Grafton Street
Grafton Street is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre, the other being Henry Street. It runs from Saint Stephen’s Green in the south to College Green in the north.
Leprechaun yourself
In 2008, Grafton Street was the fifth most expensive main shopping street in the world, at €5,621/m²/year.
All kind of service is available
The street was named after Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, the illegitimate son of Charles II of England who owned land in the area. The street was developed from a then existing country lane by the Dawson family in 1708, after whom the parallel Dawson Street is named.
Living statue on the Grafton Street
After O’Connell Bridge (then called ‘Carlisle Bridge‘) was built to span the River Liffey, Grafton Street turned from a fashionable residential street into a busy cross-city route.
You can meet here every kind of street entertainers
Since the 1980s, the street has been mostly pedestrianized, with the exception of the short stretch running between Nassau Street and College Green. This short stretch contains two notable Dublin landmarks, the eighteenth century Trinity College Provost’s House, home to the head of the college, and the late twentieth century statue of Molly Malone, which has become a popular Dublin meeting place.
View from Grafton Street to Ann Street
Bewley’s Oriental Café, a Grafton Street institution since its opening in 1927, announced at the end of October 2004 that it would be closing before Christmas, along with its Westmoreland Street café. Following a campaign by many, including the then Mayor of Dublin, Catherine Byrne, the café on Grafton Street, which had closed, was reopened, including its small performance area.
How in the world he’s sitting on the thin air?
Buskers, including musicians, poets and mime artists commonly perform to the shopping crowds. This scene was portrayed in the 2006 film Once, starring Glen Hansard of The Frames, a former Grafton Street busker.
The Busker
Source: Wikipedia
The Lonely Planet Dublin City Travel Guide describes Grafton Street as the “buskers’ Carnegie Hall”
