Dawson Street is one of the main streets of central Dublin, running parallel to Grafton Street

Grafton Street, Dublin

Grafton Street is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre, the other being Henry Street. It runs from St. Stephen's Green in the south to College Green in the north...

, to which it is connected by Duke Street and South Anne Street. Much of the street is a shopping thoroughfare, including the bookshop Hodges Figgis

Hodges-Figgis

Hodges Figgis, Ireland's largest bookshop, is located on Dawson Street, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It was founded in the 18th century and is mentioned in passing in James Joyce's novel Ulysses...

.

The street was named after the Dawson family, especially Harry Dawson, who laid out Dawson Street as well as the nearby Grafton, Anne, and Harry Streets, and Joshua Dawson, who built the Mansion House

Mansion House, Dublin

The Mansion House on Dawson Street, Dublin, is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715.-Features:The Mansion House's most famous features include the "Round Room", where the First Dáil assembled on 21 January 1919 to proclaim the Irish Declaration of Independence...

 in 1710.

Molesworth Street

Molesworth Street, Dublin

Molesworth Street links the more notable Dawson Street with Kildare Street. Both houses of the Oireachtas are located in Leinster House, Kildare Street ....

 links the street to Kildare Street

Kildare Street

Kildare Street is a well-known street in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Some Irish government departments have their offices on this street but it is most famous for Leinster...

.

Saint Ann's Church

St. Ann's Church, Dawson Street

St. Ann's Church, Dawson Street, in Dublin, Ireland, was built in the early 18th century following the establishment of the Anglican parish in 1707. In the early 21st century the church presents itself as ecumenical within the tradition of the Church of Ireland.-Building history:The building of the...

 is found on the eastern side and the Mansion House

Mansion House, Dublin

The Mansion House on Dawson Street, Dublin, is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715.-Features:The Mansion House's most famous features include the "Round Room", where the First Dáil assembled on 21 January 1919 to proclaim the Irish Declaration of Independence...

 near the south end.

The street has a slight slope downwards from its Stephen's Green

St. Stephen's Green

St Stephen's Green is a city centre public park in Dublin, Ireland. The park is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street, and to a shopping centre named for it, while on its surrounding streets are the offices of a number of public bodies and the city terminus of one of...

 end to its Trinity

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

 end.

Traffic flows one way

One-way traffic

One-way traffic is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction.-General signs:...

, northwards.

Famous inhabitants

Noted Irish ecclesiastical architect William Hague

William Hague (architect)

William Hague Jr. was a well-known Irish Roman Catholic ecclesiastical architect active throughout mid- to late-nineteenth-century Ireland, particularly in Ulster. He is known as a protégé of A.W.N. Pugin...

 had his office at 50 Dawson Street. As did Thomas Francis McNamara

Thomas Francis McNamara

Thomas Francis McNamara, RIAI, RIBA, was an Irish Roman Catholic ecclesiastical architect active throughout the late-nineteenth- to the mid-twentieth-century Ireland who designed many hospitals and Roman Catholic churches. He was a pupil and later managing assistant of William Hague Jr., partner...

(also at No. 50 and No. 5).