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by Paul Fitzgerald The Regeneration Of Francis St
reet Tucked away neatly between the Gothic splendour of St Patrick’s Cathedral and Ireland’s biggest tourist attraction, The Guinness Storehouse, lies Francis Street, a stretch of no more than a few hundred metres, but one that is steeped in history. In the heart of the city area known colloquially as ‘The Liberties’, Francis St has been around in some shape or form since the 1200’s. By 1900 the street had turned into a Liberties slum but was about to get a landmark structure in the form of The Iveagh Markets, an indoor market built in the Victorian style on Francis Street in 1906 and gifted to the city and its street traders by Lord Iveagh, Edward Guinness. Set up to provide local traders with a dry place to sell vegetables, fish, and clothes, the maintenance of the market was entrusted to Dublin Corporation (now Dublin City Council) and by the middle of the 20th century, Francis Street had become more workaday and housed many manufacturers of beds, cabinets, sheet metal and shirts. These have now gone, but around 20 years ago, the antiques trade began drifting towards Francis Street from the quays, and today the street has the highest concentration of antique traders in the country. Now known as Dublin’s ‘Antique Quarter’, Francis St has become a destination street (the street itself has undergone a stunning revamp and now has a very pleasant Greenwich Village feel to it), an area to spend hours browsing through its treasures and curios. Browsing is a keyword on the street as all vendors look to sell their wares in a relaxed manner while eagerly engaging their passion for their products with potential customers. This is very evident when approaching Vincent Kelly and Charlie Meehan’s Gallery Zozimus. Established on the street by the two art enthusiasts in 2007 Vincent and Charlie actively encourage browsing, seeing it as a key part of their service. “Our sign on our door says ‘Please push in, we encourage browsing’. There’s a saying that ‘there are no stupid questions when it comes to art’ and it’s one we fully concur with. Either you like it or you don’t, and if you do like it, would you be willing to pay that amount of money for it? If the answer is yes, that’s good, but if it’s not, that’s fine. That’s our ethos. We wanted to open a gallery for ordinary people like ourselves to come in and ask questions like “what’s a ceramic?”. We just love imparting all our knowledge about ceramics and we think that really comes across to our customers. Mervyn Blanc in Yeats Country Antiques a few doors down shares a similar passion for fine crafts. His showroom is a wonderland of 18th & 19th century fine quality furniture, gilded mirrors, art, instruments, lighting and other intriguing antiquities and is a dazzling feast for the eyes on entrance. Their speciality is Gilt Overmantle Mirrors and stock a large range of quality Victorian antique mirrors along with a superb collection of dining room tables. Blanc has been on Francis Street for over twelve years and feels that the recent upgrade works will make a big difference to securing the trading future of the street. “It’s been great since the street was done up. It looks fantastic and the feeling around the locale has been very positive since the work finished. With tourism getting back to pre-pandemic levels, I’m noticing an improvement in sales, especially from American tourists. They have no qualms about buying large pieces and getting them shipped home which is great for us.” The works in question is the two-year refurbishment of Francis Street which has now been completed by Dublin City Council. Arising out of proposals for the street developed in 2017, the refurbishment has seen all aspects of the street upgraded, including new paving, the upgrading of services, the addition of new tree planting, landscaping and seating and a substantial increase in pedestrian space. For a long time, there was very little social activity on the street but when the contemporary music institute BIMM (British and Irish Modern Music Institute) opened in 2011, Francis Street was buzzing again with a youthful energy that has seen the opening of several new, hip cafes and bars along the stretch. The Ginger Cafe, Two Pups, Loving Catering and The Rumi Cafe join trendy theme bars Jackie’s and Doll Society to provide locals, workers, students and tourists with good grub, coffee and booze. The Rumi Cafe is the newest addition to the street and serves a selection of Turkish and Mediterranean treats and pastries to go with their specialty Turkish coffee. Named after a Persian poet and philosopher, the cafe is owned by Mahmut Balkir who also owns Oriental Rugs, the wonderful shop on Francis Street that has been selling beautifully woven, exotically coloured handmade rugs and carpets here since 1985. “I love the Liberties,” Mahmut smiles. “It’s a beautiful place, the real Dublin”. He’s delighted with the refurb and thinks that it’s all very positive and good for business though, like other retailers on the street, he thinks that the Council could have more signage pointing Dubliners and tourists towards the area’s heritage and historical attractions. The elephant in the room on Francis St is of course the landmark Iveagh Markets which continue to fall into an awful state of neglect while the High Court is being asked to first determine who is the legal owner of the building in a dispute between an Irish businessman, an English Lord and the city council. Hopefully the outcome will be for the city of Dublin’s benefit as there’s no doubt that this venue would be the jewel in the Liberties crown. While we wait for that very important decision Francis St continues to evolve and grow into a street that caters for all ages, a place to explore treasure and antiquities, to enjoy their finely crafted aesthetic while chatting to experts in their field and a street to breathe in the genuinely welcoming atmosphere of a Dublin where old meets new. 60