The Dublin quays () refers to the two roadways and

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 that run along the north and south banks of the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...

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 ...

, Ireland. The stretches of the two continuous streets have several different names. However, all but two of the names (Bachelors Walk and Usher's Island) share the same "quay" designation. The quays have played an important part in Dublin's history. Much of the southern roadway and about half of the northern roadway is part of the R148 road, while the other half of the northern roadway is part of the R801 road.

Routes description

Both roadways run approximately 4.3 km (2.7 mi) from Sean Heuston Bridge in the west. The eastern end of the north roadway is at East-Link Bridge while the south roadway turns southward at the Grand Canal. Seventeen bridges cross the river along the line of the quays; three of them for pedestrian use only, one a railway bridge, two on which

Luas Luas (, Irish language, Irish: ; meaning 'speed') is a tram system in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line (Luas), Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line (Luas), Red Line ...

trams run, and the remainder for vehicular and pedestrian use. The name designations of the north roadway are (from west to east): Wolfe Tone Quay, Sarsfield Quay, Ellis Quay, Arran Quay, Inns Quay, Ormond Quay Upper, Ormond Quay Lower, Bachelors Walk,

Eden Quay Eden Quay () is one of the Dublin quays on the northern bank of the River Liffey in Dublin. The quay runs the bank between O'Connell Bridge and Butt Bridge. The quay is bisected by Marlborough Street (Dublin), Marlborough Street and Rosie Hack ...

, Custom House Quay and North Wall Quay. The name designations of the south roadway are (from west to east): Victoria Quay, Usher's Island, Usher's Quay, Merchant's Quay,

Wood Quay Wood Quay () is a riverside area of Dublin that was a site of Viking settlement. It is now the location of the Dublin City Council offices. Location The site is bounded on the north side by Wood Quay on the River Liffey, on the west by W ...

, Essex Quay, Wellington Quay, Crampton Quay, Aston Quay, Burgh Quay,

George's Quay George's Quay is a street and Dublin quays, quay in Dublin on the southern bank of the River Liffey. It is located between Corn Exchange (Dublin), Burgh Quay and Hawkins Street to the west, and City Quay (Dublin), City Quay and Talbot Memorial ...

, City Quay,

Sir John Rogerson's Quay Sir John Rogerson's Quay () is a street and quay in Dublin on the south bank of the River Liffey between City Quay in the west and Britain Quay. Named for politician and property developer Sir John Rogerson (1648–1724), the quay was form ...

and

Britain Quay Britain Quay () is a street and quay in Dublin on the south bank of the River Liffey between Sir John Rogerson's Quay and the confluence of the River Liffey, River Dodder and Grand Canal. Originally known as Great Britain Quay, the quay was ...

. A majority of the roadways in the city centre are one-way with the north roadway being eastward and the south being westward.

History

AusschnittKarte1797CustomHouse StMarksChurch

Vikings were among the first settlers in Dublin and many Viking artefacts were found at what is now Wood Quay. The quays were first developed during the time of King John in the early 13th century when the monarch licensed citizens to erect buildings on the River Liffey. They became the centre of the Irish shipping trade until the 1800s when the river in this section was considered too shallow for the more modern heavy ships. On 11 March 1597, a substantial gunpowder explosion took place on the quays. The explosion demolished as many as forty houses and left dozens of others badly damaged. The explosion claimed the lives of 126 people and inflicted countless injuries. Dublin Custom House day

The Custom House The Custom House () is a neoclassical 18th century building in Dublin, Ireland which houses the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is located on the north bank of the River Liffey, on Custom House Quay between Butt Bridge ...

, one of Dublin's major landmarks on Custom House Quay, was completed in 1791. The quay takes its name from the building. Later, the

Four Courts The Four Courts () is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...

on Inns Quay was completed in 1802 and is currently home to the

Supreme Court of Ireland The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal (Ireland), Court of Appeal and the High Court (Ireland), Hig ...

and the High Court. Both were designed by noted architect

James Gandon James Gandon (20 February 1743 – 24 December 1823) was an English architect best known for his work in Ireland during the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House and the surrounding Beresfor ...

. Burgh Quay is named after Elizabeth Burgh, wife of Anthony Foster whose son was Rt. Hon. John Foster, last speaker of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

. Burgh Quay was once the site of the Tivoli Theatre. The Corn Exchange Building, designed by

George Halpin George Halpin (Sr.) (1779? – 8 July 1854), was a prominent civil engineer and lighthouse builder, responsible for the construction of much of the Port of Dublin, several of Dublin's bridges, and a number of lighthouses; he is considered the foun ...

in 1815, was approved by the

Wide Streets Commission The Wide Streets Commission (officially the Commissioners for making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1758, at the request of Dublin Corporation, as a body to govern standards on the lay ...

in 1816 and work commenced on this building soon afterwards. Its granite facade still remains on Burgh Quay. Shipping came as far upstream as Burgh Quay until 1879 when

