I’ll be honest though I did know there was a lane beside Centra on D’Olier St, I didn’t know its name or quite how unique it was. Thanks to Pádraig Kelly and hXci for bringing my full attention to it.
Leinster Market is a small, covered lane that links D’Olier Street and Hawkins Street. It was described by in J.T. Gilbert in 1861 as a ‘quaint, narrow old passage, which has very little light even in its open parts, and at either end has to burrow under the first floors of houses that lie right across the way’.
D'Olier St. entrance to Leinster Market. (Photo credit - Matthew S.)
Hawkins St. entrance to Leinster Market. (Photo credit - Matthew S.)
Interior:
Inside view (Picture credit - Brian, Pix.ie)
In the unforgetably named ‘History of the City of Dublin: from the earliest accounts to the present time : containing its annals … to which are added, biographical notices of eminent men … ; in two volumes, illustrated with numerous plates, plans, and maps, Volume 2′ published in 1812:
Leinster Market has been erected within these few years in the vicinity of Carisle Bridge, and leads from Dolier Street to Hawkins Street, through the new buidlings. It is entered by a handsome iron gates, the passages are flagged, and the whole kept perfectly safe and clean. As yet but five of its stalls are occupied for the sale of meat.
On June 09 1953 Miss Bridget Greene an assistant at Skeffington’s confectioner shop in Leinster Market was held up by three youths. One of the gang ‘asked for ice cream’ while another ‘grabbed a mineral water bottle’ and struck her over the head with it ‘in an attempt to reach the till’. Though ‘stunned’, Miss Greene managed to set off a ‘special burglar alarm’ and the youths made off in the direction of Hawkins St. It was reported that this was the third occasion in the last three years in which attempts had been made to rob the till during the day.
On Nov 3 1969, cylinders of gas and drums of diesel oil exploded in a storage building in the alley off Leinster Market. The fire was put out in fifteen minutes.
In 1993, a bronze plaque, of an ‘old guy reading a rumpled up book’, was erected in the lane by the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl to celebrate the characters who use Leinster Market – ‘the gougers, the bus drivers going in for a smoke, and the people walking through’.
Plaque, Leinster Market. (c) Jay Carax
Leinster Market throughout history:
Leinster Market. Late 19th century?
Leinster Market. Early 20th century?
Mapping the lane’s history:
1836
1848
c1907
2011
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 
great series……
I did walk through it as a kid, but any time I’ve seen it lately, the ends have been blocked by gates.
Here’s another photo of Leinster Market in the 19th C. It was taken, or at least collected, by the painter Walter Osborne. Sorry for clumsy link.
http://doras.nationalgallery.ie/index.php?a=ZoomItem&key=RHsiRCI6IkNvbnRhaW5zIHRoZXNlIGl0ZW1zIiwiTiI6NDksIlAiOnsidHlwZSI6ImZvcndhcmQiLCJyZWxhdGlvbl9pZCI6MSwiaXRlbV9pZCI6IjE3MjcifX0=&pg=13
This is a fantastic series! Keep up the good work. There’s a lot about Dublin lanes in Charles Cameron’s reports on public health from the late 19th C (available in the RCPI and some in the Dublin City Library and Archive). Lanes were a big concern from a sanitation point of view, for example there’s a long list of lanes (many of them since gone) that the city has no authority to clean.
Juliana
I am pretty sure that lane way saved my life one night in dublin city after a brawl over a girl who was been beaten by her boyfriend. He followed us into town, the was refused entry into the club we went to ( I cant remember the name) but was waiting for us when we were leaving. The bouncer opened a side door into that lane and we escaped.
Found J. Farrell, who had a business at 10 and 11 Leinster Market at Hawkins street who sold casks of mess beef and pork at the great exhibition in 1853. Yikes
thats amazing. where did find that nugget? Thoms? see my comment below.
My Grandmother grew up at 10 Hawkins Street at the entrance to Leinster Market, they had an Oyster Saloon
Very very interesting thanks you. My grandmother grew up in an Oyster Saloon at the hawkins st end of Leinster Market. I know she lived there in 1901, when she was 6. Her name was Annie Dolan, her father was Joseph Dolan, her mother Mary Dolan nee McCormack. They came from Kilbeggan around 1880 i think. She became a piano teacher and eventually moved to Bath Avenue in Sandymount. Of course at that stage that end of Leinster Market opened out to the spectacular Theatre Royal.
My great grandfather, Michael Franey, had a green grocer shop at 9 Leinster Market. He died in 1896.
In 1909 My grandfather owned a pub in Hawkins Street – I think it was number 11 apparently also had something right near it in Leinster. I’ve never been to Dublin – does anyone know if the old pub is still there in Hawkins Street?
Matthew’sgrandaughter
Hello Cherie,
There is one bar that I am aware of on Hawkins St but I think it is at no. 1 & 2. There is also Mulligans on Poolbeg Street.
David
Great Great Great Granparents lived here. Patrick & Catherine in 1877. Visited it today (Jan 6th 2021)
Hello Brian,
I’m interested to hear this. My college building was the GAS building and the Neo-Tudor buildings flanking Leinster Market. I would occasionally have cause to go through the lane which I enjoyed for the ambience and the solitude! However, as Tomboktu mentioned above, the last I checked the gates at both ends tended to be locked 24/7 (interesting as some of the fire exits emerged onto the lane). It has been a few years since then, has the lane been reopened to the public?
David
No it’s still remains closed unfortunately
My Great Great Gran Aunt Elizabeth Byrne ne Gorman came from Market Lane she died May 1888 And was brought back to Cappincur just outside Tullamore to be buried, it says on the headstone she looked after orphan’s. I would be very grateful for any help as I am trying to trace her.
Michael Gorman.