25/05/2026
On this day in 1921, Dublin’s Custom House was set ablaze in one of the most significant actions of the War of Independence. The iconic images of smoke rising over the city became symbols of revolution – but behind them was another story: the people tasked with rebuilding what was lost.
One of those people was John Chandler Smith, a structural engineer with the OPW who worked in the aftermath of the Custom House fire. Just a year later, in June 1922, he faced an even greater challenge following the destruction of the Public Record Office at the Four Courts during the opening engagement of the Civil War.
Together, these events resulted in the catastrophic loss of centuries of Irish records and archives. Yet from the ashes came extraordinary efforts to salvage, restore, and rebuild.
Today, a small collection of Smith’s personal papers (PRIV1388) offers a firsthand glimpse into that work, documenting the restoration of the Custom House, including its magnificent dome. The 1926 Census also reveals the man behind the reconstruction: a Dublin-born engineer living at 11 Mount Eden Road with his wife of more than 30 years.
More than a century later, these records remind us that the archives don't just record history; they reveal the people who built the world we walk through today.
🔗 Explore the collections: https://nationalarchives.ie/
