GRAFTON STREET (DUBLIN)

(Redirected from Grafton Street, Dublin)
:''Grafton Street redirects here. For the street in London, England, see Grafton Street, London, for the one in Milton Keynes, England, see V6 Grafton Street.''

'Grafton Street' (''Sráid Grafton'' in Irish) is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre, running from St. Stephen's Green in the south to College Green in the north. The street was named after the first Duke of Grafton, who owned land in the area. The street was developed from a then existing country lane by the Dawson family in 1708, after whom the parallel Dawson Street is named.
Since the 1980s, the street has been mostly pedestrianised, with the exception of the short stretch running between Nassau Street and College Green. This short stretch contains two notable Dublin landmarks, the eighteenth century Trinity College Provost's House and the late twentieth century statue of Molly Malone, which has become a popular Dublin meeting place. A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street, on 19th August 2005.
Bewley's Oriental Cafe, a Grafton Street institution since its opening in 1927, announced at the end of October 2004 that it would be closing before Christmas, along with its Westmoreland Street cafe. Following a campaign by the Mayor of Dublin, Catherine Byrne, the cafe on Grafton Street was kept.
Buskers, including musicians, poets and mime artists commonly perform to the shopping crowds. This scene was portrayed in the 2006 film ''Once'', starring Glen Hansard of The Frames, a former and occasional Grafton Street busker.

Contents

Rents

Shops

Notable shops

Other shops

Notable buskers

See also

External links

Rents

The opening of the Luas tram system at the end of June 2004 has led to a 20% increase in pedestrian traffic on the street as of October 2004, although the construction of a large shopping centre in Dundrum (the largest in Europe, when completed) toward the other end of the Luas green line could threaten these figures. Grafton Street rents increased by 46% between 2003 and 2004. The average 2005 rent was €3,653 /m²-year, making the street the seventh most expensive street in Europe. However, certain key retail sites rent for an astonishing €15,000 /m²-year, beating the world record [1]. (Europe's most expensive, Champs-Élysées rents for €6,600 /m²-year while the world's most expensive is Fifth Avenue, New York, which goes for €11,500 /m²-year [2]).

Shops

Notable shops

★ Brown Thomas department store, in the old Switzers building.

★ Weirs jewellers.

Other shops

''This is an incomplete list -''

★ Fitzpatricks Shoes

★ BT2, aka. Brown Thomas 2, also containing a Starbucks café

★ Dunnes Stores Department Store and food hall.

★ HMV record store.

★ Marks and Spencer clothes and food hall, in the old Brown Thomas building.

★ River Island clothes, in the old Arnotts building.

★ Boots Pharmacy

★ Meteor

★ Vodafone

★ O2

★ McDonald's

★ Burger King

★ 3Store

★ Topman

★ Specsavers

★ Champion Sports

★ Pamela Scott

★ Jack Jones Jeans

★ Vero Moda

★ Warehouse

★ Swarovski Crystal

★ O'Connors

★ Clarks

★ Korkys

★ Nine West

★ Captain America's

★ Next

Notable buskers

★ Glen Hansard - Grafton Street busker, now in The Frames

★ Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Mexican guitar playing duo

★ Roadmage - comedy magic show

★ Damien Rice - ex-Grafton Street busker, now famous musician

★ John Nee - imitated Charlie Chaplin

★ Diceman - Deceased game store owner and street performer

★ The Public Health Service - three piece rock and roll music

★ The Man And The Machine - beatbox and original rap

★ Shah Smooth - enigmatic limbo show

★ Old Harmonica Man - old man who plays the harmonica

★ Maire Ni Bheagloig - Traditional concertina player

★ Daragh Halpin - Traditional Irish musician

See also

★ List of upscale shopping districts

External links

★ Buildings of Grafton Street, from ArchEire