Community & Sponsorship
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About Number 29
Number Twenty Nine Fitzwilliam Street is a restored Georgian house which is run as a museum of Dublin home life for the period 1790 to 1820. It is owned by the Electricity Supply Board and run by ESB in association with the National Museum of Ireland.
Number Twenty Nine - ESB's Georgian House Museum celebrates Heritage Day in style
Dublins's Merrion Square and Gardens Open Day was held on Saturday 27th August to celebrate Heritage Week.
It was a day of special events celebrating the rich and diverse heritage of Merrion Square and its surroundings. The event attracted over 3,000 visitors who availed of the opportunity to see properties not often open to the public and was designed to have something to appeal to all tastes.
The day was marked by a series of events including walks, talks, music, and special activities for children all of which was co-ordinated by the Management and Staff in Number Twenty Nine who took a lead role in co-ordinating the programme which included the participation of the following organisations located in the area -
- National Gallery of Ireland
- Dublin City Council
- National Museum of Ireland
- Dublin Civic Trust
- Irish Georgian Society
- St. Andrew's Church, Westland Row
- St. Stephen's Church (Pepper Canister)
- Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
- Sweeny's Pharmacy
- Irish Architectural Archive
- National University of Ireland
- University of Notre Dame
- Irish Landmark Trust
Number Twenty Nine itself hosted 400 visitors who enjoyed free guided tours and the fact that three of our Guides were appropriately attired in period costume added to the atmosphere not only in our own Georgian House Museum but at a selection of other events hosted by sister organisations.
Background
Number 29 was one of ten houses on Fitzwilliam Street Lower and on Mount Street Upper restored by the Electricity Supply Board in 1988.
The decision to restore these buildings had its historical roots in a commitment ESB gave to Dublin Corporation in 1977: in return for the Corporation allowing ESB to exceed standard plot ratios in the construction of office blocks facing James Street East and Baggot Street Lower, it would undertake to refurbish these key houses in its property portfolio.
Number 29 was last occupied for domestic use around 1916. It lay vacant until its purchase by the newly formed Electricity Supply Board in 1928. It was then used as offices for the organisation until the late 1980s.
Number 29, the museum
Before the opening of the Collins Barracks site, the National Museum of Ireland had little space in which to display its fine collection of Irish decorative arts and furniture.
During the 1988 Millennium celebrations in Dublin city, the Museum used one of the ESB's other Georgian properties to stage an exhibition of Georgian furniture, ceramics, glass, and costumes.
The success of the Millennium exhibition spurred further co-operation, and the idea for Number 29 was born. The house was to become a showcase for such material, inspired in part by Georgian house museums in Edinburgh and Bath.
The museum opened to the public in 1991, to celebrate Dublin's status as European Cultural Capital for that year. Since its opening, it has received over 500,000 visitors from Ireland, Europe, America and beyond.
Number 29, the house
While much of the fabric of the original house has not survived, great care and consideration went into the development of the exhibition.
Many original patterns have been used in the creation of features such as the fine wallpapers, carpets, and curtains, and considerable expertise was deployed in putting together the pieces of this historical jigsaw, and telling the previously untold story of middle class home life in a key period in the history of the nation and its capital.