Dawson Street

The street was named after Joshua Dawson who laid out Dawson Street as well as the nearby Grafton, Anne, and Harry Streets,[1] and who built the Mansion House in 1710.[2]

Dawson Street runs parallel to Grafton Street, to which it is connected by Duke Street and South Anne Street. Much of the street is a shopping thoroughfare. Molesworth Street links the street to Kildare Street.

The street has a slight slope downwards from its Stephen's Green end to its Trinity end. Traffic flows one way, northwards.

The Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, lies near the southern end of the street. Saint Ann's Church is found on the eastern side, almost halfway along. Also at the southern end is Academy House, the home of the Royal Irish Academy since 1851. It was built by Lord Northland in the mid eighteenth century. Near the northern end is the famous bookshop Hodges Figgis.[3]

Noted Irish ecclesiastical architect William Hague had his office at 50 Dawson Street,[4] as did Thomas Francis McNamara (also at No. 50 and No. 5).

From the 1960s onwards many of the Georgian and Victorian buildings on the street were demolished in favour of modern retail and office units. One such development was on the corner of Dawson Street and Nassau Street by the Norwich Union Group. A collection of 15 Georgian and Victorian buildings were demolished, including the original Elverys Sports corner store[5] and the 1870 McCurdy's Law Club.[6] The new 5-storey t-shaped office block with street level retail units was designed by Lardner and Partners.[5] The new building, completed in 1967 was called Nassau House. Permission was granted to demolish this block in 2016,[7] and the construction of a replacement mixed-use development is due for completion in 2022.[8]

The Royal Hibernian Hotel was a prominent landmark on the street, until its demolition in 1984, only 4 years after a extensive renovation.[9] It was purported to be the oldest hotel in Ireland. The hotel was replaced with a large mixed-use development, the Royal Hibernian Way, completed in 1987.[10][11]

Luas

Luas Green Line
Dublin–Sligo line westbound Broombridge Dublin–Sligo line eastbound Depot Cabra Phibsborough Grangegorman Broadstone – DIT Dominick Parnell O'Connell Upper O'Connell - GPO Marlborough Red Line - Abbey Street O'Connell Bridge │ River Liffey │ Rosie Hackett Bridge Westmoreland Trinity Dawson St Stephen's Green Harcourt Grand Canal Charlemont Ranelagh Beechwood Cowper Milltown Nine Arches Bridge over River Dodder Windy Arbour Dundrum Balally Kilmacud Stillorgan Sandyford Depot Central Park M50 Glencairn The Gallops Leopardstown Valley Ballyogan Wood M50 Racecourse (unused) Carrickmines Brennanstown (unused) Laughanstown Cherrywood Wyattville Link Road Brides Glen

Dawson Luas stop is on the Luas Cross City extension. The line links the Red and Green lines going from Broombridge in North Dublin (interchange with Irish Rail station) and St. Stephen's Green Green Line stop. Construction started in June 2013 with services beginning on 9 December 2017.[12][13]

• List of streets and squares in Dublin

Sources

• LUAS Cross City Project Website