John Skipton Mulvany (1813 – 10 May 1870) was a notable Irish architect. Most of the buildings he designed are still in daily use and are well preserved.
Life and career John Skipton Mulvany was born in 1813 in Dublin and was the fourth son of painter Thomas James Mulvany, a founding member of the Royal Hibernian Academy along with his brother John George.Langtry, Joe and Nikki Carter, eds. Mount Jerome: A Victorian Cemetery. Staybro Printing Ltd., Dublin 1997. p. 11
Mulvany was an apprentice to architect William Deane Butler, who was responsible for many fine classical courthouses and Gothic churches. Mulvany was a neo-classicist who developed his own personal style, which has been termed 'Graeco-Egyptian'.
In September 1833, he exhibited his sketches for the first time at the Royal Hibernian Academy.
He was later appointed as architect for the Dublin and Kingstown Railway and designed stations along the route. In 1836, he was established in private practice and was commissioned to design an extension for the Salthill Hotel, Monkstown for the railway company.
In 1842, he designed the clubhouse for the Royal Irish Yacht Club and later became the first architect to join the Royal Irish Yacht Club in 1854.
In 1845, Mulvany was appointed company director of the Midland Great Western Railway Company, a position he held for five years at a salary of £250. After these five years, he was only paid for specific jobs only. Mulvany designed the Athlone MGWR railway station, Mullingar railway station, and Galway railway station. He also designed railway hotels in Athlone and in Galway, which is now known as The Hardiman. In 1846, he designed the Dublin Broadstone railway station.
He later cultivated people of wealth and influence in Victorian Dublin, mainly Quakers (though he himself was a Roman Catholic), thereby gaining important commissions.
Following the death of his father, he moved out of the family house to Brighton Vale, Seapoint. He likely designed the neighbouring buildings.
He is said to have designed Longford Terrace and Trafalgar Terrace in Monkstown.
From 1847 to 1855, he had offices at 175 Great Brunswick Street (Now Pearse Street). Alfred Gresham Jones was a notable employee of his, who drew three of the four designed exhibited by Mulvany in 1853 at the Royal Hibernian Academy.
Mulvany was a close friend of William Dargan, and in 1855, he designed a Belvedere tower for Dargan's house, Mount Anville.
On 14 Apr 1846, Mulvany married Eleanor Burke.
In 1850, he was elected Associate at the Royal Hibernian Academy. He continued to exhibit his sketches until 1868.
On 3 of July 1852, Eleanor died of tuberculosis. The couple had no children, and Mulvany never remarried.
In 1857, he moved to Sandymount. Later that year, he was commissioned to renovate Mayfield House by the Malcomson family of Portlaw. It was originally designed by architect William Tinsley in 1840.
In 1863 he became director of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company.
In 1864, he designed Woodlock House.
1867, William Dargan passed away. His tomb was designed by Mulvany.
He also designed Harold's Cross Episcopal church, and Gigginstown House in Westmeath.
He died in May 1870 due to cirrhosis of the liver and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium.
Legacy In Albert E. Richardson's 1914 book Monumental Classic Architecture in Great Britain and Ireland, the Dublin Broadstone railway station was praised as a building that expressed 'the character of its purpose'.
In 1952, Maurice Craig also praised the Dublin Broadstone railway station.
See also
:Category:John Skipton Mulvany buildings
References