The Steward's Lodge is a house which was originally part of the

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 ...

estate, alongside 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 tre ...

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 c ...

. It is sometimes used as a residence by the

Taoiseach 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 o ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

Origins

The Steward's Lodge was originally built in the grounds of Farmleigh house – an 18th-century estate which was formerly owned by members of the

Guinness family The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its accomplishments in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout Guinnes ...

. Originally accessible within the grounds of the estate, the lodge was subsequently separated from Farmleigh during later refurbishment works.

Taoiseach's residence

There is no

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

of the

, with each Taoiseach residing in either their own homes, or in an apartment in Dublin. In the 1970s, plans were made to turn the former Apostolic Nunciature (formerly the Under Secretary's Lodge) in the Phoenix Park into an official residence. However, the plans fell through and the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

building was subsequently demolished. In 2006, it was announced by the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) ( ga, Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí) (legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of o ...

that the Steward's Lodge had been renovated, at a cost of nearly €600,000. It was speculated that the house would become the official private residence of the Taoiseach after the 2007 general election and any official engagements would be carried out in the nearby Farmleigh or

Government Buildings Government Buildings ( ga, Tithe an Rialtais) is a large Edwardian period, Edwardian building enclosing a quadrangle on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland, in which several key offices of the Government of Ireland are located. Among the offices o ...

. There was political sensitivity at government level about the project, with some concerned that it could be depicted as a lavish "perk" for the Taoiseach. In 2005, a spokeswoman for

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

stated he had no interest in using it, and he remained resident in his private home in Drumcondra in Dublin. In 2008, it was reported that

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...

might use it as his official residence. Media reports suggest that Garda concerns for the Taoiseach's security precluded him from continuing to reside in his own Dublin home in the city centre. Cowen did not formally reside in the Steward's Lodge, preferring to return to his family home in County Offaly, but he did use it "from time to time". In 2011, it was reported that the then Taoiseach,

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...

, would make use of the residence, however he used it very rarely. Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar resided in his private apartment in Castleknock, but used the Lodge for occasional parties at his own expense. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland The COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Republic of Ireland, it has resulted in 1, ...

it was used as a residence by Varadkar due to its teleconferencing facilities.

References

External links

* {{Irish governmental buildings Buildings and structures in Dublin (city) Department of the Taoiseach Prime ministerial residences Official residences in the Republic of Ireland