Temple Bar, Dublin
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Temple Bar () is an area on the south bank of the
River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...
in central
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 ...
, Ireland. The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and
Fishamble Street Fishamble Street (; ) is a street in Dublin, Ireland within the old city walls. Location The street joins Wood Quay at the Fish Slip near Fyan's Castle. It originally ran from Castle Street to Essex Quay until the creation of Lord Edward S ...
to the west. It is promoted as Dublin's 'cultural quarter' and, as a centre of Dublin's city centre's
nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
, is a
tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beau ...
. Temple Bar is in the
Dublin 2 Dublin 2, also rendered as D2 and D02, is a historic List of Dublin postal districts, postal district on the Southside, Dublin, southside of Dublin, Ireland. In the 1960s, this central district became a focus for office development. More recentl ...
postal district.


History

In medieval (Anglo-Norman) times, the district was part of St. Andrews Parish and one of the earliest structures in the area was the Augustinian Friary of the Most Holy Trinity which was located near present day Cecelia Street from around 1259 onwards. It was a suburb, located outside the city walls. However, the area fell into disuse beginning in the 14th century, as it was exposed to attacks by the native Irish. The land was redeveloped in the 17th century, to create gardens for the houses of wealthy English families. At that time the shoreline of the
River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...
ran further inland of where it lies today, along the line formed by Essex Street, Temple Bar and Fleet Street. Marshy land to the river side of this line was progressively walled in and reclaimed, allowing houses to be built upon what had been the shoreline; but unusually, the reclaimed land was not quayed, so that the backyards of the houses ran down to the water's edge. (Not until 1812 were these backyards replaced by Wellington Quay.) The fronts of the houses then constituted a new street. The first mention of Temple Bar as the name of this street is in Bernard de Gomme's Map of Dublin from 1673, which shows the reclaimed land and new buildings. Other street names given nearby are Dammas Street (now Dame Street) and Dirty Lane (now Temple Lane South). It is generally thought that the street known as Temple Bar got its name from the Temple family, whose progenitor Sir William Temple built a house and gardens there in the early 1600s. Temple had moved to Ireland in 1599 with the expeditionary force of the Earl of Essex, for whom he served as secretary. (He had previously been secretary of Sir Philip Sydney until the latter was killed in battle.) After Essex was beheaded for treason in 1601, Temple "retired into private life", but he was then solicited to become provost of Trinity College, serving from 1609 until his death in 1627 at age 72. William Temple's son
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
became the Master of the Rolls in Ireland (a senior judicial position) and was the author of a famous pamphlet excoriating the native Irish population for an uprising in 1641. John's son William Temple became a famous English statesman. Despite this grand lineage, however, the name of Temple Bar street seems to have been more directly borrowed from the storied Temple Bar district in London, where the main toll gate into London was located dating back to medieval times:
London's Temple Bar is adjoined by Essex Street to the west and Fleet Street to the east, and streets of the same names occupy similar positions in relation to Dublin's Temple Bar. It seems almost certain therefore that Dublin's Temple Bar was named firstly in imitation of the historic Temple precinct in London. However, a secondary and equally plausible reason for using the name Temple Bar in Dublin would be a reference to one of the area's most prominent families, in a sort of pun or play on words. Or as it has been put more succinctly, Temple Bar 'does honour to London and the landlord in nicely-gauged proportions'.
Fishamble Street Fishamble Street (; ) is a street in Dublin, Ireland within the old city walls. Location The street joins Wood Quay at the Fish Slip near Fyan's Castle. It originally ran from Castle Street to Essex Quay until the creation of Lord Edward S ...
near Temple Bar was the location of the first performance of
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
's ''
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
'' on 13 April 1742. An annual performance of the ''Messiah'' is held on the same date at the same location. A republican revolutionary group, the
Society of the United Irishmen A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...
, was formed at a meeting in a tavern in Eustace Street in 1791. In the 18th century, Temple Bar was the centre of prostitution in Dublin. During the 19th century, the area slowly declined in popularity, and in the 20th century, it suffered from
urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...
, with many derelict buildings. In the 1970s and 1980s, the state-owned transport company Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) proposed to buy up and demolish property in the area and build a bus terminus in its place. While that was in the planning stages, the purchased buildings were let out at low rents, which attracted small shops, artists and galleries to the area. The plans included a large underground carpark with 1,500 spaces, a shopping centre on the ground and first floors, with the bus station at second-floor level accessed by large, long ramps to accommodate double-decker buses. Protests by
An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; "An Taisce" meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established on a provisional basis in September 1946, and incorporated as a company based on an “association not for profit” in June 1948, is ...
, residents and traders led to the cancellation of the bus station project, and then
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...
was responsible for securing funding, and, in 1991, the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
set up a not-for-profit company called ''Temple Bar Properties'', managed by Laura Magahy, to oversee the regeneration of the area as Dublin's cultural quarter. A ''Dublin Tourism'' booklet from pre-1996 described the area thus:
This network of narrow, cobbled eighteenth century streets has evolved in recent years as an inner-city
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
full of restaurants, theatres, cafes, arts centres, galleries and second hand shops selling books, clothes and bric-a-brac. The area is the focus of a major urban renewal project under which old buildings have been restored and upgraded, streets recobbled and new street lighting installed. Once famous for printers and clockmakers, it was full of merchants and craftsmen whose warehouses and old shops survive.
In 1999, stag parties and hen nights were supposedly banned (or discouraged) from Temple Bar, mainly due to drunken, loutish behaviour; this seems to have lapsed. However, noise and anti-social behaviour remained a problem at night as of 2008.


