The Building
Refurbishment of 63 Merrion Square - Update
The headquarters of the society in No 63 Merrion Square is now over two hundred years old. The first lease of 63 Merrion Square was dated 3rd January 1787 and was between the Rt Hon. Richard Lord Viscount Fitzwilliam and Joseph Sandwith. Sandwith took out two leases - both for 150 years to build two houses on the site. The rent was £ 9 each p.a
Since the building came into the possession of the Society in 1918 we have carried out a number of refurbishment and development projects. The most important recent development was the construction of the Helen Roe Theatre in 1993.
Managing a historic building like No 63 requires an ongoing programme of maintenance to the fabric and dιcor in order to enable the building to meet the needs of the society and its members and to comply with health and safety and planning legislation. The Society has recently completed the third phase of the five phase programme to refurbish 63 Merrion Square. This programme of works has been implemented under the management of Emer Hearn and Paul Arnold from our architects of Paul Arnold Architects. Financial assistance for this work (on a matching basis i.e. c 50% grants and only for structural work on the fabric of the building) has been generously provided by The Ireland Fund and by Dublin City Council.
The objective of these first three phases has been to ensure that the fabric of the building is stable and secure. We cannot commence work on internal dιcor and refurbishment until the fabric of the building has been stabilized.
The scope of the first three phases of the refurbishment project:
2003 restoration of the front and rear windows grant aided by the Ireland Fund
2004 refurbishment of roof lead and gutters, structural work to the rear of the first floor of the return and restoration of external storage rooms at the basement level grant aided by Dublin City Council
2005 structural work to the rear bow (second and third floor) and to window lintels, painting of rear windows, survey of chimneys and internal walls grant aided by Dublin City Council
The detail of the 2005 phase (which took place in the August October period this year); Painting of sixteen windows to the rear of No 63
Restoration of and painting of drain pipes
Restoration of and painting of two wrought iron window balconies
Inspection of chimneys
Inspection of joists
Inspection of lintels
Support of lintels second floor
Reinforcement of joists second and third floor
Pinning of joists to outside wall third floor
Painting of and installation of new light in the front area
The fine quality of the ceilings in the first floor rooms, makes it even more important to stabilise and refurbish the rooms themselves.
Much of this work is structural and is not visible to users of the building however it critically important that these works are completed before commencing redecoration work inside the building.
The fourth phase scheduled for 2006 - will consist of works to the front of the building including painting of windows, refurbishment of the front door and restoration of the railings and front wall.Cracks are visible in the stone lintel of the front door, and are amongst the necessary repairs.
Over the next few years the Society will undertake a major programme of decoration / upgrading / re-furnishing of the internal rooms in the building including the Helen Roe Theatre, ground floor office, library, hallways and staircases and the two large rooms on the first floor.
As you can imagine all of this work costs significant amounts of money, much of which has been provided from the Societys own resources. Early in 2006 we will be appealing directly to all our members and supporters for both immediate and medium-term financial support for this important project.