Why can't O'Connell Street in Dublin be more like Dame Street and Grafton Street ?

Big Gerry

is there a reason why Dublin City Council can't keep O'Connell Street to the same standards as Dame Street and Grafton Street ?

Its like O'Connell Street is in another country compared to the other main Streets in Dublin.

TokenJogger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058305274/why-cant-oconnell-street-in-dublin-be-more-like-dame-street-and-grafton-street

The redesign is terrible until they rip it up and do it properly it will always be

There was heavy criticism of the redesign when it was proposed but they bulled ahead anyway

A secondary factor is Dorset street which feeds into it is increasingly becoming a ghettoized foreigner, black, brown, refugee zone and this is giving exactly the same result as seen in London where I lived

mod

warning - trolling

Big Gerry

The main street in Ireland should be a showpiece for the country that everyone can proud of.

O'Connell Street could be one of the best main streets in Europe if they put proper investment into it and get rid of the all the down market businesses like Dr Quirkeys etc.

Arthur Pants

Get rid of all the junkies and beggars for a start.

Captain Flaps

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120858475#Comment_120858475

Yeah you're full of it and a massive racist to boot. The issues with O'C and Dorset street are the same as they've always been - feral Irish.

tinytobe

It was actually a nice street back in the days. Google for Sackville Street. Nice hotels as well, such as like near the GPO. All prior to 1916.

orangerhyme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859770#Comment_120859770

I agree the Irish are the biggest troublemakers in Dublin and the rest of Ireland.

I think O'Connell st is at a turning point with Clerys Quarter, Carlton site and Metro station. GPO might have something interesting happening too.

Parnell Sq is being rejuvenated with new LIbrary and other work too.

There will always be a few dodgy people around though. I suggest we try to get to the root of the problem though.

Big Gerry

The Spire really brings down the tone of O'Connell Street it makes me think of junkies every time I see it.

Naked Lepper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120858475#Comment_120858475

wtf are u on about u absolute clown

Arthur Pants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859901#Comment_120859901

It is a beacon for the underclasses to congregate on O'Connell Street and environs. Then need to back the floozie in the jacuzzi to raise the tone of the place.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058305274/why-cant-oconnell-street-in-dublin-be-more-like-dame-street-and-grafton-street

It's simply because every street is a reflection of it's inhabitants.

Count Dracula

It had a chance when people could shop in Cleary's or go to the Cinema.

I don't get the comparison with Dame Steet or Grafton Street, what rubbish are you spouting op? Why did you not include Abbey street, Westmoreland street, or Henry street.

The northside / southside debate has its roots in the days of the industrial revolution in the UK and Ireland's exposure to it. When Guinness opened on the south side of the keys the main jobs were given to people who lived locally and got jobs. This maintained a status quo which was in the main that southsiders got the jobs whereas northsiders in areas such as Smithfield and the markets would take the jobs on that side. This divide also existed down the quays at the ports where areas around the Custom House were easier and more accessible to northsider residents. You must remember that there was no East link bridge or indeed any bridge before the customs House, which ballooned in size during the prime of Georgian Dublin.

There is nothing wrong with Dublin's city centre, the Hotels are full.

There is an should be a wider debate to be had surrounding the future of the high street globally. The internet has completely decimated it. It can now only exist with businesses that are providing services which cannot be procured online. As Debenhams and Clearys if you want proof of that.

orangerhyme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860081#Comment_120860081

I think people will always enjoy a day out shopping with a bite of lunch. Women in particular get a buzz out of it. I know that's sexist but it's true. There's a social element which you can't replicate online.

Dublin is improving all the time despite the housing crisis, which I feel is hitting an inflection point next year.

I'd like to see more investment and research in early intervention for antisocial behaviour, drug/alcohol abuse, crime, poverty, poor education etc.

I think there's so much potential in each human being.

I think the Carlton site will bring a huge improvement to O'Connell st and once they're over the planning issues, it'll definitely happen as the Metro station will be one of the busiest.

The renders here look amazing: https://dublincentral.com/image-gallery/. It's an entirely new district in the city center.

One thing I like about Dublin city centre is that it's very buzzy and lively with a young energy nearly every day and night of the year. Some cities in Europe are dead in comparison.

The population of Dublin center between the Canals has been gradually increasing about 2000 or 3000 a year since the 90s, which has created a better atmosphere and is why we've so many restaurants and cafes opening all the time.

Also the number of hotels and offices has been increasing every year.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058305274/why-cant-oconnell-street-in-dublin-be-more-like-dame-street-and-grafton-street

IMO there's two major problems with O'Connell Street

First, there's almost no shops on it worth visiting. There's what, an Eason's, two Burger kings, a McDonald's and the GPO now?

