It was a fine late summer evening and I found myself walking around the streets of Dublin – on the southside, mind you.
I started off strolling up from Dame Street through that mini, quirky laneway into Dame Court – are you still with me? – just where The Dame Tavern and the relatively newly refurbished The Mercantile meet. There was a busy crowd standing around talking, joking, laughing, drinking mainly, but it felt easy. Upbeat, even.
I kept going up to Drury Street, turned left on to Castle Market (I had to Google that to remind myself), and on up to Grogan’s Castle Lounge. Again, all I saw were crowds of people enjoying themselves and enjoying the late evening. I stopped, had a drink in Grogans, and people-watched. A healthy mix of locals, students, tourists here and there.
After my drink in that fine establishment, I headed north.
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I passed through Temple Bar. Yes, the Temple Bar we know – full of tourists. And yes, it was full of tourists. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Incidentally, I never discourage any potential visitor from visiting Temple Bar, at least once, have a drink, a look, or listen to a few songs. Admittedly the playlist isn’t huge, but still, I always say it’s worth checking out. Just don’t stay all night. See the rest of the city, save some money for later.
I kept going and found myself at Jervis Luas Stop. I just didn’t see that many people gathered around in pockets of laughter. Mainly people moving from A to B. The mood is always edgier on the north inner city.
Why is that? How do we change that?
I kept walking towards O’Connell Street and the mood felt the same. Everyone just getting from one place to the next.
Listen, I’m a great fan of Capel Street and Parnell Street and think there’s a brilliant selection of restaurants – from Turkish to Japanese, from Italian to Vietnamese. A great mix of people. I never feel in danger, but I admit it feels edgier. We need to be proud of that mix though.
We’re living in a booming economy, in a capital city. We need immigration. We need multi-culture. Something we should be really proud of.
I’ll stop that conversation there.
Back to the southside. Yes, it has the edge when it comes to hangout spots, venues, shopping – St Stephen’s Green, Merrion Square, Dublin Castle – but not by much.
The northside should be capable of matching it.
We have the Abbey Theatre, Gate Theatre, Ambassador Theatre, Chapter One. We have the General Post Office, probably the most important building in the country. We have the Garden of Remembrance.
Within five minutes of each other, you could see world-class theatre, catch a comedy show, eat in a two-star Michelin restaurant – but yet you won’t hang around on the streets.
We just need to join the dots.
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I visited Madrid recently for the first time and I was hugely impressed. The Gran Vía at 9pm was fully alive. The streets were packed, the shops were open, the LED signs looked impressive. Yes, they’re advertising commercial brands – but so what? London has Piccadilly Circus – once a traffic junction people hurried through, now a place people stop and linger. New York City has Times Square, and I remember it in 1989 when 42nd Street had serious problems. Places change.
Anyway, back to Madrid: there were locals, tourists, shoppers, partygoers all enjoying the same street and it was impressive. It looked impressive and it felt alive.
You might laugh, but we have our own Gran Vía. One of the widest streets in Europe.
Look at Stoneybatter and Phibsborough. Great examples of merging the old with the new. Independent cafes, great pubs, quality choice, and people on the streets laughing and enjoying themselves.
That wasn’t a regeneration strategy. It just seemed to happen.
I lived in Stoneybatter in the early 1990s. It was a different place altogether.
It’s not just about Garda presence. I hear the same argument all the time, primarily from the 55+ age cohort who don’t frequent the city very often any more. There’s more Garda presence now, I can vouch for that, but what we need is more people. More life.
Have you been to Parnell Street on Lunar New Year? The place is full of colour, celebrating Chinese, Mongolian and Korean culture. It’s amazing and I’ll be back again! It’s happening from February 14th-22nd.
So we’ve established the northside of the city does not lack culture, food, or history.
It just lacks a centre. A hub. A spine.
Drury Street works because everything seems close. O’Connell Street fails because everything seems far apart.
It shouldn’t.
Ray O’Donoghue is Dublin City Council’s night-time economy adviser
