The Irish Times

Nobody really thinks of Parnell Square as a square - certainly not in the same terms as Fitzwilliam, Merrion or Mountjoy squares. Sure, it has Georgian terraced houses, but the central space has been sacrificed over the years for a random accumulation of buildings and things. The square, then called Rutland, owes its existence to Dr Batholomew Mosse, founder of the Rotunda Hospital, who laid it out as pleasure gardens for people to enjoy. They had to pay to get in, of course, because the whole purpose of the exercise was to raise money for the hospital. So was the Rotunda Assembly Rooms (now the Ambassador) and the Gate Theatre. Acknowledged as the world's first purpose-built maternity hospital, the Rotunda has since expanded way beyond the original building designed by Richard Cassells, architect of Leinster House.