Where to find Leinster House

Visit the Oireachtas - Leinster House Website

About Leinster House

Leinster House was built in 1747 and houses the National Parliament of Ireland. Originally named after its builder James Fitzgerald, the Earl of Kildare, it was called Kildare House. In 1776 the Earl became the Duke of Leinster and renamed his home, Leinster House. The House was designed by the architect, Richard Cassels, and it is believed that the design was copied by James Hoban, the Irish architect who built America’s White House. The House was sold to the Royal Dublin Society in 1815. Among other changes the RDS added a lecture theatre which later became the Dail Chamber. When the Irish Free State was established in 1922 the new Government used part of the house for parliamentary business and in 1924 the State acquired the House entirely. Since then Leinster House is the seat of both houses of the National Parliament. The Oireachtas (National Parliament) is made up of Dail Eireann (The House of Representatives) and Seanad Eireann (The Senate).

Visitors will enter Leinster House via the Kildare Street entrance. Visitors interested in the story of Irish Freedom will want to see an original framed copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Also of particular interest are the portraits of two of the leaders of this fight for Irish freedom, Michael Collins and Cathal Brugha.

Distinguished visitors are received through the official entrance in Merrion Square. This entrance leads through a red marble doorway to the Garden Room which is adorned with pictures of visiting Heads of State and Government. <

The Library of the Houses of the Oireachtas extends the width of the building but is restricted to Members of the Oireachtas.

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