Deerfield Residence facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Deerfield Residence |
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Deerfield Residence
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| Former names | Chief Secretary's Lodge |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| Location | Chesterfield Avenue, Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°21′29.5″N 6°19′59.3″W / 53.358194°N 6.333139°W |
| Current tenants | United States Ambassador to Ireland (since 1927) |
| Construction started | 1774 |
| Completed | 1776 |
| Owner | United States government (since 2013) |
The Deerfield Residence is the official home of the United States Ambassador to Ireland. It is located in the beautiful Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland.
This large building has been the Ambassador's official home since 1927. Before that, it was even the actual U.S. Embassy in Ireland. It's an old building from the 1700s, sitting on huge private grounds of 62 acres (about 250,000 square meters). It is right across from Áras an Uachtaráin, which is the official home of the President of Ireland.
Michael Clausen has been the U.S. ambassador to Ireland since 2025.
Contents
History of Deerfield Residence
Early Days as Chief Secretary's Lodge
The Deerfield Residence was first built by Sir John Blaquiere. He was the Chief Secretary for Ireland, a very important government role back then. In the late 1700s, the building became his official home in Dublin.
The Chief Secretary was like a Prime Minister for Ireland at that time. Famous people like Winston Churchill, who later became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spent some of his childhood living in Phoenix Park. The Chief Secretary's job ended in 1922.
Becoming the U.S. Ambassador's Home
After Ireland became the Irish Free State, many ideas were discussed for the empty homes in Phoenix Park. One idea was to make the Chief Secretary's Lodge the home for the Irish Prime Minister. However, this did not happen.
Instead, in 1927, the Irish government rented the Chief Secretary's Lodge to the United States government. It became both the U.S. Ambassador's home and the embassy.
In 1938, the Irish government thought about making it the home for the President of Ireland. But they found out the building needed a lot of expensive repairs. So, the President moved into another nearby building, and the Chief Secretary's Lodge was rented to the U.S. government again. Later, the U.S. Embassy moved to a new building, and the Lodge became only the Ambassador's residence.
Deerfield Residence Today
In 1952, the U.S. government made many big improvements to the house and its property. In the 1970s, the wife of a U.S. ambassador named the grounds "Deerfield." She chose this name because many deer roam freely in the park around the mansion.
The property is very large, with 62 acres of lawns, fruit trees, and gardens. It includes the Ambassador's main house, three smaller cottages, and a security building at the front gate.
The main house has a ballroom, reception rooms, a dining room, a library, and offices on its lower floor. Upstairs, there are six suites, each with a bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room. Outside, there's an American football field, a basketball court, and a tennis court.
In 2013, the Irish government officially sold Deerfield House and one acre of land to the United States government. The remaining 61 acres are still owned by the Irish government. The U.S. Department of State manages the property.
Many U.S. presidents have stayed at Deerfield during their visits to Ireland. These include John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden. Other presidents, like Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, stayed elsewhere for security reasons because the property is so large.
Security at Deerfield is handled by both Irish police (the Special Detective Unit) and U.S. security teams (the Diplomatic Security Service and Marine Corps Embassy Security Group).
Important People Who Lived Here
From the United Kingdom
Many important people from the United Kingdom lived at Deerfield when it was the Chief Secretary's Lodge. Some of them include:
- Sir John Blaquiere
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
- Sir Robert Peel
- Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
- James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce
- Lord Randolph Churchill
- Sir Winston Churchill
From the United States
Since 1927, every U.S. Ambassador or envoy to Ireland has lived at Deerfield Residence. The first U.S. envoy to live there was W. W. McDowell.
See also
- Ireland–United States relations
- Embassy of Ireland in Washington, D.C.
