(; "Residence of the President"), formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

and principal workplace of the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...

. It is located off Chesterfield Avenue in the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and t ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. The building design was credited to amateur architect

Nathaniel Clements Nathaniel Clements (1705 – May 1777) was an Irish politician and financial figure, important in the political and financial administration of Ireland in the mid-18th century. Early history Clements was the fifth son of Robert Clements (1664� ...

but more likely guided by professionals ( John Wood of Bath, Sir

Edward Lovett Pearce Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1699 – 7 December 1733) was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of Palladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, Sir John Vanbrugh. He is be ...

and

Richard Cassels Richard Cassels (1690 – 1751), also known as Richard Castle, was an architect who ranks with Edward Lovett Pearce as one of the greatest architects working in Ireland in the 18th century. Cassels was born in 1690 in Kassel, Germany. Alth ...

) and completed around 1751 to 1757.

Origins

The original house was designed by park ranger and amateur architect Nathaniel Clements in the mid-18th century. It was bought by

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

in the 1780s to become the summer residence of the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

, the British

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

in the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label= Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

. His official residence was in the Viceregal Apartments in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the s ...

. The house in the park later became the ''Viceregal Lodge'', the "out of season" residence of the Lord Lieutenant (also known as the Viceroy), where he lived for most of the year from the 1820s onwards. During the Social Season (January to

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

in March), he lived in state in Dublin Castle. Phoenix Park once contained three official state residences. The Viceregal Lodge, the

Chief Secretary's Lodge The Deerfield Residence (formerly the Chief Secretary's Lodge) is the official residence of the United States Ambassador to Ireland. The premises has been the Ambassador's Official Residence since 1927, and was previously the Embassy of the ...

and the Under Secretary's Lodge. The Chief Secretary's Lodge, now called Deerfield, is the official residence of the United States Ambassador to Ireland. The Under Secretary's Lodge, now demolished, served for many years as the Apostolic Nunciature. Some historians have claimed that the garden front portico of Áras an Uachtaráin (which can be seen by the public from the main road through the

) was used as a model by Irish architect James Hoban, who designed the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

in Washington, D.C. However, the porticoes were not part of Hoban's original design and were, in fact, added to the White House at a later date by

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, dra ...

Phoenix Park Murders

In 1882, its grounds were the location of the Phoenix Park Murders. The

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century u ...

(the British Cabinet minister with responsibility for Irish affairs),

Lord Frederick Cavendish Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish (30 November 1836 – 6 May 1882) was an English Liberal politician and ''protégé'' of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone. Cavendish was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland in May 1882 but was ...

, and his undersecretary, Thomas Henry Burke, were stabbed to death with surgical knives while walking back to the residence from

. A small insurgent group called the

Irish National Invincibles The Irish National Invincibles, usually known as the Invincibles, were a freedom fighter organization based in Ireland active from 1881 to 1883. Founded as splinter group of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the group had a more radical agenda, ...

was responsible. The 5th Earl Spencer, the then

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibilit ...

, heard the victims' screams from a window in the ground floor drawing room.

Residence of the Governor-General

In 1911, the house underwent a large extension for the visit of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

and Queen Mary. With the creation of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

in December 1922, the office of Lord Lieutenant was abolished. The new state intended to place the new representative of the Crown,

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Tim Healy, in a new, smaller residence, but because of death threats from the

anti-treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

IRA, he was installed in the Viceregal Lodge temporarily. The building was at the time nicknamed "Uncle Tim's Cabin" after him, in imitation of the famous US novel ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U ...

'' by the US author

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the har ...

. It remained the official residence of the

Governor-General of the Irish Free State The Governor-General of the Irish Free State ( ga, Seanascal Shaorstát Éireann) was the official representative of the sovereign of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. By convention, the office was largely ceremonial. Nonetheless, it wa ...

until 1932, when the new Governor-General,

Domhnall Ua Buachalla Domhnall Ua Buachalla (; en, Daniel Richard "Donal" Buckley; 3 February 1866 – 30 October 1963) was an Irish politician and member of the First Dáil who served as third and final governor-general of the Irish Free State and later served as ...

, was installed in a specially hired private mansion in the southside of Dublin.

Residence of the President

The house was left empty until 1938, when the first

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...

