Custom House, Dublin - Building Maintenance Services External Works

Audrey Farrell

In preparation for the centenary anniversary of the burning of the Custom House, Dublin in May 1921, OPW Conservation Services and Building Maintenance Services (BMS) coordinated and carried out a programme of planned maintenance works to the exterior of the Custom House. The works included cleaning and repointing of granite paving and steps to the surround landscape, painting of 315 linear meters of cast-iron railings, full refurbishment of all windows to the Liffey façade, painting of all 536 windows and external doors, and specialist cleaning and localised repairs of the stone façade.

The overall works were coordinated by Mark Geoghegan, Aidan O'Donoghue and John Larrissy. Dave Farrell, BMS Health & Safety, assisted with the H&S coordination, which had the added complication of COVID-19 restrictions arising during the planning of the works. Dave Lee, BMS Painting Division, coordinated and supervised all painting.

Barry Byrne, BMS Joinery Division, coordinated the joinery unit into pods due to Covid-19 safety precautions. Richard Buckley, James Lynch and Tom Forde were the onsite carpentry team at the Custom House to refurbish all of the sash windows on the south/Liffey façade, which are now all balanced and in full working order including new ironmongery. Where required, extensive window restoration was completed in the BMS joinery workshop at Collins Barracks. Stephen McCabe restored the sash windows using traditional restoration techniques; windows were assessed and repaired with splicing repairs using new timber (southern yellow pine) and retaining as much of the historic timber as possible. Windows would then be primed for painting and re-puttied before being brought back to site for reinstallation. Glass repairs were carried out by glazers Noel Davis and Pat Woods. All projects carried out by the Joinery Division require a lot moving parts regarding the transport of goods and materials from A to B, and Peter O Connor, Paul McDonald and Ciaran Keogh from the BMS joinery division General Operative team are a critical part of the logistics of carrying out these works.

Riverine head in Portland stone, by sculptor Edward Smyth, representing the River Erne, at Custom House, Dublin

All granite and Portland stone façades were given a low pressure, high temperature steam clean.

The South/Liffey Portland stone façade had a greater build-up of black carbon/gypsum on the stone due to the proximity to the road. The Portland stone south/Liffey facade portico with pediment and the ground level windows decorative surrounds, including river gods, had a careful chemical clean with an alkaline cleaning solution which breaks down and softens the carbon/gypsum deposits before rinsing with steam. A full digital scan record of the river gods and the sculpture to the southern pediment has also being carried out, to record the condition and monitor weathering.

Window under repair

In the centre of the pediment high above the Liffey entrance to the Custom House, the two female figures represent 'the friendly union of Britannia and Hibernia' while Neptune is shown driving away famine and despair; personified winds speed the passage of two ships moving in opposite directions, vehicles of imports and exports. Symbols of Ireland’s beef trade and tanning trade are carved on the frieze below. Above the pediment are the Agostino Carlini carved statues of Neptune and Mercury and Edward Smyth carved statues of Industry and Plenty, and that of Commerce on top of the dome.

Pediment figures of Hibernia and Britannia before and after cleaning

Pediment figures of Hibernia and Britannia before and after cleaning

The works to the pediment have been recently featured in architectural historian Christine Casey’s CRAFTVALUE blog: https://craftvalue.org/dublin-custom-housea-view-from-the-pediment/ and reproduced here by kind permission of the author.

Visitor Centre

OPW Heritage Services, on behalf of The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, is managing the refurbishment of the Custom House Visitor Centre. OPW BMS has actively been part of the restoration and fire upgrade works. OPW National Historic Properties will operate the newly presented visitor centre. It will cover not only the 1921 attack and fire but also the history of this remarkable building. Unfortunately due to Covid Restrictions its opening has been delayed until later in 2021.

Heritage Services Team

Commissioner: John McMahon

Conservation Services: John Cahill, Terri Sweeney Meade, Audrey Farrell, Alan Keenan, Dermot Collier, Frances Murphy.

Building Maintenance Services: Dick Browne, Colm Byrne, Bernard Malone, Dave Farrell, Ian Plunkett, Mark Geoghegan, Aidan O’Donoghue, John Larrissy, Dave Lee, Barry Byrne, Stephen McCabe, Richard Buckley, James Lynch, Tom Forde, Peter O Connor, Paul McDonald, Ciaran Keogh, Noel Davis, Pat Woods.

OPW Civil & Structural Services: Kieran Walsh

Photo Credits: OPW and Con Brogan Photography