Clare Street () is a street in central

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland.

Location

Clare Street runs from Leinster Street South in the west to the junction of

Merrion Square Merrion Square () is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. History The square was laid out in 1752 by the estate of Viscount FitzWilliam and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. The demand for ...

and

Merrion Street Merrion Street (; ) is a major Georgian street on the southside of Dublin, Ireland, which runs along one side of Merrion Square. It is divided into Merrion Street Lower (north end), Merrion Square West and Merrion Street Upper (south end). It h ...

in the east.

History

Clare Street first appears on maps as a thoroughfare in 1756. The street was developed by John Ensor around 1762 for the sixth Viscount Fitzwilliam. It was named after John Holles Earl of Clare, or his brother Denzille Holles. His descendants had a number of streets in this area named for them, including Denzille Street (now

Fenian Street Fenian Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Fenian Street runs from Lincoln Place at the western end, to Hogan Place at the eastern end, parallel with Pearse Street. History Fenian Street was formally called Denzille or Denzil Street ...

), Denzille Lane,

Holles Street Holles Street is a street in Marylebone in the City of Westminster in central London that runs from the south side of Cavendish Square to Oxford Street. History The street was one of those laid out around 1729 when the area north of Oxford Stree ...

, Wentworth Place, Fitzwilliam Square and Merrion Square.

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

lived on the top floor of number 6 Clare Street, above the offices of his father's firm. While living there he wrote his first novel, ''More Pricks than Kicks''. One of Dublin's oldest book stops, Greene's, operated from 16 Clare Street from 1843 to 2007. Initially opened as a lending library by John Greene, the Pembrey family ran the business from 1912 until its closure.

Architecture

Much of the original

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

fabric of the street remains, though with some rebuilding and adaptation. Most of the houses are now in use as offices. In 1987, listed buildings on the street including the largest surviving townhouse, were controversially demolished in spite their protected status following a period of gutting and sabotage. The houses were finally replaced in 2002 with a new on-street entrance to the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...

Millennium Wing.

Notable residents and occupants

*Samuel Beckett *

George Sigerson George Sigerson (11 January 1836 – 17 February 1925) was an Irish physician, scientist, writer, politician and poet. He was a leading light in the Irish Literary Revival of the late 19th century in Ireland. Doctor and scientist Sigerson was b ...

*The Department of Transport operate from number 25 on the street

References

{{authority control Streets in Dublin (city) Georgian architecture in Ireland