, lived there temporarily while plans were made to build a new presidential palace on the grounds. The outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

saved the building, which had been renamed ''Áras an Uachtaráin'' (meaning house or residence of the president in Irish), from demolition, as plans for its demolition and the design of a new residence were put on hold. By 1945 it had become too closely identified with the presidency of Ireland to be demolished, though its poor condition meant that extensive demolition and rebuilding of parts of the building were necessary, notably the kitchens, servants' quarters and chapel. Since then, further restoration work has been carried out from time to time. Barack Obama at Áras an Uachtaráin

President Hyde lived in the residential quarters on the first floor of the main building. Later presidents moved to the new residential wing attached to the main house that had been built on for the visit of King George V in 1911. However, in 1990

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

moved back to the older main building. Her successor,

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...

, lived in the 1911 wing. Though Áras an Uachtaráin is possibly not as palatial as other European royal and presidential palaces, with only a handful of state rooms (the state drawing room, large and small dining rooms, the President's Office and Library, a large ballroom and a presidential corridor lined with the busts of past presidents (Francini Corridor), and some fine eighteenth and nineteenth century bedrooms above, all in the main building), it is a relatively comfortable state residence. All

taoisigh The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the office ...

as well as government ministers receive their seal of office from the president at Áras an Uachtaráin as do judges, the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, the

comptroller and auditor general An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Fre ...

, and senior

commissioned officers An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

of the

Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces *Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army *Australian Defence ...

. It is also the venue for the meetings of the Presidential Commission and the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

. Áras an Uachtaráin also houses the headquarters of the

Garda Mounted Unit The Garda Mounted Support Unit ( ga, Marcaonad an Gharda Síochaná) is the horseback mounted division of the Garda Síochána. It is part of the Operational Support Unit which provides specialist support to Gardaí nationwide. The Operational Su ...

. The Office of Public Works completely furnishes the private quarters of Áras an Uachtaráin for the presidential family.

Visitors

Various visiting British monarchs stayed at the Viceregal Lodge while Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, notably

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

and

. American presidents hosted there include John F. Kennedy,

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

. Former Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

has also visited. Other famous visitors to Áras an Uachtaráin have been

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

Aung Sang Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...

Prince Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

and

Princess Grace of Monaco Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

; King Baudouin of Belgium;

King Juan Carlos King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

and

Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía of Greece and Denmark ( el, Σοφία; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spain from 1975 to 2014 as the wife of King Juan Carlos I. She is the first child of King Paul of Greece and Fred ...

;

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

;

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

; Indian prime-ministers

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

and

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

; and

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

. On 17 May 2011,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

became the first British monarch to visit the residence in 100 years, on the occasion of her state visit to Ireland. She was welcomed by President

, inspected a

guard of honour A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

, signed the visitors book and planted an Irish oak sapling. Guests do not normally stay at Áras an Uachtaráin. Although it has 92 rooms, many of these are used for storage of presidential files, for household staff and official staff, including military aides-de-camp, a secretary to the president, and a press office. Foreign dignitaries usually stay at

Farmleigh Farmleigh is the official Irish state guest house. It was formerly one of the Dublin residences of the Guinness family. It is situated on an elevated position above the River Liffey to the north-west of the Phoenix Park, in Castleknock. The ...

, the State reception house, located close to Áras an Uachtaráin in

Castleknock Castleknock () is an affluent suburb located west of the centre of Dublin city, Ireland. It is centered on the village of the same name in Fingal. In addition to the suburb, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: ...

. On 1 May 2004, during Ireland's six-month presidency of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, Áras an Uachtaráin was the Venue for the ''European Day of Welcomes'' ( Accession Day) in which ten new members joined the EU. All 25 heads of government attended the flag raising ceremony in the gardens of the building. A large security operation involving the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gove ...

and the

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used i ...

closed off Áras an Uachtaráin and the Phoenix Park. Like most OPW buildings, Áras an Uachtaráin is open for free guided tours every Saturday.

References

External links

President of Ireland website – Áras an Uachtaráin

Virtual tour of the state rooms

Visiting information at Heritage Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aras An Uachtarain Buildings and structures in Dublin (city) Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth Official residences in the Republic of Ireland Presidential residences Royal residences in the Republic of Ireland Office of the President of Ireland Museums in Dublin (city) Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in Dublin (city) Government buildings completed in 1780 Phoenix Park 1780 establishments in Ireland