Grafton Street
- Grafton Street redirects here. For the street in London, England, see Grafton Street, London, for the one in Milton Keynes, England, see V6 Grafton Street.
Grafton Street (Sráid Grafton in Irish) 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. The street was named after the first Duke of Grafton, who owned land in the area. The street was developed from a then existing country lane by the Dawson family in 1708, after whom the parallel Dawson Street is named.
Since the 1980s, the street has been mostly pedestrianised, with the exception of the short stretch running between Nassau Street and College Green. This short stretch contains two notable Dublin landmarks, the eighteenth century Trinity College Provost's House, home to the head of the college, and the late twentieth century statue of Molly Malone, which has become a popular Dublin meeting place. A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street near the Stephen's Green end, on 19th August 2005.
Bewley's Oriental Cafe, a Grafton Street institution since its opening in 1927, announced at the end of October 2004 that it would be closing before Christmas, along with its Westmoreland Street cafe. Following a campaign by many, including the then Mayor of Dublin, Catherine Byrne, the cafe on Grafton Street, which had closed, was reopened, including its small performance area.
Buskers, including musicians, poets and mime artists commonly perform to the shopping crowds. This scene was portrayed in the 2006 film Once, starring Glen Hansard of The Frames, a former Grafton Street busker.
Rents
The opening of the Luas tram system at the end of June 2004 has led to a 20% increase in pedestrian traffic on the street as of October 2004, although the construction of a large shopping centre in Dundrum toward the other end of the Luas green line could threaten these figures. Grafton Street rents increased by 46% between 2003 and 2004.
Grafton Street is the sixth most expensive street in the world, in terms of average rent amounts.[1]
Shops
Notable shops
- Brown Thomas, one of Europe's most elite department stores, host to an aray of major designer boutiques, such as Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Vera Wang, Swarovski, Chanel, Valentino, Hermes, to name a few. It offers services such as, personal shoppers, bridal specialist, on scene make up artists, a health spa and tailoring.
- Weirs jewellers.
- Bewley's Oriental Cafe
Some notable buskers
- Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Mexican guitar playing duo
- Roadmage - comedy magic show
- Glen Hansard - ex-Grafton Street busker, now in The Frames
- Damien Rice - ex-Grafton Street busker, now famous musician
- John Nee - imitated Charlie Chaplin
- Diceman - Deceased game store owner and street performer
- Dave McSavage - Stand up comedy and music
See also
