Kilmainham Courthouse

The two hundred year old Kilmainham Courthouse sits adjacent Kilmainham Gaol and just opposite the Royal Hospital home to IMMA. It operated as a courthouse until recent years and this project was phase one of a masterplan to integrate the building as part of the Kilmainham Gaol Museum. This fine old building was past her glory days, but with care and attention to detail, we worked hard to bring it back to be seen as the superb example of 19th century architecture it is.

Works involved repairing the roof structure, re-building chimneys, reslating the roof with salvaged slates, laying new copper valleys and lead cappings to parapets. The facades of cut and random stone were re-pointed and some elevations finished with lime render. Structural repairs were carried out internally where cracking in walls was evident using the heli-bar system.

Lath and plaster ceiling fixings were strengthened, tying the diaphragm back to timber beams in the attic void. Door and window linings were removed, recorded and stored in advance of further work phases. The roof of the outbuildings had deteriorated and was fully renewed and reslated. The lath and plaster ceiling to the outbuildings was reinstalled by Lissadell’s specialist craftsmen.

• The project included the use of an over-roof constructed of scaffolding to enable the uninterrupted completion of roof replacement and to protect the building’s internal fabric.

Location  Kilmainham, Dublin 8
Sector  Heritage
Value  €1M
Surface  1000 m²
Year Completed  2014
Client  OPW

Architects  OPW Architects & Mahoney Architecture
Engineers  Malachy Walsh & Partners
Quantity Surveyors  Leonard & Williams QS