Come Here To Me!

Interior of the George’s Street Arcade, 1950s. (Image: Dublin City Library and Archives)

Dublin Fire Brigade’s Chief Officer Thomas Purcell was only weeks in the job when the South City Markets complex went up in flames, creating panic in the city and drawing huge curious crowds into George’s Street and the surrounding area. All human life was there, as “ladies with Macknintoshes spread over their brilliant evening dress crowded on the pavement with denizens of the Liberties.” The following day, the press would label the fire “one of the most destructive remembered in Dublin for a long time.” In the words of one reporter:

The centre of the markets where the fire orginated became speedily enveloped in flames, which gradually extended before a strong wind in the direction of Drury Street. The flames gained in volume every minute, and stall after stall was caught up by them and reduced to ashes.

The George’s Street Arcade, as we know popularly know it today, stood little chance against the flames of 27 August 1892. Purcell’s men fought bravely and saved what they could, but “the woodwork of the markets offered an easy prey to the fire.” The firefighters could hold their heads up high walking away from the destruction, thanks to their efforts, the bonded stores of Powers whiskey contained within the South City Markets escaped the flames. In a city where the ‘whiskey fire’ of the 1870s was still a living memory, things could have been much worse.

George’s Street and Fade Street corner view of the markets (National Library of Ireland)

Originally dating from 1881, the George’s Street Arcade was Ireland’s first purpose-built shopping centre, and one of the first on the continent. Designed by Lockwood & Mauson architects, the sheer scale of the market complex is sometimes lost on Dubliners today, forgetting that it compromises not just the central core that we stroll through from George’s Street to Drury Street, but surrounding businesses such as Dunnes, the Market Bar (situated at the site of a nineteenth century abattoir) and others. As architectural authority Christine Casey notes, “the scale and ambition of the market building are remarkable, even by modern standards.” There was initially some hostility to the market locally, owing to the use of English materials and labour in its construction. In the words of The Irish Builder, it was “an English enterprise built by English architects and by English labour.”

In a city more defined by her Georgian heritage, the market structure, constructed in a truly Victorian-Gothic style, is a rare nineteenth century gem in the city. While its exterior is much the same as upon opening, the interior of the market core is the work of W.H Byrne, the architect who initially came second in designing the market, but who was tasked with its refurbishment following the blaze.

From the beginning, the market prided itself on the diversity of its offerings, with 1881 advertisements promoting all from Dublin Bay Oysters to confectionery. Into the living memory of the city, the markets had the feel of a more traditional market place, boasting stalls selling fruits, vegetables, flowers and even two butchers shops and a fishmongers within it into the 1970s. The fortunes of the market dipped in the late 1970s, and it required a significant overhaul, to the tune of £300,000, in the early 1980s, though it was noted that “meticulous in their restoration, the developers showed great reverence for the old Gothic style which they incorporated in the new woodwork, street lamps, etc.”

There is still a great diversity on offer today, with long established Dublin institutions (independent record shop Spindizzy,Simon’s Cafe and Stokes Books coming to mind as our favourites) and new arrivals like the Cheesemongers and wine shop Loose Canon.