Thomas Burgh ( 1670 – 1730 ) Colonel Thomas de Burgh 1670 – 18 December 1730 ) , always named in his lifetime as Thomas Burgh , was an Irish military engineer , architect , and Member of the Parliament of Ireland . He designed a number of the large public buildings of Dublin including the old Custom House ( 1704 – 6 ) , Trinity College Library ( 1712 – 33 ) , Dr Steevens ' Hospital ( 1719 ) , the Linen Hall ( 1722 ) , and the Royal Barracks ( 1701 onwards ) . Early life . Thomas Burgh was the son of Rt Rev Ulysses Burgh ( d . 1692 ) of Drumkeen , County Limerick , who was Dean of Emly and later Bishop of Ardagh . His mother was Mary , daughter of William Kingsmill of Ballibeg , County Cork . His brothers , Richard Burgh of Dromkeen and Drumrusk and William Burgh of Bert House , Athy , were both Members of the Irish Parliament . Thomas was educated at Delany ' s school in Dublin , and Trinity College , Dublin , where he matriculated on 22 November 1685 and left without taking a degree . Prior to the outbreak of the 1688 wars he is likely to have left Ireland for London with his father . He returned to Ireland in the army of King William III , as a lieutenant in Lord Lovelace ' s regiment of foot , and served at the Siege of Limerick . This may have been followed by a brief spell in the Irish engineers from 1691 . In any case , de Burgh was commissioned as a Captain in 1692 in the Royal Regiment of Foot . In this capacity he served in the Low Countries at the battles of Steenkerke ( 1692 ) and Landen ( 1693 ) , and as engineer at the siege of Namur ( 1695 ) . During this time , he absorbed the ideas of the Dutch engineer Menno van Coehoorn ( 1641 – 1740 ) . In 1697 he became Third Engineer on the Irish establishment . In 1700 , Burgh replaced the Surveyor General of Ireland , William Robinson , and one year later also became Barracks Overseer in Ireland . Under his command barrack building was expanded and the rebuilding of Dublin Castle , begun under Robinson , was completed . The Royal House at Chapelizod ( County Dublin ) and Chichester House in Dublin were repaired as well as the numerous coastal fortifications . As well as a Colonel of Engineers ( lieutenant - colonel , 11 April 1706 ) , Burgh held a Captain ' s commission in Brasier ' s regiment of foot from 1707 to 1714 . Public life . In 1704 Burgh was admitted as a freeman of the City of Dublin in recognition of his work in enriching Dublin ' s architecture . He was later admitted to the Dublin Philosophical Society . He served as Member of Parliament for Naas from 1713 to 1730 and as a government minister . He was appointed High Sheriff of Kildare in 1712 , Governor of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in 1707 and served as a Trustee of St Steven ' s Hospital from 1717 - 1730 . From 1705 to 1714 he was Lieutenant of Ordnance for Ireland , an appointment which , held with that of Surveyor General , made him the most influential officer in the Irish Board of Ordnance . In this role he was responsible for overseeing the construction and renovation of all military buildings in Ireland as well as other public works . De Burgh had his commission successivley renewed over the twenty seven years following his appointment as Surveyor General in 1700 . Architect . De Burgh was responsible for the design of several public buildings in Dublin : Burgh was also responsible for the building of several churches , including St Mary ' s and St Werburgh ' s ( 1715 ) . He is known to have built a number of private houses , most of which no longer exist , including the O ' Brien family house at Dromoland , County Clare , in about 1719 . His own country house at Oldtown near Naas , County Kildare , was the only building into which he introduced Palladian ideas . He acquired the land in 1696 and the house was built thirteen years later . His architectural style was otherwise " restrained " and notable mainly for massing on different planes , using a central five - bay front crowned by a large pediment , and arcading on the ground floor . Oldtown remained the family home , although a fire destroyed the original main house and a wing in the 1950s . He worked on several engineering projects , including improvements to Dublin Harbour and the proposed Newry Canal , although this was not built until after his death . Burgh published a pamphlet entitled " A method to determine the areas of right - lined figures universally , very useful for ascertaining the contents of any survey " ( Dublin , 1724 ) . In 1728 Burgh lost the commission to build the new Parliament House in Dublin to Edward Lovett Pearce ( 1699 – 1733 ) , who succeeded de Burgh as Surveyor General on his death , after an illness , in 1730 . Family . Burgh was married to Mary , a daughter of Rt Rev William Smyth , Bishop of Kilmore , on 10 July 1700 . They had five sons and four daughters . His town house was in Dawson Street ( now rebuilt ) and his country estate was at Oldtown in County Kildare . He also owned lucrative collieries in County Antrim . He was succeeded as MP for Naas by his eldest son , Thomas Burgh ( 1707 – 1759 ) . His other children were : Surname . In 1848 Thomas Burgh ' s descendant Ulysses Burgh , 2nd Baron Downes was allowed to change the family surname to " de Burgh " by royal licence .