Smithfield Margadh na Feirme | |
---|---|
Neighbourhood of Dublin | |
Coordinates: 53°20′55″N6°16′42″W / 53.34861°N 6.27833°W | |
Country | Ireland |
County | Dublin |
City | Dublin |
Postal district | D7 |
Smithfield (Irish : Margadh na Feirme, meaning 'Farm Market') is an area on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Its focal point is a public square, formerly an open market and common, now officially called Smithfield Plaza, but known locally as Smithfield Square or Smithfield Market. Historically, Smithfield formed the western part of Oxmantown and lay close to Oxmantown Green.
Originally, Smithfield lay within the civil parish of St. Paul's, [1] and was served by the Church of Ireland St. Paul's Church, on North King Street, now the SPADE Business Centre, and the Catholic St. Paul's Church, on Arran Quay, now used by the Catholic Youth Council, and Mission Ministry.
The area known as Smithfield roughly incorporates the area bounded by the River Liffey to the south, Bow Street to the east, Queen Street to the west, and North Brunswick Street in the suburb of Grangegorman to the north.
Notable landmarks include the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery and the Observation Tower as well as the Irish traditional music Mecca, the Cobblestone Pub.
Smithfield Market was laid out in its current form in the mid-17th century as a marketplace close to the site of the former Oxmantown Green. It remained mainly a market and commercial area with one of the few aristocratic houses in the area being for the Thomas Taylour, 1st Earl of Bective and constructed in 1738 however he ultimately moved on to a more fashionable at 17 Rutland Square later in the century. [2]
Until its renovation in the early 21st Century, the square was lined with inner city 'farm yards' housing livestock. In 1964 Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor spent time here, as Burton worked on the film set in Smithfield for the film adaptation of John le Carré's novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold . Smithfield featured as Checkpoint Charlie in the movie. [3]
Smithfield was rejuvenated under the HARP (Historic Area Rejuvenation Plan). [4] An architectural competition was held and won by McGarry NiEanaigh Architects in 1997. The restoration involved lifting more than 400,000 one-hundred-and-twenty-year-old cobblestones, cleaning them by hand and re-laying them.
Contemporary architecture and twelve 26.5 metre gas lighting masts, each with a 2-metre flame, now flank the square. Although the flames are rarely lit, the lighting mast shades can at times be seen in different colours, reflecting cultural events throughout the year. For example, they change to a vivid green shade as part of St Patrick's Day celebrations and were changed to rainbow colours for the opening night of the 2015 GAZE International LGBT Film Festival at Smithfield's Light House Cinema.
Smithfield has held many horse fields for hundreds of years [5] and the tradition still continues today. Horse fairs take place every first Sunday of each month. The smell of horses can still be experienced at Smithfield at the Horse Market. And the sight and sounds on these Sundays give an impression of what Smithfield was once like, with a number of surrounding alleys and laneways bearing obscure names relating to the equine heritage of the site. [6]
The square was used to hold several concerts after its renovation but these were discontinued following complaints from local residents[ citation needed ]. Although the site has not developed as a Western IFSC as had been originally anticipated (in reference to the city's main financial hub to the east and its related significant white-collar professional residential zones), the plaza is providing a convenient through route for local residents as well as for a number of professionals and users of a range of court and legal-related services and buildings in the area. These range from the Prison Probation Services through to the Family Court and the Law Society of Ireland, amongst others, with Smithfield and Smithfield Market situated in convenient proximity to Dublin's legal/prosecution hub of The Four Courts.
The area is known for the historical horse market which is held on the first Sunday of March and September. [7]
The Horse Fair used to take place every month. A bye-law passed on 14 January 2013 reduced it to twice a year and this also established some new rules and regulations. [8] [ non-primary source needed ] The main causes for the change were some violent incidents and objections of nearby residents who are uncomfortable with its atmosphere, noise, perceptions of animal abuse and neglect. The Smithfield Horse Fair continues to draw heavy and sustained criticism from a wide range of sources, including the Garda Síochána and the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA), [9] [4] legal difficulties in closing down and/or moving away the market, [10] coupled with its centuries-old heritage, have left the city council and the horse fair defenders locked in an ongoing battle without any clear resolution ahead. [11]
The old Jameson Distillery Chimney tower, and its observation deck, reopened to the public in 2018 after a prolonged closure, however, it has to be accessed via 244 steps rather than the lift as before.