Butt Bridge The Butt Bridge () is a road bridge in Dublin, Ireland which spans the River Liffey and joins Georges Quay (Dublin), Georges Quay to Beresford Place and the north quays at Liberty Hall. History 1879 swing bridge The original bridge on this si ...

was constructed. A number of the buildings on Burgh Quay (including number 8) still retain remnants of the shopfronts designed for the Wide Streets Commissioners. The 20th century saw much development in the quays. In 1845, McBirney, Collis & Company opened a store at 16 and 17 Aston Quay, and remained on the site as a department store as McBirney's until 1984. The building incorporated a set of three three-bay houses on the site, which was later remodelled in 1865. The building still retains the original store frontage of the department store. The building was later occupied by a

Virgin Megastore Virgin Megastores is an international entertainment retailing chain, founded in early 1976 by Richard Branson as a record shop on London's Oxford Street. In 1979 the company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Tottenh ...

from 1986, and is now a branch of the supermarket chain, SuperValu. A controversial development was at Wood Quay by the

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...

in the late 1970s, when there were many archaeological Viking finds. This led to a very public and unsuccessful campaign to halt the development. Among the other quays that lost period buildings in the 1980s was Arran Quay, when 5 Georgian houses were demolished illegally in January 1989 by Linders of Smithfield. Announced in 1998 and with the first phase opened in late 2000, the

Liffey Boardwalk The Liffey Boardwalk is a boardwalk along the River Liffey in central Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, providing additional pedestrian access along Dublin quays, Dublin's quays. It was announced in November 1998 as a "Millenium Project", a ...

is a series of pedestrian walkways which were developed along the quays in the early 21st century. On 21 February 2004, near the

Clarence Hotel The Clarence Hotel is a four-star 51-room hotel located at 6–8 Wellington Quay, Dublin, Ireland. It is in the Temple Bar neighbourhood, on the River Liffey. It first opened in 1852, and bought by U2 lead singer Bono and lead guitarist The ...

on Wellington Quay, a

Dublin Bus Dublin Bus () is an Irish State-owned enterprise, state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann ...

lost control and mounted the pavement, crashing into a queue of 30 people boarding another bus to

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

. Five people were killed and 14 injured. The city's south quays were closed as rescue workers attended the scene. Driving conditions on the day were noted as being dry and clear and the driver was tried for dangerous driving causing death. His trial began in February 2007 at Dublin

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

, but he was acquitted. It was found that the most likely cause of the accident had been a power surge in the engine. Volvo Bus Ltd, the manufacturers of Dublin Bus engines, said they were aware of "other cases of power surges in Ireland" in their engines. In 2006, local politicians proposed renaming some of the quays that are named after UK monarchs.

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

Gay Mitchell Gabriel Mitchell (born 30 December 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State for European Affairs from 1994 to 1997 and Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1992 to 1993. He served as a Member of the European Parliament ...

proposed renaming George's Quay or Victoria Quay to Joyce Quay or Behan Quay, for the Irish writers

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

and

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican, an activist who wrote in both English and Irish. His widely ackno ...

Dublin quays in culture

'' A Picturesque and Descriptive View of the City of Dublin'', a set of 25 architectural prints of well-known buildings and views in Dublin, illustrated in 1791 by the engraver, watercolourist, and draughtsman

James Malton James Malton (1761–1803) was an Irish engraver and watercolourist, who once taught geometry and perspective. He worked briefly as a draughtsman in the office of the celebrated Irish architect James Gandon. He is best known for a series of ...

include a selection of scenes along the quays. A number of artists have found inspiration from the quays. In 1898, author Frances A. Gerard described the Dublin quays as follows: "Much of the picturesque appearance of Dublin is due to the Quays which intersect the City and the Bridges which span the Liffey; they impart to it a foreign air resembling the Quays of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

." Irish novelist James Joyce had many of his storylines take place at the Dublin quays, including " Eveline" (1904) and "

An Encounter "An Encounter" is a short story by James Joyce. It is second in a collection of Joyce's short stories called ''Dubliners''. In the story, two young boys experience an eerie encounter with a strange, old man. It deals with themes such as routine and ...

" (1914). Joyce biographer Michael H. Begnal wrote, "Joyce associated the Liffey Quays with the desire for escape." Artist

Jack Butler Yeats Jack Butler Yeats RHA (29 August 1871 – 28 March 1957) was an Irish artist. Born into a family of impoverished Anglo-Irish landholders, his father was the painter John Butler Yeats, and his brother was the poet W. B. Yeats. Jack B. was bo ...

painted ''Dublin Quays'' in 1916. The 1987 film ''

The Dead The Dead may refer to: * The dead, those who have experienced death Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * The Dead (Higson novel), ''The Dead'' (Higson novel), 2010 novel by Charlie Higson * The Dead (Kracht novel), ''The Dead'' (Kracht nov ...

