Ireland's original parliament building on College Green in Dublin is to be cleaned and restored.
The cleaning and restoration of the Bank of Ireland building will involve the removal of over two hundred years of dirt and grime. Special care needs to be taken to avoid damaging the surface stone and granite.
It will take several years to complete the cleaning and restoration work.
In an effort to preserve the exterior, it has been decided not to use a blasting process to clean as it can damage or entirely remove the protective surface of the stone. The cleaning process will be confined to using a fine watery spray under low pressure.
The idea is to loosen the deposits of dirt and soot and then use a brush to remove them.
The Bank of Ireland has sought the advice of an eminent French expert, the Inspector General of Historical Monuments of France. The main objective is to restore rather than clean the building and it is not yet known how much the entire project will cost.
The first stone of the building was laid in 1728, originally built to house the Irish parliament. It cost £95,000 to build.
An RTÉ News report recorded on 19 August 1971. The reporter is Barry Linnane.
