Eneclann - CO904 RIC records, news report 2

THE preservation of 12 Dorset Street, the birthplace of Richard Brinsley Sheridan and one of the great causes celebres of the conservation movement, was a costly farce. It can now be revealed that the great playwright was born somewhere else.

Sheridan's birthplace in the north inner-city was mentioned by the Taoiseach in his historic address at Westminister and threats to the preservation of his birthplace provoked furious protests by Senator David Norris, An Taisce and biographer Fintan O'Toole.

Even an Bord Pleanala got involved citing 12 Dorset Street's "historical importance" last month as they slapped down a developer who planned to demolish the listed building

But now it can be revealed the hullabaloo over the preservation puts Sheridan's great comedy of manners School for Scandal in the ha'penny place.

Meticulous research carried out by leading historians based at Trinity College, seen by the Sunday Independent, proves conclusively the house was never owned by the Sheridan family and the playwright couldn't have been born at 12 Dorset Street.

And the historians discovered in further research that the great writer, duellist and Whig politician was almost certainly born in a nearby house demolished in 1885 by the Dominican Order to make way for St Saviour's Convent. His real birthplace no longer exists.

For Malahide developer Shane Murphy, the stunning evidence may mean a huge payday. Mr Murphy's original plan to build a six-storey apartment complex on the site he bought last year can now be resurrected. But the findings also suggest that the relentless campaign by conservationists and the literari to save Sheridan's birthplace has been an absurd charade based on uncorroborated research.

Eneclann Ltd, the award-winning Trinity College campus company, was commissoned by a private client five years ago to explore whether Sheridan was born at 12 Dorset Street, as claimed in recent biographies by Fintan O Toole in 1999 and Linda Kelly two years earlier.

The 18-page report by Eneclann found the false assumption about Sheridan's birthplace came about because of different numbering systems for the street dating back more than 150 years ago. Sheridan was born in 1751 and the historians found that numbers were not assigned to Dorset Street Upper until the 1770s, 20 years after Sheridan's birth.

Crucially, from the 1770s to 1848 there were some changes in the numbering system. After 1848, the numbers were permanently fixed as they are today.

The research found the house recorded as No 12 (Sheridan's birthplace) in the first half of the 19th century would not correspond to the same house today. Researchers found an early deed for the house currently known as no 12 Dorset Street Upper dated 1783 and records a lease on the property between Joseph Ellis and John Smithy. At this time, the property was recorded as No 10 Dorset Street.

What they did discover was that Thomas Sheridan, Richard's father, held a lease on an adjoining property to what is now 12 Dorset Street.
They are convinced that the actual Sheridan house was one of those purchased by the Dominican Order around August 1883, which were subsequently demolished to build St Saviour's Priory.

The campaign to "save" the Sheridan House for posterity has been going on for years and Dublin Tourism even erected a plaque in the 1970s, but the brouhaha gained added impetus when Mr Murphy brought the property a year ago and revealed plans to build an apartment block.

Dublin City Council granted permission, provoking fury among opponents, including An Taisce. The Taoiseach Mr Ahern even told Tony Blair and the massed ranks of British MPs of his personal pride that "Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who served in this house, was born in my constituency and is now buried nearby in Westminster Abbey."

The irony would not have been lost on Sheridan, a master of satire whose works, including The Rivals, are among the few works from the period which still have the power to compel modern audiences.

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