1974-2024: 50 Years at 1 Kildare Street

On Saturday 12th October 2024, Alliance Française Dublin celebrated the 50th anniversary of its establishment in the heritage-listed building at 1 Kildare Street, with a day filled with events. In 1974, this iconic location was inaugurated by Jacques Chirac, then Prime Minister of France.

For this is celebration day, coinciding with two major highlights of the local scene: the Dublin History Festival and Ireland’s architecture festival Open House, the entire Alliance Française Dublin building was open to the public with a variety of activities on each floor (see programme)

Our classrooms were transformed into exhibition spaces: “The Year 1974 in the World,” presenting photographic archives and reports from INA; “Contacts,” the former magazine of the Alliances Françaises in Ireland between 1974 and 1986; Original drawings by illustrators from the Comic Book Festival highlighting our architectural heritage.

For younger visitors, two specially designed Scavenger Hunt booklets allowed them to explore the plant and animal sculptures and secrets of this iconic venue through a treasure hunt.

To capture these festive moments, photo booth spaces with 1970s-inspired decor, equipped with digital cameras and Polaroids, were available for visitors.

In the afternoon, three lectures led by experts and academics were held in The French Library. These panels allowed the public to deepen their knowledge of the history of the Alliances in Ireland, discover the architectural richness of the building, and learn more about the history of the Kildare Street Club, a gentlemen’s club for which the building was constructed in 1850. These talks will be followed by behind-the-scenes guided tours led by architects, revealing the secrets of this architectural gem.

We wanted to mark this milestone with all our friends, members, and partners to thank them for their ongoing support. Among our many guests, we were pleased to welcome Vincent Caure, Member of Parliament for French citizens abroad; Ambassador Céline Place; and our colleagues from the French Embassy, representatives of Francophone embassies, the Board of Directors and former administrators, the EUNIC community, as well as several French institutions and associations, who joined us to mark this unique occasion.

This wonderful day highlighted the vibrancy of French-Irish exchanges, the multicultural heritage we continue to share, and our ambitions for the future.