Architect: Sir Thomas Ivory
No Interior Access
One of Dublin's great unfinished buildings, the former Blue Coat School now the Law Society seems a curious building minus the tall and flamboyant spire that was intended. The building was started in 1773 but was never fully completed. Due to a lack of funds, the intended spire was never build and in the late 19th Century, the remains were removed and a small dome placed over the tower. All of the original large red brick houses of Blackhall Street have been removed and replaced with corporation housing, destroying the intended vista.
The building is a traditional country house composition with a central block, two wings and interconnecting passages. The central block is dominated by the stump of the intended tower while the two wings have decorative features intended to mirror the design of the central tower.
In the 1990s, the building was heavily restored and its fine interior contains plasterwork by Charles Thorpe and carvings by Simon Vierpyl. A book on the restoration of the building is available from the Irish Architectural Archive.