The general post-office, Dublin, was at first held in a small building
on the site of the Commercial Buildings, and was afterwards removed to a
larger house opposite the bank on College Green (since converted into
the Royal Arcade;) and on January 6, 1818, the new post-office in
Sackville-street was opened for business.
The foundation-stone of this magnificent building, which is built after
a design of Francis Johnson, Esq., was laid by his excellency Charles,
Earl of Whitworth, August 12, 1814, and the structure was completed in
the short space of three years, for the sum of 50,000l.
The front, which extends 220 feet, has a magnificent portico (80 feet
wide), of six fluted Ionic columns, 4 feet 6 inches in diameter. The
frieze of the entablature is highly enriched, and in the tympanum of the
pediment are the royal arms. On the acroteria of the pediment are three
statues by John Smyth, viz.--Mercury on the right, with his Caduceus and
purse; On the left Fidelity, with her finger on her lip, and a key in
her hand; and in the centre Hibernia, resting on her spear, and holding
her shield. The entablature, with the exception of the architrave, is
continued along the rest of the front; the frieze, however, is not
decorated over the portico. A handsome balustrade surmounts the cornice
of the building, which is 50 feet from the ground. With the exception of
the portico, which is of Portland stone, the whole is of mountain
granite. The elevation has three stories, of which the lower or basement
is rusticated, and in this respect it resembles the India House of
London, where a rusticated basement is introduced, although the portico
occupies the entire height of the structure.
Over the centre of the building is seen a cupola, containing the chimes
and bell on which the clock-hammer strikes. The bell is so loud, that it
is heard in every part of the city.
The interior is particularly remarkable for the convenience of its
arrangement, and the number of its communicating apartments. The
board-room is a very handsome apartment, furnished with two seats, which
are for the postmasters-general. Over the chimney-piece, protected by a
curtain of green silk, is a bust of Earl Whitworth, in white marble, by
John Smyth.
* * * * *