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Custom House Fire 11 images Created 18 Nov 2015

The neo-classical Custom House on Dublin's opened in 1791. The building was attacked and destroyed by fire by members of the IRA's Dublin brigade on 25 May 1921. The attack had both a practical and propaganda value. In 1921 the Custom House was primarily devoted to local government. The attack was also intended to counter British propaganda depicting the IRA as criminals and assassins by staging a major daylight operation in the capital city. A number of IRA volunteers and civilians were killed, and large numbers of IRA volunteers were detained in the aftermath. The building itself was burnt out but was reopened in 1928.
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  • Dublin's eighteenth-century Custom House on fire after being attacked by the IRA on 25 May 1921. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H76A Custom House.JPG
  • Dublin's eighteenth-century Custom House on fire after being attacked by the IRA on 25 May 1921. Note the barrels of Guinness stacked on the quayside, some of which had apparently been 'liberated' by British paramilitary police (Black and Tans) after the IRA attack on the building. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H79 Custom House.jpg
  • The remains of Dublin's eighteenth century Custom House after the fire on 25 May 1921. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H81 Custom House.JPG
  • Members of the IRA under guard at the Custom House, 25 May 1921. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H82 IRA Prisoners Custom House.JPG
  • Members of the IRA under guard at the Custom House, 25 May 1921. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H85 IRA Prisoners Custom House.JPG
  • British forces, including an armoured car, at the Custom House after the IRA attack on 25th May 1921. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H88 British Forces Custom House.JPG
  • British regular troops and 'Black and Tans' at the Custom House after the IRA attack on 25 May 1921. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H89 Black and Tans Custom House.JPG
  • One of the victims of the IRA attack on the Custom House in Dublin on 25 May 1921, with British troops on guard. A number of IRA volunteers and civilians were killed. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H90 Custom House Casualty.JPG
  • Bodies being removed by British troops after the IRA attack on the Custom House, 25 May 1921. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H93A Custom House Casualties.JPG
  • One of the victims of the IRA attack on the Custom House in Dublin on 25 May 1921. A number of IRA volunteers and civilians were killed. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    INDH89 Custom House Casualty.jpg
  • The reconstruction of Dublin's Custom House in the 1920s after its destruction by the IRA in May 1921. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection)
    H77 Custom House Rebuild.jpg