Temple Street, Dublin

Temple Street

Hill Street (Temple Street Lower)
The front facade of Temple Street Children's Hospital
Native name	Sráid Temple (Irish)
Namesake	George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 3rd Earl Temple
Postal code	D01
Coordinates	53°21′22″N6°15′41″W / 53.356059°N 6.261296°W / 53.356059; -6.261296
south end	Parnell Street
Major junctions	Great Denmark Street Gardiner Place
north end	Hardwicke Place
Construction
Construction start	1770s
Other
Designer	Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy
Known for	Temple Street Children's Hospital Georgian architecture Belvedere College

Temple Street is a Georgian street in Dublin, Ireland laid out from the 1770s by Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy. ^{[1] [2]}

The street is dominated by the spire of Francis Johnston's St. George's Church at Hardwicke Place which terminates a vista down Hardwicke Street, Temple Street and Eccles Street at their confluence with the church at Hardwicke Place.

Temple Street is split into Temple Street Upper and Temple Street Lower. Temple Street Lower is more commonly referred to as Hill Street owing to its topography and its name was officially changed in 1887 by Dublin Corporation following a petition by the residents of Temple Street owing to the lower section of the street becoming an area of ill repute. ^[3]

The street connects with Parnell Street at its southern end and joins the crescent of Hardwicke Place at its northern end. The street is sometimes referred to as Temple Street North to differentiate it from Temple Lane in Temple Bar and Temple Street West in Dublin 7.

History

A 1797 map of Dublin showing the lower section of the street laid out with the street notably narrower at this point.

A view towards St. George's Church with the O'Reilly Theatre (left).

The street is named for George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham who was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1782–89 around the time of the street's formal development and naming, and was called The Earl Temple until 1784. Buckingham Street, Grenville Street and Temple Lane North were also named for him around the same time. Prior to this point, the street appears to have been referred to as an extension of Gardiner Place. ^[4]

Prior to the street's formal laying out, only a laneway to the Old Church of St George appears on John Rocque's map of 1756. ^[5] It had originally been constructed around 1714 by John Eccles and became a parish in 1793.

St. George's Church was constructed on the street from 1802-14. ^[6]

The lower section of the street acted as a stable lane for North Great George's Street and later contained mews houses.

From at least 1859, Victorian Turkish baths were constructed on the street at 18-19 Temple Street Lower. ^{[7] [8] [9]} A laneway leading off the street is still named Bath lane, a reference to the former baths. ^[10]

Temple Street Children's Hospital first opened on the street in 1879 at 15 Temple Street in a home donated by the Earl of Bellomont, having earlier been established on nearby Buckingham Street. ^[11]

Notable residents

The street has had a number of notable residents including;

• Number 14 - Cornelius O'Callaghan, 1st Baron Lismore and later Charles Stuart Parnell ^{[12] [13]}
• Number 15 - Earl of Bellomont
• Number 16 - John Ball

External links

• National Library of Ireland photographs of the street
• Thom's Directory - Temple Street Lower (1862)
• Thom's Directory - Temple Street Upper (1862)
• Wide Streets Commissioners map

References

1. "Temple Street Children's University Hospital, 14-15 Temple Street , Dublin 1, DUBLIN". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
2. "Sráid an Teampaill/Temple Street". logainm.ie. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
3. "North Great George's Street Preservation Society v an Bord Pleanála". vLex. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
4. "Dublin Street Names, Dated and Explained ..." Hodges. 1892. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
5. "Dublin Street Names, Dated and Explained ..." Hodges. 1892. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
6. "Dictionary of Irish Architects - St George's Church". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
7. "Temple-street, Lower - Dublin Street Directory 1862". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
8. "The Dublin University Magazine". William Curry, Jun., and Company. 1861. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
9. "Irish Chancery Reports: Being a Series of Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the High Court of Chancery and the Rolls Court in Ireland". Hodges and Smith. 1863. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
10. "Dictionary of Irish Architects - TURKISH BATHS". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
11. "Inhospitable building". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
12. "Whitmore Davis". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
13. Callanan, Frank. "Parnell, Charles Stewart" . Retrieved 28 August 2025.