Desmond FitzGerald (architect)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Desmond FitzGerald (5 November 1911 – 14 January 1987) was an Irish architect. His most notable work is the original
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport () is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of the town of Swords. In 2024, over 34 ...
terminal building.


Early life and family

Desmond FitzGerald was born in
Saint-Jean-du-Doigt Saint-Jean-du-Doigt (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Saint-Jean-du-Doigt are called in Fren ...
, Brittany, France on 5 November 1911. His parents were
Mabel Mabel is an English female name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering the prie ...
(née McConnell) and politician and writer, Desmond FitzGerald. He was the eldest of four brothers, Pierce (1914–1986), Fergus (1920–1983) and
Garret A garret is a habitable attic, a living space at the top of a house or larger residential building, traditionally small with sloping ceilings. In the days before elevators this was the least prestigious position in a building, at the very to ...
(1926–2011). The family moved often once they returned to Ireland, resulting in FitzGerald attending numerous primary schools such as Scoil Bhríghde and Fr
John Sweetman John Sweetman (9 August 1844 – 8 September 1936) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as an Anti-Parnellite Irish National Federation Member of Parliament (MP) in the 1890s, but later radicalised. He was one of the founders of Sinn ...
's school in
Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
. He later attended
Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...
and
Belvedere College Belvedere College Society of Jesus, S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a fee-paying voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. Formally established in 1832 at Hardwicke Street in north inner city Dublin, the school was ...
, and Collège Cantonal Saint-Michel at
Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...
and the Collegio Don Bosco,
Maroggia Maroggia is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 10 April 2022, the former municipalities of Maroggia, Melano and Rovio merged to form the new municipality of Val Mara. History Maroggia is ...
in Switzerland. There he became proficient in Italian and French. In October 1930, he entered
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
(UCD) to study architecture. He graduated in 1934, with a thesis on an airport for Dublin. He spent a time in London studying town planning under
Patrick Abercrombie Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie ( ; 6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English architect, urban designer and town planner. Abercrombie was an academic during most of his career, and prepared one city plan and several regional studies prior ...
. In England he worked on the area plan for the Bexhill Pavilion in Sussex. In July 1938, he married Kay Gore-Grimes. They had three children, Catherine, Desmond and Caroline. From 1945, the family lived at St Declan's,
Killiney Killiney () is an affluent coastal suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. It lies south of Dalkey, east and northeast of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill, in the local government area of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown within ...
, County Dublin.


Career

FitzGerald's first job was with the Department of Industry and Commerce, where he led the design team for the new terminal building at
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport () is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of the town of Swords. In 2024, over 34 ...
from 1937. It was completed in 1940, but was kept a secret due to security concerns relating to the Emergency. He was later awarded the triennial gold medal of the
Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) () founded in 1839, is the "competent authority for architects and professional body for Architecture in Ireland." The RIAI's purpose is "to uphold the highest standards in architecture a ...
in 1943 for the design. In accessing the building in relation to FitzGerald's later work, it is widely accepted that the design was not solely or mostly his, but the design of his team. He was appointed president of the
Architects Association of Ireland An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, and established his own architectural practice on Merrion Square, Dublin. From there, he designed the
Moyne Institute The Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine is a medical research institute within Trinity College Dublin. The institute's building, at the Nassau Street and Lincoln Place end of the TCD campus, was designed by Desmond FitzGerald. The construc ...
,
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
in 1953, a compromise of modernism and traditionalism. Known for his cost control and business acumen, he was the designer of a large number of office and residential developments throughout the 1950s and 1960s.


Qualification

It has been questioned if FitzGerald's passion lay in architecture. As a young man, he wanted to be an
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
, and was known to be an accomplished mathematician. He is said to have confided in some that he shouldn't have become an architect, but an economist. He was appointed professor of architecture at UCD in 1951, and is broadly seen as ineffective in that position overseeing a period which lacked innovation or direction. When it emerged that the students could lose the recognition of their qualifications in Britain, it led to conflict between FitzGerald and the students. They campaigned successfully to have him replaced, and in 1969 he stepped down from the professorship and was appointed as research chair of architecture and town planning, a newly created position. He also served on the
Royal Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was granted ...
as a member. He played an active part in the unsuccessful campaign to save
Frescati House Frescati House (sometimes misspelled 'Frascati') was a Georgian house and estate situated in Blackrock, Dublin. It was built in 1739 for the family of John Hely Hutchinson, the Provost of Trinity College. The house was acquired in 1970 by th ...
. He maintained his architectural practice until shortly before his death on 14 January 1987 in Dublin.


Notable buildings

*
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport () is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of the town of Swords. In 2024, over 34 ...
, original terminal one building (1940) *
O'Connell Bridge House O'Connell Bridge House is a 12-storey office block in Dublin, Ireland. History O'Connell Bridge House was built on the site of Carlisle House, which was built in 1779 and demolished in 1962. O'Connell Bridge House was completed in 1964 and o ...
(1965) *D'Olier House (''c.'' 1970) *St Ann's, a block of luxury apartments, Donnybrook *Dublin Corporation flats on Dominick Street *Headquarters of Cement Ltd, corner of Pembroke Street and
Fitzwilliam Square Fitzwilliam Square () is a Georgian garden square in the south of central Dublin, Ireland. It was the last of the five Georgian squares in Dublin to be built, and is the smallest. The middle of the square is composed of a private park, which f ...
*EEC commission's Dublin office on Molesworth Street (since redeveloped) *Former Department of Justice building,
St Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...
*
Moyne Institute The Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine is a medical research institute within Trinity College Dublin. The institute's building, at the Nassau Street and Lincoln Place end of the TCD campus, was designed by Desmond FitzGerald. The construc ...
,
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
(1953)


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzGerald, Desmond 1911 births 1987 deaths People educated at Belvedere College Alumni of University College Dublin Architects from Dublin (city)