Northside (Dublin)
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Traffic passing the Independent Bridge at Drumcondra, north Dublin |
The
Northside is the area in
Dublin City,
Ireland bounded to the south by the
River Liffey, to the east by
Dublin Bay and to the north and west by the
M50 motorway.
Northside is not an official administrative area but rather a colloquial geographical expression. The Northside is traditionally viewed as being more working-class in character than its counterpart across the river, the
Southside, and there is something of a rivalry between the two. This was not always the case - for much of the 18th century the wealthiest part of the city was to be found around Parnell Square and Bolton Street. In statistical terms, wealth is relatively evenly distributed throughout the city, with the Southside being home to both the wealthiest and the poorest areas of the country, but that doesn't prevent some Dubliners affecting 'post-code snobbery' or 'reverse post-code snobbery', and refusing to cross the river to the opposing half, even to shop. It should be noted that compared to the south inner city, the north inner city has a dearth of some amenities such as restaurants.
Several of the books written by the
Booker Prize winning author
Roddy Doyle, are set in the fictional Northside area of Barrytown, (which is believed to be a thinly disguised
Kilbarrack, where he worked as a school teacher). Popular
RTÉ television soap opera,
Fair City, is set in the fictional northside suburb of Carrickstown.
Areas of the Northside include
Artane,
Baldoyle,
Ballymun,
Beaumont,
Broadstone,
Cabra,
Castleknock,
Clontarf,
Coolock,
Donnycarney,
Drumcondra,
East Wall,
Fairview,
Finglas,
Glasnevin,
Grangegorman,
Howth,
Kilbarrack,
Killester,
Marino,
North Wall,
Phibsboro,
Raheny,
Santry,
Smithfield,
Stoneybatter,
Sutton,
Whitehall. The 'area' is administered both by
Dublin City Council (formerly Dublin Corporation) and Fingal County Council, each responsible for 84% and 16% of the land area which lies inside the
M50 motorway and north of the river
Liffey respectively (excluding the
Howth peninsula). The
Fingal/
Dublin city boundary, when drawn up in 1985, was viewed as the edge of all Northside development from Dublin City at that time.
In general, postal code areas in the Northside are odd, while Southside codes are even. One exception is the
Phoenix Park, which is on the Northside but has an even postal code (8). Anecdotally this is thought to be because the park is home to the
official residence of the President of Ireland, and it was thought unsuitable for the President to live on the unfashionable Northside when the numbering system was being introduced. However the real reason behind this is explained by eminent Dublin historian Pat Liddy:
"There is a very simple, practical reason why the Phoenix Park is in Dublin 8 and it has nothing whatever to do with snobbery but with practicality.
Long before there were postal codes the James's St Postal Sorting Office looked after the Phoenix Park because it was considered to be closer and more convenient than Phibsborough (Dublin 7). James's St continued in this role when the postal codes were introduced so Dublin 8 it had to be."
This system will be abolished on the
1 January 2008 with the introduction of an Irish
postal code system, of which the primary identifier digit(s) will be the relevant administrative county or city as opposed to
An Post geographical divides.
Famous places on the Northside include the city's main thoroughfare,
O'Connell Street, home to the
GPO and the
Spire of Dublin. Off O'Connell Street are the
Abbey Theatre,
Gate Theatre,
Ambassador Theatre and
Garden of Remembrance at Parnell Square.
Along the north quays of the Liffey are the
Four Courts,
Customs House, the
International Financial Services Centre and
The Point Theatre.
Away from the river important locations include (in no particular order)
Áras an Uachtaráin,
Farmleigh,
Dunsink Observatory,
St Anne's Park,
Mountjoy Jail, the
Royal Canal,
St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral,
St. Michan's Church,
St. Mary's Church,
St. Doulagh's Church,
Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery,
Dublin Writers Museum,
National Transport Museum of Ireland,
Croke Park,
Dublin City University,
The Helix, the
SFX City Theatre, the New
Eblana Theatre,
Davis Gallery,
Glasnevin Cemetery, the
National Aquatic Centre,
King's Inns, the
Mater Hospital and the Decorative Arts and History site of the
National Museum of Ireland. The
Rotunda Hospital on Parnell Square is the oldest purpose-built maternity hospital in the world.
Other tourist attractions include the
Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery, the
National Wax Museum, the
James Joyce Centre,
Smithfield Plaza and Observation Tower, the
Phoenix Park,
Dublin Zoo, the
National Botanic Gardens, the open-air stalls of the traders on Moore Street and the
Casino at Marino. There are many castles on the Northside including
Castleknock Castle,
Howth Castle,
Clontarf Castle and
Swords Castle.
Major transport hubs include
Connolly Station,
Busáras (the bus station) and
Dublin Airport.
Many state bodies such as the national meteorological office,
Met Éireann, the
Central Fisheries Board, the national enterprise and trade board,
Enterprise Ireland, the
Department of Education and the
Department of Defence are based on the Northside.
The main shopping area in the north innercity is Henry Street/Mary Street, just off O'Connell street. Three of the five city centre shopping centres are located on the Northside, these are the Jervis Centre, the Ilac Shopping Centre and the Irish Life Shopping Mall.
The
Cineworld (
UGC) cinema on Parnell Street is the largest cinema in Ireland with seventeen screens, the other notable north innercity cinema, the Savoy, is located on O'Connell Street and is one of Ireland's oldest cinemas.
Bram Stoker lived in the Fairview/Marino area and wrote his most famous novel,
Dracula, while living in a house on The Crescent, a curved terrace of houses reminiscent of the
Royal Crescent in
Bath. Legend has it that the terrace was built where it is deliberately to block the seaviews of the builder's rival, a rich landowner, from his estate the Casino at Marino. The house is close to the Westwood Club, home of the
Bram Stoker cultural Heritage visitor centreTwo
Taoisigh,
Bertie Ahern and
Charles Haughey are from the Northside - Ahern from Drumcondra and Haughey from Donnycarney. Perhaps the most famous Northsiders are the rock group
U2, which formed at Mount Temple secondary school on the Malahide Road.
Dublin City University, Dublin's newest university, is located on the Northside, in the
Glasnevin area.
Northside is also the name of a
shopping centre in
Coolock,
Dublin.
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Map of North Dublin
