Description

This building was completed in 1729, during Dublin's Georgian heyday. It was home to the Irish parliament and it was from here that Henry Grattan - whose statue stands outside - declared "Ireland is now a nation": a defiant assertion of independence by the 18th-century Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. "Grattan's Parliament" was short-lived, however, and eventually forced to vote itself out of existence to endorse the Act of Union with Great Britain in 1801. The building became a bank in 1803 and you can now tour its Georgian splendour with guides in period costume. If you're having a hard time getting your head around the intricacies of Irish history, this is a good place to start.