Clanbrassil Street, Dublin
Encyclopedia
Clanbrassil Street is a street in Dublin south of the city centre. It runs from Robert Emmet Bridge on the Grand Canal
to New Street. It is served by several bus routes.
It is named after James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil
.
, which ran south from the settlement at Áth Cliath. It took its name from Cualu, the district in which Dublin was situated and which lay between the mouths of the Liffey and the Avoca
(in County Wicklow
).
In 1868, a new street was opened to connect Harold's Cross with Lower Clanbrassil Street. The Lord Mayor, the Aldermen and Frederick Stokes, who had purchased the land and led the project, attended the opening. The street was to be called Kingsland Street, but in fact, that name was never used, and it became Upper Clanbrassil Street.
Between 1886 and 1892, 128 houses were built off Clanbrassil St. (on Daniel St. and Harty Place) by the Dublin Artisans Dwelling Company for the industrial and working classes.
Lower Clanbrassil St. was known as part of Little Jerusalem because in the first half of the Twentieth century it was at the heart of the Jewish community in Ireland. The first Jews fleeing conditions in Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire
) arrived in the early 1870s and eventually settled off Lower Clanbrassil St. In the following decades many of them settled along the South Circular Road
, both sides of Leonard's Corner, and in the side-streets off it.
on to Christ Church Cathedral
.
After protests and demonstrations by locals and sympathisers against the road, and intervention by the Taoiseach
, Charles Haughey
, work on the road eventually began in 1989. A 4-lane dual carriageway was constructed, flanked by new houses and apartments. The cost of the road was estimated to be £2 million.
Among the areas destroyed by the road construction was the crossing known locally as the "Four Corners of Hell" (the junction of Patrick St., Dean St., New St. and Kevin St.), because there was a public house on each corner. Also the well-known hostelry the Bunch of Grapes (formerly Fitzpatrick's, constructed in 1739).
, the fictional Jewish character at the heart of the James Joyce
novel Ulysses
, lived at "52 Clanbrassil Street"; a plaque commemorating this can be found on the wall of 52 Upper Clanbrassil Street.
Grand Canal of Ireland
The Grand Canal is the southernmost of a pair of canals that connect Dublin, in the east of Ireland, with the River Shannon in the west,via Tullamore and a number of other villages and towns, the two canals nearly encircling Dublin's inner city. Its sister canal on the Northside of Dublin is the...
to New Street. It is served by several bus routes.
It is named after James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil
James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil
James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil KP PC was an Irish peer, styled Viscount Limerick from 1756 to 1758....
.
History
From earliest times the street formed part of the Slige ChualannWicklow Way
The Wicklow Way is a long-distance trail that crosses the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It runs from Marlay Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin through County Wicklow and ends in the village of Clonegal in County Carlow. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the Irish Sports...
, which ran south from the settlement at Áth Cliath. It took its name from Cualu, the district in which Dublin was situated and which lay between the mouths of the Liffey and the Avoca
River Avoca
The Avoca is a river in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is contained completely within the county.The Avoca starts life as two rivers, the Avonmore and the Avonbeg...
(in County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
).
In 1868, a new street was opened to connect Harold's Cross with Lower Clanbrassil Street. The Lord Mayor, the Aldermen and Frederick Stokes, who had purchased the land and led the project, attended the opening. The street was to be called Kingsland Street, but in fact, that name was never used, and it became Upper Clanbrassil Street.
Between 1886 and 1892, 128 houses were built off Clanbrassil St. (on Daniel St. and Harty Place) by the Dublin Artisans Dwelling Company for the industrial and working classes.
Lower Clanbrassil St. was known as part of Little Jerusalem because in the first half of the Twentieth century it was at the heart of the Jewish community in Ireland. The first Jews fleeing conditions in Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
) arrived in the early 1870s and eventually settled off Lower Clanbrassil St. In the following decades many of them settled along the South Circular Road
South Circular Road, Dublin
The South Circular Road is a road in Dublin, Ireland, one of the longest in the city. It runs from Kilmainham in the west of the city, through Rialto and Dolphin's Barn to Portobello, near the centre. As it runs mainly through residential areas, it is used by numerous bus routes.-History:Until the...
, both sides of Leonard's Corner, and in the side-streets off it.
Development of the new road
In 1953 all residents of Clanbrassil St. received a notice from Dublin Corporation that residences on the west side of the street would have to have 16 feet (4.9 m) removed from the frontage of the properties to make way for a new road. This proposal was constantly changed or deferred, so that in the 1960s and 1970s the street fell into ruin. One by one businesses, public houses and retail outlets closed up or were demolished, and that side of the road became a wasteland. By 1980 the road engineers had increased the amount of space needed to 60 feet (18.3 m), in order to run a 6-lane dual carriageway through the street, past St. Patrick's CathedralSt. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Saint Patrick's Cathedral , or more formally, the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Patrick is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland which was founded in 1191. The Church has designated it as The National Cathedral of Ireland...
on to Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the Ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the Church of Ireland...
.
After protests and demonstrations by locals and sympathisers against the road, and intervention by the Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
, Charles Haughey
Charles Haughey
Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...
, work on the road eventually began in 1989. A 4-lane dual carriageway was constructed, flanked by new houses and apartments. The cost of the road was estimated to be £2 million.
Among the areas destroyed by the road construction was the crossing known locally as the "Four Corners of Hell" (the junction of Patrick St., Dean St., New St. and Kevin St.), because there was a public house on each corner. Also the well-known hostelry the Bunch of Grapes (formerly Fitzpatrick's, constructed in 1739).
Literary allusion
Leopold BloomLeopold Bloom
Leopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and hero of James Joyce's Ulysses. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and intimate scale, those of Ulysses/Odysseus in The Odyssey....
, the fictional Jewish character at the heart of the James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
novel Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
, lived at "52 Clanbrassil Street"; a plaque commemorating this can be found on the wall of 52 Upper Clanbrassil Street.