Present day

The area is the location of a number of cultural institutions, including the Irish Photography Centre (incorporating the Dublin Institute of Photography, the National Photographic Archive and the Gallery of Photography), the Ark Children's Cultural Centre, the
Irish Film Institute The Irish Film Institute (IFI; ), formerly the Irish Film Centre, is both an arthouse cinema and a national body that supports Irish film heritage. The IFI presents film festivals, retrospectives and curated seasons, along with independent, I ...
, incorporating the Irish Film Archive, the Button Factory (music venue and club), the Arthouse Multimedia Centre, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, the
Project Arts Centre Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, which hosts visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and performance. History Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain in 1967 after a th ...
, the
Gaiety School of Acting The Gaiety School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school located on Essex Street West in Temple Bar, Dublin, Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by theatre director Joe Dowling in 1986. Patrick Sutton, theatre director, was director of the ...
, IBAT College Dublin, the New Theatre, as well as the
Irish Stock Exchange Euronext Dublin (formerly the Irish Stock Exchange, ISE; ) is Ireland's main stock exchange, and has been in existence since 1793. The Euronext Dublin lists debt and fund securities and is used as a European gateway exchange for companies seek ...
. At night the area is a centre for nightlife, with various nightclubs, restaurants and bars geared towards tourists. Pubs in the area include The Temple Bar pub, and The Porterhouse. The area has two renovated squares – ''Meetinghouse Square'' and the central ''Temple Bar Square''. The Temple Bar Book Market is held on Saturdays and Sundays in Temple Bar Square. Meetinghouse Square, which takes its name from the nearby
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
Meeting House, is used for outdoor film screenings in the summer months. Since summer 2004, Meetinghouse Square is also home to the 'Speaker's Square' project (an area of
public speaking Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...
) and the 'Temple Bar Food Market' on Saturdays. The 'Cow's Lane Market' is a fashion and design market which takes place on Cow's Lane on Saturdays. Part of the 13th-century Augustinian Friary of the Holy Trinity is visible within an apartment/restaurant complex called 'The Friary'.


In popular culture

A dance sequence from the
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
film '' Ek Tha Tiger'' was filmed in the area. Irish singer/songwriter Billy Treacy wrote a song about the area, and country singer
Nathan Carter Nathan Kane Tyrone Carter (born 28 May 1990) is a British-born Irish country music singer based in the UK and Ireland. He Nathan Carter discography, has released thirteen studio albums and six live albums as of December 2022, five of which pea ...
as well as Irish rock band
Kodaline Kodaline () are an Irish rock band. Originally known as 21 Demands, the band adopted their current name in 2012 to coincide with the changing of their music. The group comprises Steve Garrigan, Vincent May, Mark Penderson and Jason Boland. Gar ...
have released songs called Temple Bar.


See also

*
List of streets and squares in Dublin This is a list of notable streets and squares in Dublin, Ireland. __NOTOC__ References Notes Sources * External linksStreetnames of DublinaArchiseekArchitecture of Ireland– English-Irish list of Dublin street names aLeathanach baile Sh ...


References


External links


Overview of Temple Bar Properties Limited established and transition (Dublin City Council)
{{Squares of Dublin City Places in Dublin (city) Tourist attractions in Dublin (city) Entertainment districts Busking venues