Rialto () is an inner suburb of

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 ...

, situated on the city's southside. The area takes its name from the Harcourt Bridge, which was commonly known as the Rialto Bridge due to its resemblance to the shape of the bridge of that name in Venice.

History and geography

Rialto is bounded to the east and north by

The Liberties The Liberties ( or occasionally ) is an area in central Dublin, Ireland, located in the southwest of the inner city. Formed from various areas of special manorial jurisdiction, initially separate from the main city government, it is one of Dub ...

St. James's Hospital St. James's Hospital ''Confirms spelling of name as "James's" and Irish name'' () is a teaching hospital in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Its academic partner is Trinity College Dublin. It is managed by Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. ...

and an original section of the Grand Canal stretching from Suir Bridge to James Street Basin, which was built for

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

transport to and from the nearby

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

brewery at

St. James's Gate St. James's Gate, located off the south quays of Dublin, on James's Street, Dublin, James's Street, was the western entrance to the city during the Middle Ages. During this time the gate was the traditional starting point for the Camino pilgrima ...

. This original section of the Grand Canal, disused since 1976, preceded an extension of the canal to

Grand Canal Dock Grand Canal Dock () is a Southside (Dublin), Southside area near the city centre of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the border of eastern Dublin 2 and the westernmost part of Ringsend in Dublin 4, surrounding the Grand Cana ...

which today defines the district's southern and eastern edges. Rialto Bridge spans the original and disused portion of the Grand Canal which now forms part of the Luas Red Line. St James's Walk overlooks this former spur of the canal, which led to the city basin.

Transport

Rialto is located within Dublin's ''canal ring'' and at the western end of Dublin's South Circular Road, placing the area within walking distance of Dublin city centre and one of Ireland's main railway stations at

Dublin Heuston Heuston Station, ( ; ; formerly Kingsbridge Station) also known as Dublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largest railway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated by Iarnród Éireann (IÉ), ...

. The original portion of the Grand Canal running along the northern edge of Rialto and Fatima has in recent decades been repurposed as the Luas Red Line route connecting Dublin's Docklands at The Point and the city's southwestern suburbs at

Tallaght Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres. Up to th ...

Rialto Luas stop Rialto is a stop on the Luas light-rail tram system in Dublin, Ireland. It opened in 2004 as a stop on the Red Line. The stop is at the southern side of St. James's Hospital, adjacent to James's Walk, near the areas of Rialto and Kilmainham. ...

is located a short distance from the Rialto Bridge and serves Rialto as well as the neighbouring district of

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. History Origins Kilmainham's foundation dates ...

and the site of the new National Children's Hospital. The area is served by multiple

Dublin Bus Dublin Bus () is an Irish State-owned enterprise, state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann ...

routes connecting with Dublin city centre and destinations such as

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown () is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished in 1994. It is named after the former ...

and

Greenogue Greenogue () is a football ground located in Newcastle, South Dublin, Ireland. Location Greenogue is located east-northeast of Newcastle, County Dublin and immediately west of Casement Aerodrome. Hosts The field at Greenogue is part of the ...

South Dublin South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin Cou ...

St James's Walk/Colbert Fort housing scheme

St James Walk/Colbert Fort is a small triangular area in Rialto with surrounding features including the Grand Canal and the

River Poddle The River Poddle () is a river in Dublin, Ireland, a pool of 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 from the far lar ...

. In the year 1915, there were two expressions of interest in this site. There were no objections to building on the site, which the Corporation did already own, and it was agreed that the housing would be extremely useful. After 1916, the site was auctioned off and the winning bid was from Mr Alexander Hull. Building was due to be completed in just nine months. Unfortunately due to many different problems such as the plan to widen the road, lack of men and materials and on top of that a strike run by the craftsmen the project was not complete in the time frame given. After many setbacks, the housing was handed over to the Corporation on 21 March 1921. The naming of the streets was carried out with the intention of showing respect towards those who had fought during the 1916 rebellion. St James's Walk then became Colbert's Fort; the streets commemorated Mallin, Clarke and MacCarthy. Many of the houses on Colbert's Fort are still standing today and add some intrigue to the area.

Famous residents

Des Bishop Desmond Bishop (born 12 November 1975) is an American - Irish comedian. He was brought up in New York and moved to Ireland at the age of 14. He primarily resides there. Early life Bishop attended St. Francis Preparatory School in the Fresh M ...

, Irish-American comedian who lives in Rialto. *

Gay Byrne Gabriel Mary Byrne (5 August 1934 – 4 November 2019) was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television. His most notable role was as the first host of '' The Late Late Show'' over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999. ''The Late La ...

, ''(b.1934, d.2019)'' renowned Irish broadcaster and inaugural host of The Late Late Show who grew up in the area. *

Emma Dabiri Emma Dabiri FRSL (born 25 March) is an Irish writer and broadcaster. Her debut book, ''Don't Touch My Hair'', was published in 2019. Her 2021 book, ''What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition'', became an international bestsell ...

, Irish-Nigerian author, broadcaster and social historian who grew up in Rialto. * Louisa Flanagan, ''(b.1882, d.1959)'' daughter of Michael Flanagan and wife of the

First President First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of the Executive Council

W. T. Cosgrave William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish politician who served as the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, Leader of the Opposition from 1932 to 1944, Leader of Fine Gael ...

. * Michael "The Alderman" Flanagan, ''(b.1833, d.1931)'' a local councillor who was elected to

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...

. * Willie "The Bird" Flanagan, ''(b.1867, d.1925)'' son of Michael Flanagan and practical joker after whom the eponymous local

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

is named. * Kevin Moran, ex. Dublin GAA footballer and centre back for Manchester United and the Republic of Ireland, was born in the area.

Landmarks

* Former Rialto Cinema * The Bird Flanagan * Rialto Parish Church

References