Saint Patrick’s Hall, State Apartments, Dublin Castle

Co. Dublin Ireland

St Patrick’s Hall is one of Ireland’s greatest ceremonial rooms. It was developed in the mid-eighteenth century as the Castle’s ballroom. In 1788, the Italian artist Vincenzo Waldré began work on the painted ceiling that survives today as the most important scheme of its type in Ireland. The hall was for many years the meeting place of the Knights of St Patrick, Ireland’s chivalric order of knights whose flags still adorn its walls. Over the years it has been used to entertain some of Ireland’s most prominent State visitors including John F. Kennedy, Princess Grace of Monaco and Queen Elizabeth II. Since 1938 it has been the setting for the State’s most significant ceremonial occasion, the inauguration of the President of Ireland.

1845: Memento Mori is currently presented in Saint Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle, July 22nd- August 23rd, 2022

Image credit: Barry Cronin

Dublin Castle | The nerve centre of historical power in Ireland