The Mansion House

The Mansion House has been at the heart of city government since 1715. Construction started in 1705 and it was intended as a townhouse for Joshua Dawson, the developer of Dawson Street and Nassau Street. Joshua Dawson seldom lived in the house. Ten years later and still partly unfinished, it was sold to Dublin Corporation for £3,500 (€4,444), in addition to an annual rent of 40 shillings and an agreement to provide a loaf of double refined sugar, weighing six pounds at Christmas.

The Mansion House is remarkable for many reasons:

• It is the only mayoral residence in Ireland which is still used for its original purpose
• It is the oldest Mayoral residence in Ireland and in Britain (Dublin preceded London by 15 years in providing an official house for its mayor)
• It is the oldest free-standing house in Dublin
• The Round Room hosted the inaugural meeting of Dáil Eireann on 21st January 1919

Tours of the Mansion House

The Mansion House is in use for Lord Mayor events and functions.  It is open to the public annually as part of the Culture Night and Open House initiatives and occasionally for public open days.  If you would like to arrange a tour of the Mansion House for a group, please contact the Office of the Lord Mayor at [email protected] and your request will be brought to the attention of the Lord Mayor.

Visiting the Mansion House?

If you have a meeting with the Lord Mayor or are attending a meeting or event hosted by the Lord Mayor, access is up the front steps of the building.  Please ring the doorbell and the House Steward will assist you.

If you are attending an event in the Oak Room organised by another organisation, access is to the left side of the building and through the door to your right at the end of the walkway.

Access to the Mansion House for those with a disability is via a platform lift which can be found to the left of the building.

The Oak Room is equipped with a hearing loop (sometimes called an audio induction loop) sound system for use by people with hearing aids.  Please set to ‘T’ (Telecoil) setting.

There is no parking at the Mansion House but there is a public car park immediately behind it just off Schoolhouse Lane.  For further information and directions please see: https://www.q-park.ie/en-gb/cities/dublin/dawson-street/ 

There is CCTV in operation at the exterior of the Mansion House.