Dublin Street names

Onthatpoint417

Does anyone have a good explanation for the odd word ordering on Dublin Street Signs.

Streets with "Great" are written as ...Street Great. For example what is commonly known as South Great George's Street is George's Street Great South on the street sign. Same applies to Great Strand Street.

Similarly with "lower" and "upper". Who says O'Connell Street Upper in conversation?!

The only explanation I can think of is that these words are addendums to the main part of the name. However this would really seem to credibly apply to lower or upper where the two parts are contiguous.

Haithabu

Onthatpoint417 wrote: »

Does anyone have a good explanation for the odd word ordering on Dublin Street Signs.

Streets with "Great" are written as ...Street Great. For example what is commonly known as South Great George's Street is George's Street Great South on the street sign. Same applies to Great Strand Street.

Similarly with "lower" and "upper". Who says O'Connell Street Upper in conversation?!

The only explanation I can think of is that these words are addendums to the main part of the name. However this would really seem to credibly apply to lower or upper where the two parts are contiguous.

It's easier to find it if you type it into Google Maps as "O'Connell Street Upper" than "Upper O'Connell Street" because you have your result faster.

Obviously O'Connell Street was there before Google Maps but still that time another sort of directory might have been around. So if you would look for "O'Connell Street" at least you would know where to look (you would have to look in "O" instead of thinking of looking under "U" or "L" (or "G" for Great).

Achasanai

Onthatpoint417 wrote: »

Similarly with "lower" and "upper". Who says O'Connell Street Upper in conversation?!

Who says South Great George's Street, though?

I presume it's so that motorists can glance at street signs and know where they are without having to read 'south' 'great' George's Street.

spurious

Achasanai wrote: »

Who says South Great George's Street, though?

I suppose it depends whether you often have to differentiate between the two.
I would almost always say 'North Great George's Street' as I worked close to it and too many times people would think I meant 'South' if I said 'George's Street' unless I specified.
I would usually use the Lower, Middle and Upper if arranging to meet somewhere on Abbey Street.

I wonder has the peculiar order on signs got to do with Irish - is it following the Irish format?

Onthatpoint417

spurious wrote: »

I suppose it depends whether you often have to differentiate between the two.
I would almost always say 'North Great George's Street' as I worked close to it and too many times people would think I meant 'South' if I said 'George's Street' unless I specified.
I would usually use the Lower, Middle and Upper if arranging to meet somewhere on Abbey Street.

I wonder has the peculiar order on signs got to do with Irish - is it following the Irish format?

I was just going to make that point about North Great George's Street! It would be strange if they were following the Irish format, but maybe that would explain the sign for "Circular Road North" near Phibsborough - which sounds especially odd to me!

That's another thing, there's no consistency in the ordering even on the same road or street!

imme

There aren't too many upper and lower streets are there?
Tend to be quite long streets O'Connell Street and the like, abbey Street. It breaks them alright.
Abbey Street is quite long , could that example be that there may have been additions, i.e it's length may have changed over time, as streets and the street scape were remodeled.

Great could have to do with developers, giving it delusions!

The city archives in Pearse Street library might be worth checking out OP.

Haithabu

imme wrote: »

There aren't too many upper and lower streets are there?
Tend to be quite long streets O'Connell Street and the like, abbey Street. It breaks them alright.
Abbey Street is quite long , could that example be that there may have been additions, i.e it's length may have changed over time, as streets and the street scape were remodeled.

Great could have to do with developers, giving it delusions!

The city archives in Pearse Street library might be worth checking out OP.

O'Connell Street is not really that long. Parnell Street is longer and not broken up in upper/lower..

As for the odd word ordering; I think Achasanai is right. It's easier for motorists to see where they are without having to read the whole thing.

I'd say in order to see where you are and where you have to go it would have been wiser to break the streets up in east/west or north/south rather than upper/lower. Imagine you are on O'Connell Street and you want to get to Lower Abbey Street. If not from Dublin you would not immediately know which direction on Abbey Street you have to turn. If it's Abbey Steet East you would know it immediately. Also if you are on Abbey Street already and the sign says Abbey Street Upper, then you don't know what direction to walk or drive to get to Abbey Street Lower. But if you are on Abbey Street West and want to go to Abbey Street East you know it right away what direction you have to go.

L1011

The Upper/Lower thing is the most confusing factor with this. They are apparently meant to relate to the Liffey, Lower towards; but its not consistent - and then you get streets that are parallel to the Liffey that use it, Abbey Street being the most obvious one.

amtc

But that doesn't answer Upper or Lower Mount St. Which are parallel not running from each other.

Ot but I always like the fact that five streets in Dublin are named after Henry Moore Earl of Drogheda. Henry street, Moore street, North and South earl street, of lane and Drogheda street (now o Connell street)

Victor

Roads with Lower, Middle or Upper in the name: http://url.ie/11ya2 - click on 'Run' (may not work on phones. Not every Upper or Middle necessarily has a Lower.

L1011 wrote: »

The Upper/Lower thing is the most confusing factor with this. They are apparently meant to relate to the Liffey, Lower towards; but its not consistent - and then you get streets that are parallel to the Liffey that use it, Abbey Street being the most obvious one.

In general, lower is nearest O'Connell Bridge, not necessarily the Liffey. So Mayor Street Lower starts at Amiens Street. Oriel Street, Dorset Street and Sherrard Street are exceptions.

Skerries

here's a trivia question foro you
what is the nearest road to O'Connell Street?

L1011

Skerries wrote: »

here's a trivia question foro you
what is the nearest road to O'Connell Street?

Without trawling a map, Berkeley Road?

odyssey06

Memorial Road?

Skerries

odyssey06 wrote: »

Memorial Road?

winner!

LionelNashe

Does anyone know why Belvidere Road (connects to Dorset Street near the North Circular) has a weird spelling? The physical street-sign, and GoogleMaps, has it like this. It's even connected to Belvedere Place, which has the more usual spelling.

Edit: I suspect that the sign was made with the wrong spelling, and then they just went with it and made it the official name rather than re-doing the signs.

imme

LionelNashe wrote: »

Does anyone know why Belvidere Road (connects to Dorset Street near the North Circular) has a weird spelling? The physical street-sign, and GoogleMaps, has it like this. It's even connected to Belvedere Place, which has the more usual spelling.

Edit: I suspect that the sign was made with the wrong spelling, and then they just went with it and made it the official name rather than re-doing the signs.

I've seen it spelt as belvidere and also as belvedere in official docs

ollaetta

LionelNashe wrote: »

Does anyone know why Belvidere Road (connects to Dorset Street near the North Circular) has a weird spelling? The physical street-sign, and GoogleMaps, has it like this. It's even connected to Belvedere Place, which has the more usual spelling.

Edit: I suspect that the sign was made with the wrong spelling, and then they just went with it and made it the official name rather than re-doing the signs.

It's that way a long time. OSI maps from the 1830s have it as Belvidere.