Oh and a Londis that sells the cheapest booze in Dublin I believe

So no nice restaurants, shops or museums to visit

I don't really buy the idea that the whole area is a dump, Henry Street is alright and Abbey Street has improved a lot

But O'Connell Street still seems to just be a way to get to somewhere else rather than the destination itself

I think the other problem is the traffic, getting the cars off the street was a great idea but I think the bus stops need to be removed or redistributed

Let's face it, buses are pretty loud and you can't really imagine sitting in an outdoor cafe on the street enjoying lunch while a bus driver is telling some guy on a scooter to f**k off

Maybe the electric buses will be quieter and make it into less of a diesel engine symphony

I also think they need more trees and plants along the street, it's a bit of a concrete jungle compared to most streets, and it's more noticeable given how wide the street is

Big Gerry

I can't think of any other country where the main street is the worst part of town.

Thelonious Monk

It's not the main street people want to go to any more. It's a transport hub and a place that people just kind of pass through, it's never going to be anything else really at this stage.

I don't know why people get so worked up about it, it was never anything special in any of our lifetimes. I was in South William St area today getting food and drinks and it was just gorgeous, it's a different world to O'Connell St. That area is where people go to shop and socialise etc, go there if you want to be somewhere nice.

SEPT 23 1989

its the entrance to an Ireland I don’t recognise anymore

Larbre34

The difficulty with O'Connell Street is as clear as it is unsolvable.

60 to 80 years ago, the authorities of the time decided to replace the old Georgian tenements of the north inner city with new build social housing.

Unfortunately, due to a combination of further economic decline and lack of political will, among other things, that new social housing was not managed, not protected. The people were not assisted properly and so the whole hinterland of O'Connell Street, or at least large areas of it to the east and north, became a squallid, poverty and drug ridden hole.

Sadly, despite various initiatives since the 80s, that situation has not improved a whole lot and despite also an economic transition, that same troubled area has further ghettoised with migrant communities and drug black spots.

And so, until all that is changed through a complete regeneration- and dare I say gentrification - O'Connell Street and its surrounds will continue to suffer the anti-social behaviour of some people who live close to it and who steal, mug, fight, intimidate, assault, and deal and take drugs on the streets in that area.

In fact you could put 40 Guards on permanent duty in that 1 square mile and it would still only be a game of whackamole, losing against revolving door prisons and do-gooder judges and SJWs.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120858801#Comment_120858801

Where to? Or are you suggesting killing them all?

Padre_Pio

O'Connell St is no better than a bus terminus and has been for the better part of 20 years.

Routing all the busses down Marlborough and Gardener St would be a huge improvement, then pedestrianize half of it and let restaurants and cafes expand out onto the street.

ahnowbrowncow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861037#Comment_120861037

Send them to Galway and create employment with a new Irish film, 'Begging in the rain'.

TokenJogger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859770#Comment_120859770

I'm sorry you don't like the truth but it remains true, the people of east london know all about it

TokenJogger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859918#Comment_120859918

The logistics that feed into a particular area affect that area and as an aside resorting to insults proves your acceptance of the original point, anger at the situation but inner helplessness to change it

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860669#Comment_120860669

I agree.

there is nothing there anymore. It’s just bus stops, fast food restaurants, boarded up businesses, call / internet cafes.

the only retail shop I’d have the remotest interest in would be Easons. I wouldn’t have a single reason for going to O’Connell st now. A far nicer experience around Exchequer / Wicklow / Grafton / Georges / South William & Drury Streets…

the street and general area has absolutely bûcket loads of potential. Hopefully the Clearys quarter can be a revitalising shot in the arm, it needs it…

ArmaniJeanss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860604#Comment_120860604

I've genuinely never regarded as O'Connell Street as the 'main street'.

I don't see any reason why we should force that street to be 'better' when there are success stories of Grafton St, Stephens Green, Dawson St, Temple Bar, South William St, Henry St/Jervis Quarter etc. Like it'd be nice if it was better, but it's hardly a priority.

Arthur Pants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860597#Comment_120860597

Supermacs and Eddie Rockets also. Plus it is 2 McDonalds (assuming the one past the Spire is still there).

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

O Connell street is just a connection between North and South Dublin - most people going there are just trying to get from one to the other.

Decades ago I suggested making it pedestrian only and putting better transport links to limit the number of cars in the city - then you could have green areas up and down the middle of it and coffee shops with outside seating areas, but I'm guessing that ship has long since sailed.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861093#Comment_120861093

I used to live in East London, a wonderful multicultural place. It's a big place but pretty much all of it is so popular that house prices are off the charts. What are you talking about exactly?

Sleepy

O' Connelll Street will never be a destination as long as it's surrounded by social housing ghettos. It's a grotesque mismanagement of our national real-estate but there's actually very little of the city centre (either side of the Liffey) that's a desirable place to live in.

Badly Drunk Boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859779#Comment_120859779

I suppose you think this view from 1760 looks better that the current set-up? 😄

And not a junkie to be seen here (except yer man crossing the road looks like a bit of a laudanum fiend). 🧐

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058305274/why-cant-oconnell-street-in-dublin-be-more-like-dame-street-and-grafton-street

...probably far more links to wealth on those streets than o'connell st, make o'connell street more wealth orientated, and you probably wouldnt have these issues, or maybe if we moved methadone clinics more so towards dame and grafton street, o'connell street wouldnt be as bad then, who knows.....

