Liffey Street
 A view of Liffey Street Lower facing towards the Liffey and the Ha'penny Bridge | |
 | |
| Native name | Sráid na Life (Irish) |
|---|---|
| Former name(s) | Little Denmark Street (formerly Liffey Street Upper) |
| Namesake | River Liffey |
| Postal code | D01 |
| Coordinates | 53°20′51″N 6°15′48″W / 53.347442°N 6.2634633°W |
| south end | River Liffey |
| Major junctions | Abbey Street |
| north end | Henry Street |
| Construction | |
| Construction start | circa 1675 |
| Other | |
| Designer | Humphrey Jervis |
| Known for | Retail |
Liffey Street (Irish: Sráid na Life)[1] is a street on the northside of Dublin, Ireland named for its location leading towards the River Liffey. The street is split into the northernmost Liffey Street Upper and Liffey Street Lower to its south which are separated by a dogleg corner at Abbey Street.
Originally, there was also a further northern extension of the street which was named Liffey Street Upper however this was renamed Denmark Street in 1773 and referred to as Little Denmark Street to differentiate it from nearby Great Denmark Street. It was possibly named for the sister of George III; Caroline Matilda, who had married the Danish king Christian VII in 1766 becoming Queen of Denmark, was divorced in 1772 and died in 1775. Following this renaming, the original Liffey Street Middle began to be called Liffey Street Upper.
Little Denmark Street was later entirely erased in the 1970s for the construction of the Ilac Centre.
As of 2025, the street is mainly a retail street with a variety of shops, pubs, hotels, restaurants and eateries.
History
[edit]The street was laid out formally in the 17th century following the construction of Essex Bridge and was part of a grid of streets developed on 20 acres of waste land by Humphrey Jervis from 1674 onwards which included the eponymous Jervis Street.[2] Originally, the area would have formed part of the estate of St. Mary's Abbey and a long lease was purchased by Jervis from Dublin Corporation for £3,000.[3] He later also purchased the area of land adjacent which was originally granted to Jonathan Amory and referred to as the Amory Grant and stretched down as far as the lands of Gilbert Mabbot at Mabbot Street.
Part of the area would have been in fields as agricultural land while much of the area of Lower Liffey Street would have been tidal mud flats which may have flooded before it was protected by a quay wall.
All three elements of the original street appear on John Rocque's maps of Dublin from 1756 and an outline of the street appears on the earlier 1714 map by Herman Moll but were not extant as streets at the time of the execution of John Speed's Map of Dublin (1610).
Around 1770, a church was built on Little Denmark Street that was to become St Saviour's Priory.[4][5]
By the 19th century, parts of the street nearest the quay had become home to numerous furniture brokers.
Saint Mary's Catholic Chapel was located on Liffey Street Upper until the construction of St Mary's Pro-Cathedral saw the parish church move to a new location.[6]
One of the earliest steel framed commercial buildings in Dublin, Denmark House was constructed on Little Denmark Street in the 1890s.[7]
Little Denmark Street was later to become the location of the first headquarters of 2RN in the 20th century.[8]
Hector Grey had a premises at 1-2 Liffey Street for a period in the 20th century.
A side entrance to the Jervis Shopping Centre was opened on the street in 1996 via a side entrance through Marks & Spencer while a side entrance to Arnotts department store is also located on the street.
External links
[edit]
- Thom's Directory extract for Little Denmark Street (1862)
- Thom's Directory extract for Liffey Street Upper (1862)
- Thom's Directory extract for Liffey Street Lower (1862)
References
[edit]- ^ "Sráid na Life Íochtarach/Liffey Street Lower". logainm.ie. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ^ "Insomnia, 20 Liffey Street Upper, Dublin 1, DUBLIN". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ^ "Jervis, Sir Humphrey". www.dib.ie. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
- ^ BURKE, Thomas Nicholas Anthony (1872). "Froude's Crusade. Lecture by the Very Rev. T. N. Burke ... Subject-"Mr. Froude's Last Words." Also lecture by Wendell Phillips ... Subject-"Review of Froude." With a sketch of the life and labours of Father Burke. [Edited by James W. O'Brien.]". New York. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ^ "Dublin Historical Record". Old Dublin Society. 1969. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ^ "Saint Mary's Catholic Pro-Cathedral, Marlborough Street, Cathedral Street, Dublin 1, DUBLIN". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ^ "1890s – Denmark House, Little Denmark St., Dublin | Archiseek.com". Archiseek.com | Irish architecture, lost & unbuilt buildings. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ^ "Memory lane – An Irishman's Diary on Dublin's vanished streets". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 July 2025.