Country lane to fashion destination: who owns Grafton Street?

It’s Dublin’s premier shopping street, lined with international retailers selling premium brands.

But who owns the buildings on this historic street? Irish Times reporter Colm Keena went up and down the street, building by building, to reveal the owners – and they are not the international oligarchs and offshore funds that dominate in other capital cities.

As well as institutional investors and Irish pension funds, wealthy Irish families with familiar names own several buildings with some changing hands off-market in recent years as global institutional investors review their exposure to retail and cash-rich Irish people buy in.

And Dublin editor Olivia Kelly explores the history of the street, looking back to a time when it featured grand houses, hotels, Turkish baths, a cinema, schools, undertakers as well as restaurants and cafes. She also explains why there is no one living over these shops.