Fleet Street, Dublin

Fleet Street

Native name	Sráid na Toinne (Irish)
Namesake	"fleet" of ships that once moored on it; may have been inspired by Fleet Street, London
Length	333 m (1,093 ft)
Width	12 metres (39 ft)
Location	Dublin, Ireland
Postal code	D02
Coordinates	53°20′45″N 6°15′38″W
west end	Temple Bar, Asdill's Row
east end	D'Olier Street, Townsend Street, College Street
Other
Known for	pubs and hotels

Fleet Street (Irish: Sráid na Toinne)^[1] is a street on the southside of Dublin, Ireland.^[2] Located in the Dublin 2 area, Fleet Street runs eastwards, parallel to the River Liffey, through Temple Bar, across Westmoreland Street to D'Olier Street.^[3]

History

The street formerly marked the southern edge of the River Liffey, and was known in Irish as Sráid na Toinne ("street of the waves"). Its name may refer to the "fleet" of ships that moored along it, or it may be imitative of Fleet Street, London; many streets on Dublin's southside are named for London streets, and Dublin's Fleet Street is east of Dublin's Temple Bar, just as London's Fleet Street is east of London's Temple Bar.^[4][5]

In 1902, Irish revolutionary Kevin Barry was born at number 8, Fleet Street, where his father ran a dairy business.^[6]

In the 1970s, it was home to Sloopy's, Ireland's first discotheque.^[7][8]

Although a wealthy area, and a centre of furniture-making,^[9] Fleet Street went into decline in the 20th century and in the 1980s was set to be demolished, and a bus terminus built in its place. Instead, it was revived as a cultural area.^[5] Today it is known for its many pubs, cafés and restaurants, including the Hard Rock Cafe, the Oliver St. John Gogarty, Bowes,^[10] and The Palace Bar.^[11][12][13] Fleet Street also contains the Irish HQ of Amnesty International, at Seán MacBride House.^[14][15]

In 2022, travel website The World Bucket List ranked Fleet Street as one of Europe's 15 most beautiful streets, calling it "the capital city’s most bustling street […] A picturesque cobbled street, Fleet Street comes alive at night and encapsulates the craic and hospitality that Ireland is known for."^[16][17]

Cultural references

Fleet Street appears several times in the work of James Joyce: in "The Boarding House" he mentions "Jack Mooney, the Madam’s son, who was clerk to a commission agent in Fleet Street", while in "Counterparts" he mentions "Terry Kelly’s pawn-office in Fleet Street".^[18][19] In Ulysses, Leopold Bloom stands at "Fleet street crossing."^[20]

Gallery

• 
  Electricity substation at junction with Bedford Row
• 
  Hard Rock Café at junction with Aston Place
• 
  Oliver St. John Gogarty pub and restaurant
• 
  Streetscape
• 
  A bronze plaque set in the pavement outside The Palace Bar in memory of Brendan Behan

See also

• List of streets and squares in Dublin

References

1. "Sráid na Toinne / Fleet Street". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
2. "Fleet-street - Dublin Street Directory 1862". www.libraryireland.com.
3. "On Fleet Street, Haircuts as Gaeilge". Dublin Inquirer.
4. "Dublin Street Names". www.fionasplace.net.
5. "The Fleet Hotel". The Fleet Hotel.
6. O'Donovan, Donal. Kevin Barry and His Time, Glendale, Dublin, 1989; ISBN 0-907606-68-7, at p.15.
7. Grainger, Laura (20 August 2022). "Lost discos and dancehalls beloved by '60s and '70s Dublin". DublinLive.
8. Grainger, Laura (17 July 2022). "Things you could do in 1970s Dublin that you can't do now". DublinLive.
9. of), Desmond FitzGerald Glin (Knight; Fitz-Gerald, Desmond John Villiers; Glin, Knight of; Peill, James (1 January 2007). Irish Furniture: Woodwork and Carving in Ireland from the Earliest Times to the Act of Union. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300117158 – via Google Books.
10. "Major expansion planned for one of Dublin's last Victorian pubs". The Irish Times.
11. "Palace Bar owner urges more Government help for hospitality sector". The Irish Times.
12. McQuillan, Siân (5 August 2022). "BEST GUINNESS IN DUBLIN: 10 pubs endorsed by The Guinness Guru". Ireland Before You Die.
13. Berry, Darragh (21 February 2022). "Bowes and Gravediggers pubs both given title of 'best Guinness' by pint Guru". DublinLive.
14. "Directory of Services and Resources for Survivors of Torture". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services. 11 September 2003 – via Google Books.
15. Quinn, Emma (11 September 2008). Handbook on Immigration and Asylum in Ireland 2007. ESRI. ISBN 9780707002743 – via Google Books.
16. McQuillan, Siân (31 August 2022). "ICONIC Dublin street named among MOST BEAUTIFUL in Europe". Ireland Before You Die.
17. Morris, Katie (29 August 2022). "The 15 most BEAUTIFUL streets in Europe, RANKED".
18. "Fleet Street". Mapping Dubliners Project.
19. "Dubliners, by James Joyce" – via gutenberg.org.
20. "Ulysses, by James Joyce" – via gutenberg.org.