I’m fascinated by Dublin’s shopfronts, ranging from the beautiful and hand-painted to the gaudy and horrific ‘temporary signs’ that have found their way even to our busiest streets. I’m hoping to photograph a few that grab my eye and boot them up in small groups of five or so with some regularity. On a recent walk that took me from the city centre to Stoneybatter, I thought I’d start with these….
M.Deegan, South Anne Street.
Oifig An Poist, Ushers Quay.
T.P Nolan, Ushers Quay.
Lilliput Stores, Arbour Hill, Stoneybatter.
‘Worldwide Discount Airfares’, Stoneybatter.
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Come Here To Me! 
I passed Reids in Parliament street the other day. The boards on the front are starting to rot at the base.
One of my favourites in James’s St. Wildly deteriorated since I took this shot in 2006.
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Does anyone remember Slax-a-Go-Go on Marlborough Street? It was almost opposite the old Dolphin Discs. I’ve never seen a sign like the one above that shop. All these little cartoon figures decked out in outrageous disco strides grooving on an orange background around the almost made-up lettering. Bear in mind this was not temporary window dressing that could be changed in a slow afternoon, it was a commissioned and professionally rendered piece. It wasn’t part of the retro wave that came by in the mid nineties with the knowing, ironic [and twattish] feel to it.
It was a full on relic of the seventies, still there, sad and beautiful, in the World Cup of 1990, I remember bringing a girl around to see it (hot date eh? I was nearly as smooth as one of the cartoons) before one of the games. Anyway I always promised myself I’d bring my camera with me one of the days and snap it, there was a shop beside it that used to sell second hand magazines, all sorts of mad shops that were still around the city like the arcades off Capel St and Wicklow St, but like everyone else back then I had all sorts of ideas and then went to live in America.
[…] we featured a simple enough post on the shopfronts of Dublin. It was the first in an upcoming series, which is intended to highlight […]
M.Deegan off south anne street, thats near mc Gonnagles used to be isnt it? there was a great little punk badge shop there or beside it back in the late 70s.
Hi Niall,
Slax a GoGo was my Dad’s shop. He had two other shops on Liffey Street called Ken Stuart Fashions. Dad was a Jazz musician and that then reflected directly on his choice of shop names and signage artwork.
Really really happy you liked the sign over Slax a GoGo, I always loved it too, it was certainly one of a kind in Dublin. 🙂