Much of the original plasterwork in this house was done by Michael Stapleton, who also decorated the library at Belvedere College and several houses on St Stephen’s Green. The plasterwork was considered a fine example of Stapleton’s work and was photographed in the 1960s by Constantine Curran for his book on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century plasterwork. By coincidence, Curran and Joyce were friends at university, and Curran later wrote a book of memoirs of their time together in Dublin. By the time the house was taken over by the Joyce Centre in 1982, some of the plasterwork had already been destroyed. Where this had happened it was possible to reproduce the original plasterwork thanks to Constantine Curran’s photographs. Throughout the building, the friezes, cornices, and the decorative plasterwork on the walls are original. Some of the ceilings, including those in the large rooms upstairs, are reproductions.
Press ‘A’ to learn more about Professor Dennis J Maginni… Press ‘B’ to learn more about the plasterwork in the house… Press ‘C’ to listen to Senator David Norris discuss his role in saving the building…