Looking from Molesworth St. down to Molesworth Place. (Picture - Kieran Murphy)
A pretty ugly (the Schoolhouse Lane side anyway) but none the less useful shortcut that links Kildare St. (entrance between the Department of Industry and Commerce and Clerkin Lynch Solicitors) and Molesworth St. (entrance between Whytes Auctioneers and the Irish EU HQ).
Molesworth Place joins into School Lane East. Presuming the latter was named after a school, I wonder where it was and what it was called? (Thanks to comments, I’ve found out there used to a be a school on Kildare Street called ‘Kildare Place National School’)
Beautiful plaque to Molesworth Place (Picture - Monceau)
Now home to the Dawson Car Park, Molesworth Court apartment, One Pico restaurant and Paul’s hair studio. Apparently it’s also been used by protesters in the past (particularly students) to slip by cops and get towards the Dail!
Looking from Kildare St. down to Schoolhouse Lane East
Charting its history using a number of maps:
Looking prominent in 1836 map
Still looking well in 1848
Looks like it was made more narrow and dropped to 'lane status' by 1885
View by 1907
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 
One of the earliest National Schools was founded at Kildare Place which I think is just around the corner from the location above.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kildare_Place_National_School
Ah, thanks for that John.
I think that the historical Kildare Place School has some link to the current Church of Ireland College of Education in Rathmines.
I once spotted an Herman Miller office chair in a skip in Schoolhouse Lane, while I was on my way out of the car park. It turned out to be entirely functional, too, bar one slightly dodgy castor, so the back seats came down and in it went, to live out another 10 years of faithful service.
I attended Kildare Place School in the 1950. It was behind the side of the Kildare St side of the hotel. John Townsend
Hi John:
I was at Kildare Place School in 1950 also. My name was Anthony Nutty – since change to Anthony Kingsley. I live in Southern California.
I don’t remember you – refresh my memory
Also – do you happen to remember the name of the two female teachers – I remember one was Jenkins but the other I think began with a W.
Of course, could never forget Mr. Bailey and Mr. Fitch
The name of the hotel was the Shelbourne.
Anthony
Yes, the Kildare Place school was the C of I training college and was in the area directly between the (appalling) Department of Agriculture building (built about 1972) and the Museum. There’s nothing there now, apart from the statue and the blank screen wall behind with the gate which leads into the Oireachtas & Government Buildings complex. The original Georgian houses were demolished in the late 50s. The whole sorry saga, as well as much else e.g. Hume St in 1969, was documented in Frank McDonald’s book “The Destruction of Dublin” (1985). Unfortunately it’s long out of print but well worth reading if you can get a copy.
My father used to sell news papers on the steps of the Dept of Industry and Commerce.I would see Ministers come and go in their Mercedes.I live in Texas now, thank you for sharing this.Fond memories
Jim Dalton
Hi Anthony
Yes I do remember you; you were a couple of years ahead of me. I think you were in the same class as David Blood, ?.Dagg, Paddy Gibbon, Spud Murphy etc.
I was in the class with Cecil Whitte, (I think you lived in the same apartment block as him at the end of Kevin Street). Robert Stone, and Paddy’s brother, etc.
I do not remember the female teachers’ names. Only the two teachers in the junior school which were as you mentioned, Mrs Jenkins and Mrs Morrison.
I now live in South Africa and have lived in many parts of Africa since 1965.
You have not given me your email address so I hope you see this.
Regards
John
Jettpp1@absamail.co.za
Hi John
I sent u an email but it got returned. Should ur address be @absemail.co.za?
My email is: kingsleya22@yahoo.com
Look forward to hearing from you
Tony
Good morning John:
I sent u 3 emails – 2 using my Yahoo and one using Hotmail but they all got returned. And on 2 I just used the return option
Do u know of a problem?
Tony
Hi Tony,
I replied to you via your Yahoo email address, I will try again. My email address jetpp1@absamail.co.za
The school that Schoolhouse Lane refers to is not the former Kildare Place School, but St Ann’s School and hall which occupied the site of the present European Union House on the corner of Dawson and Molesworth Streets. It was designed by Deane and Woodworth, the same architects that designed the Kildare Street Club (now the Alliance Francais Cafe and National Library Manuscripts reading room), and also the Old Museum Building in Trinity. The school and hall were erected in 1868-ish at which time the same architects were commissioned to redesign the entire facade of the neighbouring St. Ann’s Church and rectory.
Incidently, the Kildare Place Schools and Society, on Kildare Street were the forerunner to the future National Model Schools for teacher training, which appropriately occupied the site of the present Department of Education, Marlborough Street.
Frank.
We often walked down here as kids
Does any remember Faulkner Greison , an antiquarian book dealers on first floor. It was owned by a Noel Jameson?. I used to park my bike on this lane. I locked it to the railings at the back of the mansion house.
My father, parents, siblings, and his grandmother lived at 26 Schoolhouse Lane. My grandfather won some money in the Sweeps and they moved to Bulfin Road in Inchicore in the early 1930’s