Dublin quays
Encyclopedia
The Dublin quays refers to the two roadways and quays that run along the north and south banks of the River Liffey
in Dublin, Ireland. The stretches of the two continuous streets have several different names, however all but three of the names (Swift's Row, Bachelors Walk and Usher's Island) share the same "Quay" designation. The quays have played an important part in Dublin's history.
Much of the southern roadway and a portion of the north roadway is part of the N4 road while another portion of the north roadway is part of the N1 road.
Both roadways run approximately 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from Sean Heuston Bridge
in the west. The eastern end of the north roadway is at East-Link Bridge
while the south roadway turns southward at the Grand Canal. Seventeen bridges cross the river along the line of The Quays, three of them are exclusively pedestrian bridges, one a railway bridge, one other for Luas
trams and pedestrians and the remainder for vehicular and pedestrian use.
The name designations of the north roadway are (from west to east): Wolfe Tone Quay, Sarsfield Quay, Ellis Quay, Arran Quay, Inns Quay, Upper Ormond Quay, Lower Ormond Quay, Bachelors Walk
, Eden Quay
, Custom House Quay and North Wall Quay.
The name designations of the south roadway are (from west to east): Victoria Quay, Usher's Island, Usher's Quay, Merchant's Quay, Wood Quay
, Essex Quay, Wellington Quay, Aston Quay, Burgh Quay, George's Quay, City Quay, Sir John Rogerson's Quay
and Britain Quay
.
A majority of the roadways in the city centre are one-way
with the north roadway being eastward and the south being westward.
Vikings were the first settlers in Dublin and many Viking artifacts were found at what is now Wood Quay. The quays were first developed during the time of King John
in the early 13th Century when the monarch licensed citizens to erect buildings on the River Liffey. They became the center of the Irish shipping trade until the 1800s when the river in this section was considered too shallow for the more modern heavy ships.
The Custom House
, one of Dublin's major landmarks on Custom House Quay, was completed in 1791. The quay takes its namesake from the building. Later, the Four Courts
on Inns Quay was completed in 1802 and is currently home to the Supreme Court of Ireland and the High Court. Both were designed by renowned architect James Gandon
.
Burgh Quay is named after Elizabeth Burgh, wife of Anthony Foster whose son was Rt. Hon. John Foster last speaker of the Irish House of Commons. ( Now the Bank of Ireland, College Green.)
Burgh Quay was once the site of the Tivoli Theatre.
The Corn Exchange Building designed by George Halpin in 1815 was approved by the Wide Streets Commissioners in 1816 and work commenced on this building soon afterwards. Its granite facade still remains on Burgh Quay.
Shipping came as far upstream as Burgh Quay until 1879 when Butt Bridge was constructed.
Many of the buildings on Burgh Quay including No. 8 still retain remnants of the shopfronts designed for the Wide Streets commissioners.
Recent years have brought much development to the quays. One controversial development was at Wood Quay by the Dublin Corporation
in late 1900s when there were many archeological Viking finds. This led to a very public and unsuccessful campaign to halt the development.
In 2006, local politicians proposed renaming some of the quays. MEP Gay Mitchell
proposed renaming George's Quay or Victoria Quay to Joyce Quay or Behan Quay, named for the iconic Irish writers James Joyce
and Brendan Behan
.
and Eveline
. Joyce biographer Michael H. Begnal wrote, "Joyce associated the Liffey Quays with the desire for escape."
Artist Jack Butler Yeats
painted "Dublin Quays" in 1916.
Author Frances A. Gerard described the Dublin quays in 1898 as follows: "Much of the picturesque appearance of Dublin is due to the Quays which intersect the City and the Bridges which span the Liffey; they impart to it a foreign air resembling the Quays of Paris
."
Ushers Island was the name of a competitor in the 1994 Grand National
at Aintree
, falling at the third fence.
River Liffey
The Liffey is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water, and a range of recreational opportunities.-Name:The river was previously named An Ruirthech,...
in Dublin, Ireland. The stretches of the two continuous streets have several different names, however all but three of the names (Swift's Row, Bachelors Walk and Usher's Island) share the same "Quay" designation. The quays have played an important part in Dublin's history.
