Mornington House

Mornington House was the Dublin social season Georgian residence of the Earls of Mornington. It is in Merrion Street, close to Leinster House, the former city residence of the Dukes of Leinster, where the Irish parliament now sits.

Arthur Wellesley, the fourth son of the Earl of Mornington, later a Field Marshal(1813), then 1st Duke of Wellington(1814) and British Prime Minister, is said to have been born there, though other sources suggest he was born in the family's country seat, Dangan Castle, near Summerhill, County Meath. His mother gave 1 May as his birthday, and he himself so kept it, but the nurse affirmed that he was born on 6 March at Dangan Castle, Co. Meath. The registry of St. Peter's Church, Dublin, shows that he was christened there on 30 April 1769, and the May number of Exshaw's Gentleman's Magazine has "April 29. The Countess of Mornington of a son." The Dublin Gazette of 2–4 May dates the event "a few days ago, in Merrion Street".

The house was later sold and for most of the twentieth century was the headquarters of the Irish Land Commission. For some years it was considered as a possible residence for the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland. It was, however, sold in the 1990s and is now a popular international hotel. The Merrion Hotel comprises a block of four houses in a terrace on Upper Merrion Street, of which Mornington House is the leftmost when viewed from the front. The houses were built in the 1760s by Charles Monck, 1st Viscount Monck for wealthy Irish merchants and nobility. He lived in No. 22, which became known as Monck House. The hotel also incorporates, as a separate business, Dublin's only 2-star Michelin restaurant, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud.

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