Dame Street (; ) is a large thoroughfare in

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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

Dame Street in the centre of Dublin (31402703004)

The street takes its name from a dam built across the

River Poddle The River Poddle ( ga, An Poitéal) is a river in Dublin, Ireland, a pool which (', "black pool" or "dark pool" in Irish) gave the city its English language name. Boosted by a channel made by the Abbey of St. Thomas à Becket, taking water fro ...

to provide water power for milling. First appears in records under this name around 1610 but in the 14th century was also known as "the street of Theng-mote" or Teyngmouth Street. It appears later as Dammastrete and Damask-street. There was a medieval church of St. Mary del Dam which was demolished in the seventeenth century. Sir Maurice Eustace,

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

1660–1665, built his townhouse, Damask, on the site. There was a side street called Dame's-gate, also known as the gate of S. Mary, which was adjoining St. Mary del Dam church, recorded in 1552 and demolished in 1698. The street was widened by the

Wide Streets Commission The Wide Streets Commission (officially the Commissioners for making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1758, at the request of Dublin Corporation, as a body to govern standards on the layou ...

in 1769, and developed into the city's financial centre. Among the notable residents was Francesco Geminiani, whose house on Dame Street had a concert hall attached. Unlike

O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections ...

and other previously fashionable streets, Dame Street continued to remain fashionable and prosperous after the Act of Union in 1801.

Location

During the day, the street is busy, due to its central location in the city. It is a five-minute walk to the shopping area of

Grafton Street Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre (the other being Henry Street). It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowest p ...

and ten minutes from

. The Temple Bar area of the city is located directly north of the street.

Daly's Club Daly's Club, with premises known as Daly's Club House, was a gentlemen's club in Dublin, Ireland, a centre of social and political life between its origins in about 1750 and its end in 1823. History Daly's had its origins in a Chocolate House ...

was founded in the 1750s at numbers 1-3 Dame Street and remained there until 1791, when it moved to

College Green College Green or The College Green may refer to: * College Green, Adelaide outdoor venue at the University of Adelaide * College Green, Bristol, England * College Green (Dartmouth College), New Hampshire, primarily known as "the Green" * College ...

Architecture

The former Central Bank of Ireland headquarters, now known as Central Plaza, on Dame Street was built in 1975. It was initially higher than planning permission allowed, though this was retrospectively rectified. The new building was built on a parcel of land on which was a collection of Victorian and Georgian buildings including the Commercial Buildings. The Commercial Buildings dated from 1796, and were associated with the Ouzel Galley Society. This building also featured a paved courtyard which served as a pedestrian shortcut between Merchant's Arch and the

Ha'penny Bridge The Ha'penny Bridge ( ; , or ''Droichead na Life''), known later for a time as the ''Penny Ha'penny Bridge'', and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in May 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. Made of cast i ...

beyond. Initially, planners wanted the facade of the building retained, but it was discarded, and eventually, a replica was constructed in the scheme. Commenting on the scheme in September 1972, ''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International. History The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was kn ...

'' stated that the proposed building was "an exercise in how to do the greatest urban damage". The Bank left the premises in March 2017, and moved to North Wall Quay. In comparison,

Northern Bank Northern Bank Limited T/A Danske Bank is a retail bank in Northern Ireland. Northern Bank is one of the oldest banks in Ireland having been formed in 1809, and forms part of one of the Big Four banks in Ireland. Northern Bank took on the name ...

, retained the Italianate headquarters of the

Hibernian Bank Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four (banking)#Ireland, Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupie ...

both the exterior and interior, with redevelopment taking place behind the streetscape. The

Allied Irish Banks Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is one of the so-called Big Four commercial banks in Ireland. AIB offers a full range of personal, business and corporate banking services. The bank also offers a range of general insurance products such as home, trav ...

opposite the Olympia Theatre was designed by

Thomas Deane Sir Thomas Deane (Cork, 1792 – Dublin, 1871) was an Irish architect. He was the father of Sir Thomas Newenham Deane, and grandfather of Sir Thomas Manly Deane, who were also architects. Life Thomas Deane was born in Cork, the eldest son of ...

in 1872 for the Munster & Leinster Bank and is based on the design of the Museum Building at Trinity College. The glass and cast iron canopy of the Olympia Theatre which extends out over the footpath is a prominent landmark on the street. The

Montague Burton Building The Montague Burton Building is an Art Deco commercial building on the corner of Dame Street and South Great George's Street in Dublin, Ireland. It was constructed between 1929 and 1930 and designed by architect Harry Wilson. Named after Montagu ...

is a notable example of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style on Dame Street, situated on the corner with

South Great George's Street South Great George's Street is a street in south-central Dublin, Ireland. History Early history and naming The area is associated with Early Scandinavian Dublin. Four burials excavated near South Great George's Street were also associated ...

. It was constructed between 1929 and 1930 and designed by architect Harry Wilson. The ground level retail unit of this building is a large

Spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

shop and delicatessen. Due to its proximity to the gay pub and venue, The George, this Spar became known colloquially as the "Gay Spar". During the 2022 Pride celebrations in Dublin, the Spar officially adopted the name when it "came out" as the Gay Spar. The street features a modern square, Barnardos Square in front of

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

and to the side of

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. The site had been occupied by a row of shops, one of which was the birthplace of the square's namesake,

Thomas John Barnardo Thomas John Barnardo (4 July 184519 September 1905) was an Irish-born philanthropist and founder and director of homes for poor and deprived children. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1867 to the date of Barnardo's death, nea ...

. Before its redevelopment, the site had been cleared of the Georgian terrace of buildings which were demolished in the mid-1970s as part of a road-widening development. One of the surviving buildings from the block is the headquarters of the Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers' Society. In the 1980s there was a proposal to create a park on the site.

Occupy protests

The

Occupy Dame Street Occupy Dame Street (ODS) or Occupy Dublin was a peaceful protest and demonstration against economic inequality, social injustice and corporate greed taking place outside the Central Bank of Ireland plaza on Dame Street in Dublin, beside the ...

protest began in October 2011 directly outside the then headquarters of the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland ( ga, Banc Ceannais na hÉireann) is Ireland's central bank, and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It is the country's financial services regulator for most categories of financial firms ...

, as part of the global

Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...

, and lasted until March 2012.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{Streets in Dublin city, state=autocollapse Streets in Dublin (city) Restaurant districts and streets