merrion street

The Visitor Centre at the Custom House re-opened to the public on 17 March 2016 as part of a longer term project to provide public access to one of the finest buildings in Dublin in the context of the Decade of Centenaries.

Over 7,000 people, including 1,400 on Easter Monday alone, have visited the exhibition, housed in the river-facing south side of the building, As a result of this level of public interest it has been decided that the Visitor Centre will remain open until mid-September 2016.

The current exhibition outlines the history of the Custom House with a new focus on the “Decade of Centenaries”. It describes events in the building during Easter Week 1916 and considers the history of the Custom House and its occupants from then until 1921, when the building was completely destroyed by fire during the War of Independence. In addition to the exhibition, the Visitor Centre itself is an example of some of finest neo-classical architecture in Europe.

It is intended to expand the exhibition throughout the decade to illustrate the prominent role of the Custom House during that particular period in Ireland’s history.
Additional information:
- Opening dates/times: Daily, 10:00 to 16:30
- Accessibility: Wheelchair users can access the Visitor Centre through the main reception of the Custom House on Beresford Place. Arrangements should be made in advance by contacting the Department’s Disability Access Officer (Physical Access) at 01 888 2411 or by email at accommodation@environ.ie or CHvisitorcentre@environ.ie

- The four main elements of the exhibition are:
· The Custom House and 1916, including the story of some Local Government Board staff dismissed for participating in the Rising, Bureau of Military History statements of prisoners in the Custom House after the Rising, and activity in the vicinity during the Rising.
· Met Éireann’s ‘weather-themed’ room looks at the development of scientific meteorology in Ireland with a special focus on the weather of Easter Week 1916 and the weather on 25 May 1921, when the Custom House was attacked. It highlights the unfailing commitment of weather observers who took daily weather readings, sometimes against all odds.
· Gandon, telling the story of the architect James Gandon and the construction of the Custom House.
· The Custom House Fire 1921, covering the events of 25 May 1921 and the subsequent restoration.