Keyser's Lane (or Keyser's Hill, Kezer's Lane, Keizer Street, Keyzer-street) is a

street name A street name is an identifying name given to a street or road. In toponymic terminology, names of streets and roads are referred to as odonyms or hodonyms (from Ancient Greek 'road', and 'name', i.e., the Doric Greek, Doric and Aeolic Gre ...

found in several former

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

towns in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The name generally applies to a street which runs from the medieval town centre down to the

quay A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

s or

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

, and is believed to derive from

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''keisa'', meaning "bend," perhaps a reference to the steep slope of the hill or the curve of the river. ''

Holinshed's Chronicles ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', also known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland'', is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions, the first edition in 1577, and the second in 1587. It was a large, co ...

'' (1575) mentions that it is an ancient name of uncertain origin. Other sources give "lane to the quays" or "ship wharf" as its meaning; however, "

" is a Celtic/French word, not Norse.

Locations

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

: Keyser's Hill (also called Keyser's Lane) is the name of a lane running from Proby's Quay up to Elizabeth Fort, on the south bank of the south branch of the

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

. *

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

: Keyser's Lane (also spelled ''Kezer's Lane'', today called "Highlanes") connects Bachelors Lane with St Laurence's Street. *

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

: Keyser's Lane was located in

The Liberties The Liberties ( or occasionally ) is an area in central Dublin, Ireland, located in the southwest of the inner city. Formed from various areas of special manorial jurisdiction, initially separate from the main city government, it is one of Dub ...

and connected Cook Street to Newgate Street (today called ''Cornmarket''). It is named Kaysars Lane on

John Speed's Map of Dublin (1610) John Speed's Map of Dublin (1610) was one of the first detailed maps of Dublin and the first published map of Dublin produced by cartographer John Speed around 1610 and printed first in London in 1611. It appeared as an inset in a map of the Pro ...

. In the 19th century it was nicknamed "Kissarse Lane," apparently because the stones were slippery when wet and pedestrians sometimes fell on their bottoms. *

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

: Keyser Street, formerly called Keyser's Lane, Keizer Street or Keyzer-street, connects High Street to the quays. *

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

: Keyser's Lane in Wexford is well-preserved and runs from High Street to Crescent Quay. It is entered via an archway and is walled and roofed.

References

{{reflist Street names Viking Age in Ireland Streets in Ireland Streets in Dublin (city)