User:GCUCD/sandbox

John Joseph O'Callaghan- FAMILY LIFE

Olympia Theatre, Dublin

John Joseph O' Callaghan was born in County Cork, Ireland. In addition to having many children, he was married. It is believed that he was father to at least six sons by his wife Eva, among them Lucius and Bernard O'Callaghan both became architects. Frank, the eldest son, went on to become a civil engineer. He and his wife also were the parents of two daughters. In addition to his residence at 3 Madeley Terrace, 21 Cambridge Road, 5 Alma Terrace, and also 17 Alma Road. He also held residence at several other addresses inside and around Dublin, Ireland. In his later years, he suffered from ill health and died on 5 November 1905. This brings him to an age of sixty-seven when he passed away. William Mansfield Mitchell, who once worked with him at DEANE & WOODWARD's office, paid tribute to him at the RIAI. During the meeting on 26th December 1905, William Mansfield Mitchell stated: 'He was enthusiast about his work and carried it out with all his heart.'

The architect Lucius O'Callaghan (1877-1954) was the son of John O'Callaghan. On 18 August 1877, he was born in Dublin at 31 Harcourt Street. His parents are John Joseph O'Callaghan(qv) and his wife Eva. Among six sons and two daughters, he is the second eldest. Educated at Blackrock College and Catholic University School, Lucius was being trained as an architect by his father. There was further enhanced training through the opportunity to work with artists such as Sir Thomas Drew (qv), G.P. Sheridan, and William Byrne (1844-1917). Lucius displayed an early ability to draw technical pictures, and in 1901 he won a prize at TCD for his sketches of the Campanile. Lucius' father died in 1905, following this he continued to practice architecture in Dublin, completing a number of unfinished work, among them is the construction of outbuildings for St Finian's diocesan college that is located in Mullingar. In the years following his father's death, fewer big-scale church commissions were undertaken, so Lucius was not able to contribute significantly to the Catholic architecture of the Roman Catholic Church.

But compared to his father, he was much better at adjusting to the rapidly changing design and material trends of the early 20th century. His career was marked by the design of many styles of classical architectural buildings, such as houses, libraries, etc. Looking through Lucius' life really gives a grasp on who John Joseph O'Callaghan was.

John Joseph O'Callaghan worked on the Olympia Theatre, Dublin (1879–81). Several decades later, it was extensively remodelled.