the building was designed by Richard Cassels. A number of other distinguished architects had a hand in the creation of the adjoining Assembly Rooms, which now comprise a cinema and the Gate Theatre: John Ensor designed the rotunda in 1764, while the porches were added by Richard Johnston in 1784 and James Gandon in 1786.