Part 88 - Cenotaph, Leinster Lawn, Dublin

A postcard print of the Cenotaph monument on Leinster Lawn (situated on the Merrion Square side of Leinster House). The Cenotaph was unveiled on 13 August 1923 to commemorate both Arthur Griffith, the President of Dáil Éireann, and Michael Collins, the revolutionary leader who was killed during the Civil War. It was designed by Professor George Atkinson (1880-1941), the headmaster of the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. Plaques showing Griffith and Collins in relief were placed at the base of the cross with an inscription taken from the Annals of the Four Masters which read ‘Do Chum Glóire Dé agus Onóra na hÉireann’ (For the Glory of God and the Honour of Ireland). Following the assassination of Kevin O’Higgins, a leading Irish Free State minister, in 1927, an additional plaque was fixed to the monument. The Cenotaph was replaced with a more permanent structure (designed by the OPW architect Raymond McGrath) in 1950.