The Cellar Bar at The Merrion

Twenty years before this project began, I walked the foundations of this building for the first time. When The Merrion invited me back to renovate their iconic Cellar Bar, the brief was both clear and demanding: to refresh one of Dublin's most celebrated spaces without disturbing what made it irreplaceable.

Working within an 18th century vaulted cellar beneath a five-star Georgian hotel, the renovation preserved the integrity of the original structure while introducing a new layer of contemporary Irish craft and creativity. The Merrion already housed over ninety works of 19th and 20th century Irish art, so commissioning the finest emerging Irish makers for the space felt like the only honest next step.

The result brought together an exceptional group of Irish collaborators: stained glass by Peter Young, fused glass ceiling panels by Glasshammer, leather poetry panels by Roisin Gartland, decorative paint by Nathaniel Clements, lighting by Britelux and Mullan Lighting, solid oak furniture by Stephen O'Briain and Alan Meredith, and Irish tweed from Mourne Textiles.

Poetry created for the project by President Michael D. Higgins.

It was a celebration of what Irish craft can achieve when given the right setting.