Queen Street ( Irish: ''Sráid na Banríona'') is a street in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

running from North King Street to Arran Quay.

Location

Queen Street runs from Arran Quay and Mellows Bridge at the south to North King Street to the north. It intersects with a number of historically significant streets, such as Hendrick Street and Benburb Street. Where it meets North King Street, it merges with George's Lane which was widened in 2002.

History

The street dates from 1687, and is believed to have been named for

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

(r. 1558–1603). Although it has been suggested that it may have been named for

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...

(queen consort 1662–1685). It is historically part of the city known as

Oxmantown Oxmantown was a suburb on the opposite bank of the River Liffey, Liffey from Dublin, in what is now the city's Northside, Dublin, Northside. It was founded in the 12th century by Hiberno-Norse Dubliners or "Ostmen" who either migrated voluntari ...

, and lies close to the former common green area there. Its existence was mandated in 1664, as a highway from the common. In 1671, the Blue Coat Boys Hospital ( King's Hospital) was founded on Queen Street, on the eastern side. This was later redeveloped in lots for housing in 1782 and completed in 1800. These Georgian tenements were later replaced in the 20th century with public housing.

Architecture

A small number of architecturally notable buildings remain on Queen Street, primarily at the junctions with other streets. One such building is 79 Queen Street, the former Dice Bar. Built as a commercial building, it has a date stone of 1770, but the current building dates from circa 1860 and is of typical Victorian styling. A survived pair of Georgian houses, numbers 69 and 70, are now interconnected and in use as a pawnbrokers. These date from circa 1790. During the 1990s, schemes of flats were developed on Queen Street to infill houses which had been demolished for earlier road widening schemes. These were designed by Shay Cleary, and met with opposition from local politicians including

Tony Gregory Tony Gregory (5 December 1947 – 2 January 2009) was an Irish independent politician, and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituency from 1982 to 2009. Early life Gregory was born in Ballybough on Dublin's Northside, the secon ...

, who campaigned for houses to be built instead. The scheme went ahead, was completed in 2003, and also saw the development of existing corporation flats on the site. By the early 21st century, large parts of the more commercial end of the street near the quays were used as furniture showrooms.

References

External links

* {{Streets in Dublin city, state=autocollapse 1687 establishments in Ireland Buildings and structures completed in 1687 Transport infrastructure completed in the 1680s Streets in Dublin (city) Catherine of Braganza Elizabeth I