Deerfield Residence
| Deerfield Residence | |
| County Dublin | |
|---|---|
 Deerfield Residence | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | O11013549 |
| Location: | 53°21’29"N, 6°19’59"W |
| City: | Dublin |
| History | |
| Address: | Phoenix Park |
| For: | Sir John Blaquiere |
| Ambassadorial residence | |
| Georgian | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | United States government |
The Deerfield Residence is a Georgian grand house in Phoenix Park in Dublin which was formerly known as the Chief Secretary's Lodge. Today is the official residence of the United States Ambassador to Ireland.
The house was built between 1774-1776 and served as the official residence of the Chief Secretary for Ireland, placed just across from the Viceregal Lodge where the Lord-Lieutenant resided. It has been the American Ambassador's official residence since 1927, and before that was the Embassy of the United States of America in Ireland.[1]
The Deerfield Residence stands on 62 acres of private grounds in the centre of the Phoenix Park.
History
Chief Secretary's Lodge
The residence was originally built by Sir John Blaquiere, 1st Baron de Blaquiere, then Chief Secretary for Ireland, and taken over to become the Chief Secretary's Dublin residence in the late 18th century. Until the abolition of the post in 1922 it served as the official residence in Dublin of the Chief Secretary, the second-in-command in the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland's administration. The Chief Secretary played a role akin to a Prime Minister in the administration. Winston Churchill spent some of his childhood living in the Phoenix Park. Following the establishment of the Irish Free State, a number of possible uses for the empty residences in the Phoenix Park were considered, from sale or demolition to turning the Chief Secretary's Lodge into a residence for the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State (Prime Minister).[2] In the mid-1920s plans were made to move the official residence of the Governor-General out of the large and costly Viceregal Lodge to the smaller Chief Secretary's Lodge across the road, but the then Governor-General, Timothy Michael Healy, objected. Instead the Chief Secretary's Lodge was rented on a ten-year lease to the United States government, to become a combined ambassador's residence and embassy, on 19 February 1927.
In January 1938, with the American lease nearly up, the Irish Government decided to make the Chief Secretary's Lodge the official residence of the President of Ireland,[3] but the decision was rescinded when a report from the Office of Public Works advised the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera that the building was structurally unsound and would need expensive remedial work of the sort that could not be completed in time for the planned presidential entry into office in June.[4] The President was instead installed in the vacant Viceregal Lodge nearby. The building was re-rented to the United States government. The embassy was later moved to a purpose-built building in Ballsbridge, leaving the lodge as the Ambassador's residence.
U.S. Ambassador's Residence
Extensive renovations to the house and property were made by the Government of the United States in 1952. In the 1970s, the grounds were christened the name Deerfield by the wife of a United States ambassador on account of the number of deer who roam in the open parkland around the mansion (Phoenix Park). The property consists of 62 acres of lawn, orchards and gardens on which are located the Ambassador's residence, three cottages and a security building at the front gate. The lower ground floor of the residence comprises a ballroom, reception and dining room, library, office, kitchens pantry, staff room and laundry. Six suites, bedroom, bathroom and dressing room, plus a sitting room are located on the upper floor. Outdoor amenities include a seasonal American football field, basketball court and tennis court.
It has been previously suggested that the building should become the residence of the Taoiseach. In 2005, the idea of turning the Chief Secretary's Lodge into a Taoiseach's residence was abandoned when the Office of Public Works instead applied for planning permission to turn the former ranger's residence (Steward's Lodge) in the grounds of the state guest palace, Farmleigh, into a smaller Taoiseach's residence instead.[5] On 5 April 2013 the Irish government sold Deerfield House along with an acre the lodge sits on in Phoenix Park to the United States Government permanently, with the remaining 61 acres still owned by the Irish government. The grounds are operated by the United States Department of State.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Deerfield Residence) |
References
- ↑ "US Embassy marks 50 years in Chancery building". RTÉ News. 23 May 2014. http://www.rte.ie/news/special-reports/2014/0523/619156-us-embassy/. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ↑ Dáil Éireann, Vol 8 Col 68 Committee on Finance 27 June 1924 Template:Webarchive
- ↑ "Report of President Clinton's visit to Ireland". http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/december2000/dec12tues.html.
- ↑ National Archives of Ireland.
- ↑ "US Ambassador’s Residence, Phoenix Park. Dublin City – 1776". Curious Ireland. http://curiousireland.ie/us-ambassadors-residence/. Retrieved 3 June 2014.