Squares, as an architectural form, are found across all ages and in all cultures. The Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dr Steevens Hospital and Trinity College are all early examples of Dublin architecture where a central, enclosed area or garden formed the nucleus for the surrounding building activity. In medieval times Dublin developed haphazardly and organically. However, by the mid-1700s the ascendancy aspired to make Dublin a true capital with wide formal, decorative streets linking a series of elegant, imposing squares. Five Georgian squares emerged from these initiatives, all of which are still prestigious places to live and work today. Parnell Square is the first and perhaps the finest of Dublin’s Georgian squares. The main components of this north-side square are the Rotunda Hospital, the adjacent gardens and the surrounding terraces. This square evolved initially as an offshoot to the Rotunda Lying-In Hospital, which was developed by Dr Bartholomew Mosse as the first charitable maternity hospital for poor and pregnant women in these islands.