Much of the southern roadway and a portion of the north roadway is part of the N4 road while another portion of the north roadway is part of the N1 road.
Routes descriptions
Sean Heuston Bridge
Seán Heuston Bridge is a cast iron bridge spanning the River Liffey beside Heuston Station, Dublin. It was previously named King's Bridge and Sarsfield Bridge - and the bridge and adjacent train station are still commonly referred to by older Dubliners as "Kings Bridge" and "Kings Bridge...
in the west. The eastern end of the north roadway is at East-Link Bridge
East-Link (Dublin)
The East-Link is a toll bridge in Dublin, Ireland, on the River Liffey, owned by Dublin City Council and operated by NTR plc. The lifting bridge, which links North Wall to Ringsend, is the last bridge on the Liffey, which opens out into Dublin Port and then Dublin Bay just beyond...
while the south roadway turns southward at the Grand Canal. Seventeen bridges cross the river along the line of The Quays, three of them are exclusively pedestrian bridges, one a railway bridge, one other for Luas
Luas
Luas , also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, is a tram or light rail system serving Dublin, the first such system in the decades since the closure of the last of the Dublin tramways. In 2007, the system carried 28.4 million passengers, a growth of 10% since...
trams and pedestrians and the remainder for vehicular and pedestrian use.
The name designations of the north roadway are (from west to east): Wolfe Tone Quay, Sarsfield Quay, Ellis Quay, Arran Quay, Inns Quay, Upper Ormond Quay, Lower Ormond Quay, Bachelors Walk
Bachelors Walk (Dublin)
Bachelors Walk is a street and quay on the north bank of the Liffey, Dublin, Ireland, between Swifts' Row to the west and both the southern end of O'Connell Street and O'Connell Bridge in the east.It was the setting for the eponymous tv series....
, Eden Quay
Eden Quay
Eden Quay is one of the Dublin quays on the banks of the River Liffey in Dublin. The quay runs the bank between O'Connell Bridge and Butt Bridge. The quay is bisected by Marlborough Street, roughly halfway along its length...
, Custom House Quay and North Wall Quay.
The name designations of the south roadway are (from west to east): Victoria Quay, Usher's Island, Usher's Quay, Merchant's Quay, Wood Quay
Wood Quay
Wood Quay is a riverside area of Dublin that was a site of Viking settlement. Dublin Corporation acquired Wood Quay gradually between 1950 and 1975, finally announcing that it would be the location of their new offices. Finds made during the initial excavation of the site led to a massive, but...
, Essex Quay, Wellington Quay, Aston Quay, Burgh Quay, George's Quay, City Quay, Sir John Rogerson's Quay
Sir John Rogerson's Quay (Dublin)
Sir John Rogerson's Quay is a street and quay in Dublin on the south bank of the Liffey between City Quay in the west and Britain Quay. Formerly part of Dublin Port, it has some of the few remaining campshire warehouses in Dublin....
and Britain Quay
Britain Quay (Dublin)
Britain Quay is a quay and street in Dublin on the south bank of the River Liffey between Sir John Rogerson's Quay and the confluence of the River Liffey, River Dodder and Grand Canal.The U2 Tower is to be built here.-References:...
.
A majority of the roadways in the city centre are 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:...
with the north roadway being eastward and the south being westward.
History
NormanNormans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
Vikings were the first settlers in Dublin and many Viking artifacts were found at what is now Wood Quay. The quays were first developed during the time of King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
in the early 13th Century when the monarch licensed citizens to erect buildings on the River Liffey. They became the center of the Irish shipping trade until the 1800s when the river in this section was considered too shallow for the more modern heavy ships.
The Custom House
The Custom House is a neoclassical 18th century building in Dublin, Ireland which houses the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government...
, one of Dublin's major landmarks on Custom House Quay, was completed in 1791. The quay takes its namesake from the building. Later, the Four Courts
Four Courts
The Four Courts in Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's main courts building. The Four Courts are the location of the Supreme Court, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. The building until 2010 also formerly was the location for the Central Criminal Court.-Gandon's Building:Work based on...
on Inns Quay was completed in 1802 and is currently home to the Supreme Court of Ireland and the High Court. Both were designed by renowned architect James Gandon
James Gandon
James Gandon is today recognised as one of the leading architects to have worked in Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House, the Four Courts, King's Inns in Dublin and Emo Court in Co...
