THE IRISH TIMES

Farewell to the TerraceA move that completes a historic legacy

Benjamin Lee Guinness ofNo 80 St Stephen’sGreen, now IveaghHouse, acquired the

Coburg Gardens at the back of hishouse in 1862.

He had this property, then in aneglected state, landscaped in thestyle that we recognise today asIveagh Gardens. On this site washeld the Great Dublin Interna-tional Exhibition of 1865.

To house that event an impres-sive Winter Garden of glass andiron as well as an ExhibitionPalace in brick and stone facingon to Earlsfort Terrace wereerected.

After the 1865 Event, the Guin-ness family retained the struc-tures for concerts and exhibi-tions. The Winter Garden wassold in 1882 and removed to Eng-land.

The Exhibition Palace alongEarlsfort Terrace was sold the fol-lowing year to the Commis-sioners of Public Works, andoccupied by the then recentlyestablished Royal University ofIreland.

Converted for university pur-poses, it was there between 1883and 1909 that candidates from allover Ireland sat their Royal Uni-versity examinations and did

their science experiments forthese examinations.

And it was here, in the earlyyears of the twentieth century, inwhat had been the Concert Hallof the old Exhibition Palace andnow renamed the Great Hall, thatthe students of the Jesuit-man-aged University College onSt Stephen’s Green protestedagainst the playing of God Savethe King during the conferring cer-emonies.

Under the Irish UniversitiesAct (1908) University CollegeDublin became a constituent col-lege of the National University ofIreland, and a grant was madeavailable for the necessary build-ings. Several possible sites wereexamined before the Collegeauthorities concluded that theEarlsfort Terrace site offered thebest solution.

On five-and-a-half acres, it fellfar short of the acreage providedfor recently established collegesin Britain. RM Butler wasappointed architect, and thebuilding contract was awarded toG and T Crampton.

Butler’s plan proposed a quad-rangle. The front, facing eastalong Earlsfort Terrace, wouldcontain Arts, Commerce andadministration. The north wing,

facing St Stephen’s Green, wouldhouse the science faculty. Thesouth wing, along Hatch Street,would be for medicine. The westwing, backing on to Iveagh Gar-dens, would accommodate thefaculties of Engineering andArchitecture. And a central blocwould enclose the library andAula Maxima.

The construction began in 1912but encountered several difficul-

ties. The most serious problemwas the effect of the 1914-18 warwhich greatly inflated priceswhile the parliamentary grant forbuilding remained as it was fixedin 1908.

When the erection of the pro-posed quadrangle had to be sus-pended (permanently as it turnedout), only the front and northwing had been completed – orless than half the original scheme.

It was the last major buildingproject of the British administra-tion in Dublin; and like thecountry itself, it was left trun-cated as the British withdrew.

And it is not without its ownpeculiar symbolism that the tragi-cally divisive Treaty debates,resulting ultimately in the CivilWar, should have taken place inthe Council Chamber of the unfin-ished Earlsfort Terrace building.

Meanwhile, the number of stu-dents attending UCD wasexpanding beyond every expecta-tion. If the quadrangle at Earls-fort Terrace had been completedit was intended to accommodate1,000 comfortably.

The overcrowding wasrelieved to some extent in 1926 bythe transfer of the College of Sci-ence in Merrion Street to UCD.The relief, however, was tempo-rary, for numbers continued togrow; and a few years later theMedical School had to be movedout of its old premises in CeciliaStreet to add to the numbers inEarlsfort Terrace.

In 1939 Lord Iveagh offered hishouse and gardens as a gift to thenation. The government decidedto keep Iveagh House for theDepartment of External Affairsbut was prepared to lease to UCDthe use of the gardens and theriding-school grounds alongsidethe northern end of Earlsfort Ter-race, and to grant a new Engi-neering and Science building atthe Hatch Street end in lieu of theCollege of Science in MerrionStreet.

The Hatch Street schemeproved too cramped without theacquisition of Crawford’s garageat one end or the laundry at the

other. Hopes of acquiring LordIveagh’s tennis-courts weredashed when this site wasreserved for a civil servants’ res-taurant.

Plans for the erection of aSchool of Architecture in the gar-dens behind the Catholic Univer-sity houses, numbers 82-86 StStephen’s Green, had to be aban-doned because the Office ofPublic Works objected on thegrounds that the building wouldinterfere with the privacy and theamount of sunlight falling on thegarden of the Department ofExternal Affairs.

Efforts to purchase MespilHouse and property in Peter’sPlace also failed. And when thegovernment made it clear thatcompulsory purchase powerswould not be forthcoming, theUCD authorities decided on a sub-urban campus at Belfield.

When this became public, for-midable and bitter opposition tothe proposed move from the citygathered momentum.

A Commission on Accommoda-tion Needs, under the chairman-ship of Mr Justice Cearrbhall ÓDalaigh, reported in 1959 infavour of the transfer of UCD toBelfield, and the Dáil approved itin 1960.

Meanwhile, drastic over-crowding necessitated severalmakeshift adjustments. In thedecade 1959–1969 student num-bers more than doubled frommore than 4,700 to more than10,200. The overcrowding cre-ated favourable conditions forthe student revolt and occupa-tions of the late 1960s.

