The Department's Headquarters in Leeson Lane

Leeson Lane is situated off Lower Leeson Street, just 30 metres south of the junction with St. Stephen's Green South and Earlsfort Terrace. There is a bilingual fingerpost located at the top of Leeson Lane indicating our location. A limited public car-parking facility, using a standard 'pay-and-display' system, is available at the premises; alternatively, there is a public car-park beneath the nearby "St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre" complex.

The Leeson Lane Complex

The Department's Leeson Lane complex consists of 4 distinct building types: a Georgian terrace (fronting unto Leeson Street); a modern office block containing the main entrance to the Department; a multi-storey Edwardian red-brick building (known as the "Nurses' Home") and "Spruce House", a standalone building with a granite and brick front.

The Georgian terrace consists of the remnants of numbers 93, 94, 95 , 96 and 97 Lower Leeson Street, all of them former residences dating back to the 17th Century. At present, the various buildings are interconnected internally to provide spacious office accommodation to Departmental staff, with the result that many of the original interiors have been modified. There are some interesting Georgian doorways facing onto Lower Leeson Street, and numbers 95 and 96 have fine period rooms at first floor level.

The modern office block, also known as the main block, dates from the 1980s and houses the bulk of the administrative staff of the Department. Its top floors are currently shared with Coillte, the State Forestry Board. The main block is interconnected with the Georgian terrace and linked by overhead tunnel to the "Nurses' Home",where the headquarters of the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) are located. The main block has a courtyard at the rear that can be seen from the glass-walled bay stairwell behind the main reception area.

The interesting Department-owned building at the bottom end of Leeson Lane is "Spruce House", a former dispensary of "St. Vincent's Hospital". The premises have an attractive classical elevation as well as a fine period doorway. The inscription over the front door is dedicated to Mr. Charles Lawlor of the "Imperial Hotel", Dublin, who funded its construction. The dispensary would still be known to many older Dubliners who availed of medical assistance there during the first half of the 20th Century. "Spruce House" was used as a dispensary until a new facility was built elsewhere in the city in the 1960s.

The Department building at 26-27 Eden Quay, Dublin 1

Eden Quay is a riverside street straddling the Liffey that is bounded by "O' Connell Bridge" to the west and by "Butt Bridge" to the east. The premises at 26-27 Eden Quay, a double-fronted building overlooking the river and the only Department-owned complex located in the northern side of the city, stand near the "Customs House", one of Dublin's most famous landmarks, with only the overhead "Loop Line" railway bridge acting as a separation between the two. The Department's offices at Eden Quay can be reached from Dublin Airport by taking either the 746 and 747 "Dublin Bus" services to Busaras, Dublin's central bus station, or a taxi. Eden Quay itself is located just a short distance from Busaras. Tara Street DART ("Dublin Area Rapid Transport") station is also located nearby. There are no car-parking facilities available except in nearby streets and car-parks; the nearest multi-storey car-park can be found at the "Irish Life" complex in Lower Abbey Street.

The Offices of the Marine Survey Office (MSO) and the Mercantile Marine Office (MMO)

The Department's Eden Quay complex houses the offices of both the Marine Survey Office (MSO) and the Mercantile Marine Office (MMO). Its location by the river is no accident as the building was purposely built in the 19th Century to house marine offices commissioned by the London-based British Board of Trade for the Irish Marine Board.

The Department complex at "Beggars Bush", Haddington Road, Dublin 4

The Department's "Beggars Bush" complex is located on Haddington Road near the Dublin suburb of Ballsbridge. From Dublin Airport, take a taxi or car to the south city (Dun Laoghaire direction), cross Mount Street Bridge and proceed further south to the junction of Northumberland Road and Haddington Road. Once there, take a left. The main arched gateway into the complex is then 100 metres to your right.

"Beggars Bush" is a mixed-use complex design to contain both office and residential accommodation. There are also 2 museums within the complex - the Labour History Museum and the Print Museum. The premises are walled as they were originally an army barracks dating back to 1827. They also hold a certain level of historic significance in that they were the first British military emplacement to be appropriated by the Irish Government in the wake of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1922. "Beggars Bush" subsequently became the headquarters of the Government Stationery Office.

The Offices of the Petroleum Affairs Division (PAD) and the Exploration and Mining Division (EMD)

The Departmental offices at "Beggars Bush" accommodate the Petroleum Affairs Division (PAD) and the Exploration and Mining Division (EMD), both of them located in the modern office block facing the arched entrance of the complex. Enter to the right of the block where there is a directional sign in the lawned area. The block is shared with the Labour Court and the Geological Survey of Ireland. Adequate car-parking facilities are available within the premises.

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, 29-31 Adelaide Road, Dublin 2, Ireland
Tel +353-1-6782000 Fax +353-1-6782449