Firmount House is the Dublin Regional Headquarters of the Civil Defence. In the unlikely event of Dublin being attacked with nuclear weapons the rescue operation would be directed from there. The ground floor windows have been concreted up and likewise wooden floors have been replaced by reinforced concrete, so the house practically fireproof. The house, in late Victorian style, replaces an earlier house on the site subsequent to the Survey of 1871. A Major Henry, who is also credited with bringing the first motor car - a "White Steam"- to Clane, built it.
During the forties and fifties, known as St. Conleth's, it was used as a sanatorium in the treatment of T.B. Around the First World War it was used as a British Military Hospital and was known locally as "The Blue Tommy's". Folklore claims that the first airplane to land in Ireland (!) landed in the big field in front of the house, conveying some high ranking officer. It is uncanny how the house reflected the great changes brought with passage of time.
Reproduced from "Le Chéile" by kind permission