powerscourt town house

Now an award winning shopping centre this palazzo was built for the 4th Viscount Powerscourt, Richard Wingfield, as a family town house. Of magnificent cut stone the design by Robert Mack was built between 1771 and 1774.
The fine rococo plasterwork in the staircase, hall and salon was executed by Irish stuccodores James McCullough and Michael Reynolds. The bill for the plasterwork in the hall presented in 1765 came to IR106.
Unusally the house and its offices were laid out around a hollow square, this has now been enclosed and is a centre for crafts, antiques, shopping and a variety of restaurants.
The refurbished Powerscourt Town House was nominated by the Irish Government as a national demonstration project for submission to the Council of Europe as part of its 1981 Europe and Campaign for Urban Renaissance.