The Light House Cinema was resurrected in May 2008 in Smithfield Square, after it had closed its doors on Abbey Street on 27 September 1996. [12]
The Cobblestone Pub has provided a home for Irish Traditional musicians for over thirty years and hosts Irish Traditional music sessions every day of the week. Some of the country's best musicians play here and many well-known Irish musicians have gotten their start playing at the Cobblestone such as John Francis Flynn, Lankum, and Ispíní na hEireann.
Smithfield is home to the Dublin District Children Court, where defendants under the age of 18 are usually dealt with. [13]
Smithfield may include the satellite, and developing, Museum district to the west, and the Four Courts district to the east. These districts are largely residential and combined with the area around Smithfield Square they comprise the main Liffey river frontage of Dublin 7.
Recent commercial, residential and cultural developments led to the area becoming newly fashionable in the first decade of the 21st century. [4] However, most notably in the period 2008 to 2010, stagnation set in as developments stalled and the Irish economy/property market nose-dived once the post-Celtic Tiger economic recession struck. The significant issues of variable apartment occupancy rates, coupled with closed retail spaces and a number of unfinished and unoccupied commercial units at Smithfield Market have created a highly visible reminder of the economic and community challenges still to be addressed in this historic part of Dublin.
Smithfield Luas stop is on the Red Line, which skirts the square to the south, providing a convenient link to the nearby city centre, or to the far south of the city, to Tallaght or Saggart.
Several hotels are situated in Smithfield Square itself. The biggest is the 3-star Maldron Hotel Smithfield, [14] with 92 rooms, from junior suites to family rooms. The well-known European accommodation chain Generator is adjacent to Jameson Distillery Bow St, and the newest addition is The Hendrick, which opened in 2019. All three hotels also have their own bars and restaurants.
Donnybrook is a district of Dublin, Ireland, on the southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district. It is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and was once part of the Pembroke Township. Its neighbouring suburbs are Ballsbridge, Sandymount, Ranelagh and Clonskeagh.
The Northside in an informal but commonly used term to describe the part of the city of Dublin that lies to the north of the River Liffey, and extending into part of North County Dublin. The part outside the city is within the county of Fingal, a local government area established in 1994. While it is sometimes regarded as less wealthy than the city's Southside, the Northside was originally the home of the city's upper classes and the more privileged of the two. Today, some of the wealthiest areas in Ireland, such as Malahide, Howth, Clontarf, and Castleknock, lie north of the river.
Ballyfermot is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is located seven kilometres west of the city centre, south of Phoenix Park. It is bordered by Chapelizod on the north, by Bluebell on the south, by Inchicore on the east, and by Palmerstown and Clondalkin on the west. The River Liffey lies to the north, and the Grand Canal, now a recreational waterway, lies to the south of Ballyfermot. Ballyfermont lies within the postal district Dublin 10. Cherry Orchard, which is also a suburb, is sometimes considered to be within Ballyfermot.
Phibsborough, also spelled Phibsboro, is a mixed commercial and residential neighbourhood on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland.
Stoneybatter, is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside of the city between the River Liffey, the North Circular Road, Smithfield Market, and Grangegorman. It is in the D7 postal district.
Oxmantown was a suburb on the opposite bank of the Liffey from Dublin, in what is now the city's Northside. It was founded in the 12th century by Hiberno-Norse Dubliners or "Ostmen" who either migrated voluntarily or were expelled from inside of the city walls of Dublin after the Anglo-Norman invasion and the 1171 beheading of Hasculf, the last Hiberno-Norse King of Dublin by the invading army. The settlement was originally known as Ostmanby or Ostmantown.
