Aras an Uachtaráin

Residence of the president of the Republic of Ireland, in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Formerly known as Phoenix Lodge and later Viceregal Lodge, this large house dates from 1751 and was designed and built by Nathaniel Clements, a member of Parliament. It was bought by the government in 1782 and subsequently altered and enlarged several times, although the central portion of the house remains much the same as in the 1750s. The library contains an ornate plaster ceiling of Jupiter and the Four Elements brought from Mespil House in Dublin (which no longer exists). The ballroom of 1802 is now the State reception room where foreign dignitaries are received.