Spectral mansions by Timothy Murtagh

In 1800, Dublin was one of the largest and most impressive cities in Europe. The city’s townhouses and squares represented the pinnacle of Georgian elegance. Henrietta Street was synonymous with this world of cultural refinement, being one of the earliest and grandest residential districts in Dublin. At the end of the eighteenth century, the street was home to some of the most powerful members of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. Yet, less than a century later, Dublin had been transformed from the playground of the elite, into a city renowned for its deprivation and vast slums. This is a story of adaptation, not only of buildings but of people. It is a story of decline but also of resilience. ‘Spectral Mansions’ charts the evolution of Henrietta Street over the period 1800 to 1914.