UCD’s evacuation from theTerrace, which began with theopening of the science building inBelfield in 1964, has taken a longtime to complete.

Its Great Hall was handed overin 1977 for a resplendent future asthe National Concert Hall. TheConcert Hall shared Earlsfort Ter-race with UCD’s Departments ofMedicine and Engineering.

After a century, UCD bids fare-well to the Terrace. Those of uswho have been its privileged, iftemporary, occupants may, attimes, have suffered in its over-crowding. More often, we willhave enjoyed the camaraderiewhich it engendered, and willever be grateful for the memoriesawakened there.

❑ Prof Donal McCartney attendedUCD as an undergraduate in 1948and was professer of Modern IrishHistory there from 1978 to 1994

FACULTY CONNECTIONS

Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 Editor – Madeleine Lyons Telephone: 01–6758283 email: specialreports@irish-times.ie

EARLSFORT TERRACE: notable events

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WEARING THE TROUSERS

1883 Earlsfort Terrace comes intouse.1908 The Royal University of Ire-land is dissolved and the NationalUniversity of Ireland, comprisingDublin, Cork and Galway, is born.Queen’s College, Belfast,becomes Queen’s University.1909 Denis Coffey is appointedthe first president of UCD as thecollege opens its doors.1911 Land donated by Lord Iveaghof Guinness-brewing fame helpsthe university expand in EarlsfortTerrace, Hatch Street and StStephen’s Green.1913 Eoin MacNeill, professor ofearly Irish history at Earlsfort Ter-race and a grandfather of MichaelMcDowell, calls for the establish-ment of an Irish nationalist force,

the Irish Volunteers, to counteractthe UVF in the North.1914 Just as the First World Warstarts, the new buildings at Earls-fort Terrace start to be completed.They’re designed by Rudolf Maxi-milian Butler. He was head of archi-tecture in UCD between 1924 and1943. Butler’s classical designwon the 1912 competition for the

new buildings at Earlsfort Terrace.However, they were plagued bystructural and labour problems.1916 Easter Rising Many UCDstaff, students and alumni takepart in the Rising, led by PatrickPearse. He was educated at theRoyal University, forerunner ofUCD. Many UCD people go on totake part in the subsequent War ofIndependence, 1917–1921.

The Kevin Barry window wasinstalled in the Council Chamber,commemorating a medical stu-dent who was hanged for his partin an ambush on British soldiersduring the War of Independence.1919 For the next three years, theHouses of the Oireachtas arehoused in UCD at Earlsfort Terraceand in December, 1921 and Jan-

uary, 1922, extensive parliamen-tary debates are held there.1931 The medical school movesto Earlsfort Terrace from its oldhome in Cecilia Street.1933 The grounds committeebuys Belfield House and 18 hec-tares on the Stillorgan Road forplaying fields and sports facilities.1935 The Irish Folklore Commis-

sion is established at Earlsfort Ter-race.1939 By the start of the secondWorld War, the college is thelargest third-level institution in theState. During the Emergencyyears, two students at EarlsfortTerrace were the late Charles JHaughey and Dr Garret FitzGerald.1947 Dr Michael Tierney isappointed President. It was hewho conceived the idea of movingUCD to the suburbs and over thenext 17 years, he was muchinvolved in the purchase of vasttracts of land at Belfield.1949 The university buys Mon-trose, which is later swapped withthe Ardmore acreage. Montrosesubsequently becomes RTÉ’sheadquarters.

1954 UCD celebrates centenary.1962 The first sod is turned atBelfield and the president of thetime, Eamon de Valera, kneels tokiss the ring of ArchbishopMcQuaid.1965 Brenda O’Hanrahan is thefirst woman to wear trousers inclass.1966 Journalists who cut their

teeth on UCD student newspa-pers, such as Awake and Campus,include Conor Brady, VincentBrowne and Kevin Myers.1970 The move to Belfield fromEarlsfort Terrace begins, with theArts and Commerce faculties firstto go. Paddy Keogh, the headporter at Earlsfort Terrace, whospent a lifetime working at the Ter-race, since 1916, moves to Belf-ield. The following year, 1971, heretires and is awarded an Hon-orary Master of Arts.1981 The National Concert Hall isopened in what had been theGreat Hall at Earlsfort Terrace.2004 Dr Hugh Brady is appointedPresident, succeeding Dr Art Cos-grove.2007 UCD finally vacates Earlsfort

Terrace, with the last engineeringand medical students transferringto Belfield. A major redevelopmentplan will turn the National ConcertHall into a major multi-purpose con-cert venue. The 2007 edition ofUCD Connections will include amajor retrospective of the Earls-fort Terrace campus.

– Hugh Oram

As UCD prepares toleave EarlsfortTerrace in Dublincity centre, ProfDonal McCartneyrecalls many ofthe historic eventsthat shaped it

Right: a statue in the Iveagh Gardens– the Earlsfort Terrace backyard

A SPECIAL REPORT

The medicine,law andengineeringfacultiesrecalled P4-5

Dr Hugh Brady,president ofUCD, outlineshis vision of thecollege’s future P3

Women inUCD – fromstudents toleaders P6