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(1760 – 14 March 1829)
Sometimes referred to as ‘the Wren of Ireland’, architect Francis Johnston was born in Armagh, Ireland, son of William Johnston, also an architect. Francis practiced in Armagh, and then lived in Drogheda from 1786 before moving to Dublin about 1793.
Johnston trained under Thomas Cooley, who created many notable buildings for Archbishop Richard Robinson, particularly in Armagh, such as the Courthouse. He designed the Armagh Observatory, built in 1790. He incorporated many of the best practices of contemporary observatory architecture, particularly taking heed of the developments at the Dunsink Observatory, completed only a few years earlier. He also completed Rokeby Hall (work begun by Cooley) for the Archbishop and built Townley Hall (both in County Louth).
In 1805 he was appointed to the Board of Works as an architect. In 1824 he was made president of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts which had been founded the previous year, and he provided headquarters for the Academy in Lower Abbey Street at his own expense. His most prominent works in Dublin are the General Post Office (GPO) on O’Connell Street, St George’s Church (taking strong inspiration from London’s St Martin-in-the-Fields), and the Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle, spanning styles from Neo-Classical to Neo-Gothic.
