Liberty Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Liberty Hall |
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Halla na Saoirse
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Liberty Hall, the headquarters of SIPTU with the Custom House, Butt Bridge and Loopline Bridge in the background
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Architectural style | Postmodern |
| Address | Eden Quay |
| Town or city | Dublin, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°20′54″N 6°15′19″W / 53.3483°N 6.25527°W |
| Construction started | 1961 |
| Completed | 1965 |
| Affiliation | The headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union |
| Height | |
| Tip | 59.4 m (195 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 16 excluding ground floor |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Desmond Rea O'Kelly |
| Known for | Dublin's fourth tallest storeyed building and Ireland’s first tall building |
Liberty Hall (Irish: Halla na Saoirse) is a famous building in Dublin, Ireland. It is the main office for a group called SIPTU, which stands for the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union. A union is an organization that helps workers.
The building was designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly and finished in 1965. For a while, it was the tallest building in Ireland, standing 59.4 meters (195 feet) high. Today, it is the fourth tallest building in Dublin. Liberty Hall is very important because of its long history. It was once the headquarters for the Irish Transport and General Workers Union and also for the Irish Citizen Army (ICA).
Contents
A Look Back at Liberty Hall's Past
The first Liberty Hall building was located near the Custom House in Dublin. It used to be a hotel before it became the main office for the Irish Citizen Army.
Helping Families During the Lock-out
In 1913, there was a big workers' strike in Dublin called the Dublin Lock-out. During this time, many workers and their families had no money for food. Famous women like Maud Gonne and Constance Markievicz set up a soup kitchen at Liberty Hall. They made sure that hungry families could get warm meals there.
A Message of Freedom
When the First World War started, a large banner was hung on the front of Liberty Hall. It read: "We Serve Neither King nor Kaiser, But Ireland." This showed that the people inside Liberty Hall were loyal only to Ireland.
The ICA also printed their newspaper, The Irish Worker, inside the building. The British government tried to stop the newspaper because they thought it was causing trouble. They used a law called the Defence of the Realm Act. Even after the first paper was stopped, others like The Worker and The Workers' Republic were printed. James Connolly edited The Workers' Republic from 1915 until 1916.
Liberty Hall and the Easter Rising
Before the Easter Rising in 1916, Liberty Hall was secretly used to make weapons. Bombs and bayonets were made there for the upcoming rebellion. On Easter Monday, the leaders of the Rising gathered in front of Liberty Hall. From there, they marched to the General Post Office to begin their fight for Irish freedom.
The leaders left Liberty Hall empty during Easter Week. However, the British authorities did not know this. They thought the building was still important for the rebels. So, they chose Liberty Hall as the first building to attack with their cannons. The building was completely destroyed during the Rising. But, it was later rebuilt exactly as it was before.
The Modern Building
In the late 1950s, the old Liberty Hall building was found to be unsafe. It was taken down, and the current building was constructed between 1961 and 1965. This new building has sixteen floors.
In 1972, a car bomb caused damage to the building's windows. After this, the original clear windows were replaced with reflective ones. A special viewing platform, which had just opened, also had to be closed.
In 2006, SIPTU announced plans to build a new, taller headquarters on the same spot. They wanted a 22-storey building that would be about 100 meters tall. This new building would have had offices, a theater, and a "heritage center" to tell its history. In 2012, Dublin City Council gave permission for the new building. However, another group called An Bord Pleanála later said no to the plans. They decided that such a tall building would be "too big" for the city.
Liberty Hall was also featured in a TV show. A documentary about the building was shown on RTÉ One in May 2009.
