User:Crkucd/John Joseph O'Callaghan

Early Life

John Joseph O’Callaghan was born in 1838 in Blackrock, County Cork, Ireland. He was known as an Irish architect. He received his training in architecture with John Benson. He then arrived in Dublin to join the Deane & Woodward's office. He worked on Trinity College Museum building and then in 1856 he got moved to Oxford to work as a clerk in the debating room for the Oxford Union Society, which was completed in 1857, the year following. When he was living in Oxford, he decided to study medieval architecture. He continued to work with the Deanes for twelve more years and then, in 1871, he established his personal office in Merrion Row. He then became a founding member of the Architectural Association of Ireland (AAI) in 1872, he was then elected the first president.

Legacy

He worked for Deane & Woodward from 1856 to 1871. He contributed to several buildings of importance in Dublin, examples being the Museum Building, TCD (1854-1857), and the Kildare Street Club (1858-1861). He established his practice at 16 Nassau Street in Dublin in 1871, and he entered many competitions in Ireland and England to build churches and important public buildings. He was on the shortlist to help build Winchester town hall in Hampshire, however, he denied the contract to help build the Lancashire Chorley town hall (1872). He then helped contribute to many Roman Catholic churches throughout Ireland, such as Clara (1876-1883), Clifden (1872-1874), Castlebar (1876-1877), Castletown Geoghegan (1883), and lastly Mount Mellick (1878). He also helped build convent chapels church schools, including the O'Brien Institution, Clontarf (1880–1883). John Joseph O’Callaghan died on the 5th of November 1905