The Irish Times

As a rule Irish speculative builders don't receive a favourable press, usually with good reason. But one of their number is now the subject of a book, an exhibition and a series of lectures. Admittedly Michael Stapleton (1747-1801) was more than just a builder; he was also this country's most skilled stuccodor working in the neo-Classical or Adam style that came into fashion during the last decades of the 18th century. Heretofore Irish neo-Classical interior decoration has received less attention and admiration than the earlier, more florid, rococo form exemplified by the work of the Lafranchini brothers. But this focus on Stapleton and his career should do much to rectify that imbalance, as well as throwing light on his own extraordinary career. A Dubliner, Stapleton was also a Catholic which, had he been less talented and ambitious, could have hindered his advancement; the Guild of St Bartholomew for Bricklayers and Plasterers, for example, automatically excluded Catholic membership. That Stapleton remained true to his faith is evidenced by a legacy in his will to the 'Roman Catholick Charity School of Liffey-street parish' as well as the fact that he won the commission to design and build the original Catholic seminary of St Patrick's College in Maynooth, Co Kildare.