Broadstone is one of the three neighbourhoods that make up present-day Phibsboro in Dublin, Ireland. The most southerly of these, it begins just two kilometres north of Father Mathew Bridge at Ormond Quay. The area is triangular, bounded by Phibsborough Road and Constitution Hill to the West, North Circular Road to the north, and Dorset Street and Bolton Street to the south-east. The postal district for the area is Dublin 7.
The Liberties is an area in central Dublin, Ireland, located in the southwest of the inner city. Formed from various areas of special manorial jurisdiction, separate from the main city government, it is one of Dublin's most historic working class neighbourhoods. The area was traditionally associated with the River Poddle, market traders and local family-owned businesses, as well as the Guinness brewery, whiskey distilling, and, historically, the textiles industry and tenement housing.
Jameson is a blended Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. Originally one of the six main Dublin whiskeys at the Jameson Distillery Bow St., Jameson is now distilled at the New Midleton Distillery in County Cork. It is by far the best-selling Irish whiskey in the world; in 2019, annual sales passed 8 million cases. It has been sold internationally since the early 19th century, and is available to buy in over 130 countries.
Dublin Docklands is an area of the city of Dublin, Ireland, on both sides of the River Liffey, roughly from Talbot Memorial Bridge eastwards to the 3Arena. It mainly falls within the city's D01 and D02 postal districts but includes some of the urban fringes of the D04 district on its southernmost side.
The River Poddle is a river in Dublin, Ireland, a pool of which gave the city its English language name. Boosted by a channel made by the Abbey of St. Thomas à Becket, taking water from the far larger River Dodder, the Poddle was the main source of drinking water for the city for more than 500 years, from the 1240s. The Poddle, which flows wholly within the traditional County Dublin, is one of around a hundred members of the River Liffey system, and one of over 135 watercourses in the county; it has just one significant natural tributary, the Commons Water from Crumlin.
The Dublin quays refers to the two roadways and quays that run along the north and south banks of the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. The stretches of the two continuous streets have several different names. However, all but two of the names share the same "quay" designation. The quays have played an important part in Dublin's history.
Jameson Distillery Bow St. is an former Irish whiskey distillery and a tourist attraction located just off Smithfield Square in Dublin, Ireland. Jameson Distillery Bow St. is the original site where Jameson Irish Whiskey was distilled until 1971. It is now a visitors centre that provides guided tours, tutored whiskey tastings, JJs bar and a gift shop.
The Dublin Whiskey Distillery Company Jones Road Distillery, also known as the D.W.D. Distillery, Jones Road, or just Jones Road Distillery, was one of the six great Irish whiskey distilleries of Dublin city visited and documented by Alfred Barnard in his seminal 1887 publication "The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom". It was located on the north side of the city on the banks of the River Tolka, approximately a mile north of the city centre. The distillery was built by the Dublin Whiskey Distillery Company Ltd and the Irish whiskey produced sold around the world under the brand name D.W.D.
The Bradogue River is a small river in Dublin that rises in Cabra and flows into the River Liffey, with its primary outfall at Ormond Quay. It is culverted for its entire course.
Smithfield is a stop on the Luas light-rail tram system in Dublin, Ireland. It opened in 2004 as a stop on the Red Line. The Red Line runs east to west along Phoenix Street, and the Four Courts stop is located to on a section of road closed completely to other traffic, to the side of Smithfield plaza, a large open square previously used as a market. It also provides access to the Old Jameson Distillery and Light House Cinema. It has two edge platforms integrated into the pavement. The stop connects with a number of Dublin Bus routes.
Strawberry Beds or The Strawberry Beds is a locality and small settlement 7 km to the west of Dublin City, Ireland, located on the northern banks of the River Liffey between Chapelizod and Lucan where the closest bridges span the river. The populated suburb of Palmerstown lies just south of the Strawberry Beds, but is inaccessible due to the Liffey which separates them. The R109 road, also known as the 'Lower Road' for the section between Chapelizod and Lucan, is the only road that passes through the Strawberry Beds. The area is protected by a Special Amenity Area Order (SAAO).
The Cobblestone is a pub in Smithfield, Dublin, renowned for its live Irish traditional music. The pub has been run by the Mulligan family since 1987. It hosts multiple music sessions a day, and is primarily sustained by the tourist trade.