.
Burgh Quay is named after Elizabeth Burgh, wife of Anthony Foster whose son was Rt. Hon. John Foster last speaker of the Irish House of Commons. ( Now the Bank of Ireland, College Green.)
Burgh Quay was once the site of the Tivoli Theatre.
The Corn Exchange Building designed by George Halpin in 1815 was approved by the Wide Streets Commissioners in 1816 and work commenced on this building soon afterwards. Its granite facade still remains on Burgh Quay.
Shipping came as far upstream as Burgh Quay until 1879 when Butt Bridge was constructed.
Many of the buildings on Burgh Quay including No. 8 still retain remnants of the shopfronts designed for the Wide Streets commissioners.
Recent years have brought much development to the quays. One controversial development was at Wood Quay by the Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation , known by generations of Dubliners simply as The Corpo, is the former name given to the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin between 1661 and 1 January 2002...
in late 1900s when there were many archeological Viking finds. This led to a very public and unsuccessful campaign to halt the development.
In 2006, local politicians proposed renaming some of the quays. MEP Gay Mitchell
Gay Mitchell
Gabriel "Gay" Mitchell is an Irish politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency since 2004. He is a member of Fine Gael, part of the European People's Party, and a former Teachta Dála for the Dublin South Central constituency from 1981–2007. He was defeated by...
proposed renaming George's Quay or Victoria Quay to Joyce Quay or Behan Quay, named for the iconic Irish writers 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...
and Brendan Behan
Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.-Early life:...
.
The Dublin quays in culture
Many artists have found inspirations in and from the quays. Irish novelist James Joyce had many of his stories take place at the Dublin quays, including An EncounterAn Encounter
An Encounter is a short story by James Joyce. It is second in a collection of Joyce's short stories called Dubliners.-The story:The story involves a boy–the narrator–and his friend Mahony taking a day off from school and going to the shore, to seek adventure in their otherwise-dull lives...
and Eveline
Eveline
Eveline is a story from Dubliners by James Joyce.-The story :A young woman of about nineteen years of age sits by her window, waiting to leave home. She muses on the aspects of her life that are driving her away, while "in her nostrils was the smell of dusty cretonne". Her mother has died as has...
. Joyce biographer Michael H. Begnal wrote, "Joyce associated the Liffey Quays with the desire for escape."
Artist Jack Butler Yeats
Jack Butler Yeats
John "Jack" Butler Yeats was an Irish artist. His early style was that of an illustrator; he only began to work regularly in oils in 1906. His early pictures are simple lyrical depictions of landscapes and figures, predominantly from the west of Ireland—especially of his boyhood home of...
painted "Dublin Quays" in 1916.
Author Frances A. Gerard described the Dublin quays in 1898 as follows: "Much of the picturesque appearance of Dublin is due to the Quays which intersect the City and the Bridges which span the Liffey; they impart to it a foreign air resembling the Quays of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
."
Ushers Island was the name of a competitor in the 1994 Grand National
1994 Grand National
The 1994 Grand National was the 147th official renewal the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 9 April 1994....
at Aintree
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside. It lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, about north of Liverpool city centre, in North West England....
, falling at the third fence.
Notable places on the Dublin quays
- The Clarence hotel (Wellington Quay)
- The Custom HouseThe Custom HouseThe Custom House is a neoclassical 18th century building in Dublin, Ireland which houses the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government...
(Custom House Quay) - Four CourtsFour CourtsThe Four Courts in Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's main courts building. The Four Courts are the location of the Supreme Court, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. The building until 2010 also formerly was the location for the Central Criminal Court.-Gandon's Building:Work based on...
(Inns Quay) - Liberty HallLiberty HallLiberty Hall , in Dublin, Ireland is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union...
(Eden Quay) - U2 TowerU2 TowerThe U2 Tower was a proposed landmark skyscraper to be constructed in Dublin. The site was in the South Docklands campshires, at the corner of Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay, by the confluence of the River Liffey, the River Dodder, and the Grand Canal. The design announced on 12 October...
(Britain Quay)(proposed)