Big Gerry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862122#Comment_120862122

Grafton street also has social housing around the corner from it.

Strumms

Should take the spire away. It’s there over 20 years and not a person would miss the thing. It’s the most bland pointless piece of street art / decorative street architecture. Can’t interact with it, can’t go in it, up it, bland as hell to look at. The way it’s lit at night is completely dull and ineffectual. Ironic to call a spire pointless but it pretty much is.

Sleepy

Not in anything like the same volume and it has the distinct advantage of having Stephen's green at one end and Trinity at the other.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862602#Comment_120862602

...pack yourself up with drink and drugs, and you d be surprised what you can do with that thing!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862395#Comment_120862395

It does look less claustraphobic to be fair - and less commercial too, no McDonald's or Starbucks...

corner of hells

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862476#Comment_120862476

What methadone clinics ?

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861828#Comment_120861828

Yep, was about to say Supermacs. 🤣

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862718#Comment_120862718

...am i right in saying theres many clinics on the north side of the city, relatively close to o'connell st?

corner of hells

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862763#Comment_120862763

Pearse Street and Amiens Street are the main main clinics ( national drug treatment centre) , couple of satellite clinics with GPs prescribing around the city and nearly every chemist north and south side are dispensing methadone including well known multi chain chemists. There’s no particular over abundance of clinics in the north side .

Thelonious Monk

https://twitter.com/dubslife1/status/1679814727218655233

Not quite O'Connell St but did anyone see this from last Friday on Talbot St? Like one of the kids trying to kick your man, who I'd say is Brazilian, must be all of 10 years old. How do we create these kinds of humans in this day and age with all the wealth in this country?

Fair play to the big guy for standing his ground.

SuperBowserWorld

Thing I notice about DCC is that rubbish in black plastic bin bags are just dumped on the street for collection, for rats and seagulls to have a field day on. Then people complain about seagulls rather than the real issues in DCC.

Big Gerry

I don't think there does be too much activity in the new Garda Station on O'Connell Street its basically just a political prop that's not even a proper Garda Station that Varadkar made a big song and dance about.

You don't even need a Garda station on O'Connell Street whats needed is foot patrols.

Big Gerry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859940#Comment_120859940

They should have built an Irish version of nelson's pillar with an Irish hero on it to replace it.

riclad

i don,t think the council can decide what shops go in a particular street, thats up to the cost of rent ,consumer demand ,the level of traffic ,tourists go to temple bar, middle class customers go to shops on the south side or to shopping centres

Big Gerry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864294#Comment_120864294

I wonder what muppet approved the Sports Direct Store in North Earl Street which brings down the whole tone of the area ?

It's like the council is going out of their way to allow businesses that pull in scumbags to O'Connell Street and surrounding areas.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862602#Comment_120862602

Thats bollix.

Thts a laughable solution actully. I dont know what they are called but they "Concerned for dublin city brigade" managed to get Ann Summers to leave Oconnell street too. Despite it being the classiest thing on the street.

Put garda up and down the street. That will improve things a bit. Not cycling past, but actually on guard. That would help.

Big Gerry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864382#Comment_120864382

I think its got to the stage that even the Gardai are afraid to walk O'Connell Street unless they have back up.

Kurooi

Looking at fixing O'Connell Street is misunderstanding the issue in the first place. You can pour €1bn into it and it will be €1bn down the drain, because nobody wants anything to do with that drug hole. That whole north side city center area is a problem. All the streets stemming off O'Connell and within 1km radius of it need offices, work places, apartments to bring regular people, not tourists, and O'Connell street being at the center of it and a vital link for transport will improve.

What stores set up there is supply and demand, you should be happy to see low value commercial set up shop there because clearly no business that could pay better wanted anything to do with it.

orangerhyme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120861818#Comment_120861818

I think it's a contrivance to call it "The main street of our Capital City", which it's often called.

It just looks like the main St cos it's the widest and its central.

The centre of gravity of Dublin is College Green, Dame St and Grafton St.

The City's origins are in the south side on Wood Quay, Dublin Castle, Christchurch, Trinity, Dubh Linn etc.

A lot of the North Side to the East of O'Connell St is reclaimed land. Lots of the North docklands was extremely deprived recently and is only now recovering.

Mountjoy Sq and Henrietta St was originally for the upper middle class but became tenemant slums by the turn of the 19th Century, whilst the southside squares remained salubrious.

The Carlton Site, Metro Station and Clerys will make a difference though. Also all the development on the North Docks will help as they'll travelling by Luas. Likewise Grangegorman Campus.

The gentrification of places like Cabra, East Wall etc also. O'Devenay gardens also.

I suggest we try to get to the root of multi generation poverty, crime, addiction, antisocial behaviour.

Human beings have such potential and most people aren't born bad.

johannmall

Cos it's the northside ! And our southside literary crew get bridges & monuments ! Where as Brenda'n Behan gets a strip of council gaffs named after him ! Discrimination. I tells ya !