'', adapted from a story by Joyce, was filmed by John Huston at Usher's Island. In Joyce's story, "

", the sisters Kate and Julia Morkan host their annual dance at their "dark gaunt house on Usher's Island". 'Ushers Island' was the name of a competitor in the

1994 Grand National The 1994 Grand National (officially known as the Martell Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 147th official renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 9 April 1994. It was won ...

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...

, falling at the third fence. In 2015, folk musician Andy Irvine launched a band called ' Usher's Island' (a reference to the Dublin quay), with members including

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozaik, LAPD ...

Paddy Glackin Paddy Glackin (born 5 August 1954) is an Irish fiddler and founding member of the Bothy Band. He is considered one of Ireland's leading traditional fiddle players. Biography Paddy Glackin was born on 5 August 1954 in Clontarf, Dublin. His fath ...

and

Michael McGoldrick Michael McGoldrick (born 26 November 1971, in Manchester, England) is a folk musician who plays Irish flute, uilleann pipes, low whistle and bodhran. He also plays other instruments such as acoustic guitar, cittern, and mandolin. Bands McG ...

.''Celtic Connections: Usher's Island at Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow''
heraldscotland.com, 28 January 2015; retrieved 18 March 2017. '' Bachelors Walk'' was a comedy-drama aired on

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

during March 2001, following the lives of three bachelors who lived on the titular quay.

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

began his poem "Belts" with the lines: :"There was a row in Silver Street, that's near to Dublin Quay / Between an Irish regiment an' English cavalree."

Notable buildings and locations along the quays

From west to east: *

Heuston railway station Heuston Station, ( ; ; formerly Kingsbridge Station) also known as Dublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largest railway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated by Iarnród Éireann (IÉ), ...

(near Victoria Quay) *

Collins Barracks Collins Barracks () is a former military barracks in the Arbour Hill area of Dublin, Ireland. The buildings now house the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History. Previously housing first British Armed Forces and later Iri ...

(separated from Wolfe Tone Quay by

Croppies' Acre The Croppies' Acre (), officially the Croppies Acre Memorial Park, is a public park in Dublin, Ireland. It contains a memorial to the dead of the 1798 Rebellion. History The site, located on the north bank of the River Liffey to the south of ...

Memorial Park) *

Guinness Brewery St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product of the brewery is ...

(Victoria Quay) * "The Dead" House (Usher's Island) * St. Paul's Church (Arran Quay) *The

(Inns Quay) * Church of the Immaculate Conception, aka "Adam and Eve's" (Merchant's Quay) *

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

Civic Offices (Wood Quay) *

Smock Alley Theatre Since the 17th century, there have been numerous theatres in Dublin with the name Smock Alley. The current Smock Alley Theatre () is a 21st-century theatre in Dublin, converted from a 19th-century church building, incorporating structural mat ...

(Essex Quay) * Ormond Quay Presbyterian church (Ormond Quay Upper) (1847-1940s) * Sunlight Chambers (Essex Quay) * Temple Bar (Essex Quay, Wellington Quay, Crampton Quay and Aston Quay) * The Old Custom House (Wellington Quay) (1707-c.1814) *

(Wellington Quay) * The Italian Quarter (Ormond Quay Lower) *

Merchants' Hall Merchants' Hall (sometimes Merchants' Arch) is a former 19th century guildhall, now a protected structure, on Wellington Quay in Dublin, Ireland. It is located opposite the Ha'penny Bridge and backs on to Temple Bar. The building was the last ...

(Wellington Quay) *

Corn Exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...

(Burgh Quay) *

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall (), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest building in the countr ...

(Eden Quay) *

(Custom House Quay) * City Arts Centre (1989-2001) *

International Financial Services Centre International Financial Services Centre may refer to any of the following places: * International Financial Services Centre, Dublin The International Financial Services Centre (IFSC; ) is an area of central Dublin and part of the Central busi ...

(Custom House Quay and North Wall Quay) * CHQ Building (Custom House Quay) * Famine Memorial (Custom House Quay) *

George's Dock George's Dock was a dock, on the River Mersey, England, within the Port of Liverpool. It was connected to Canning Dock to the south and George's Basin to the north. History Construction of the dock began in 1762, and was known as North Doc ...

(Custom House Quay) * EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum (Custom House Quay) *''

Jeanie Johnston ''Jeanie Johnston'' is a replica of a three- masted barque that was originally built in Quebec, Canada, in 1847 by the Scottish-born shipbuilder John Munn. The replica ''Jeanie Johnston'' performs a number of functions: it is an ocean-going sai ...

'', museum ship docked at (Custom House Quay) *

Spencer Dock Spencer Dock () is a former wharf area, close to where the Royal Canal meets the River Liffey, in the North Wall (Dublin), North Wall area of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As of the 21st century, the area has been redeveloped with oc ...

(North Wall Quay) *

Convention Centre Dublin The Convention Centre Dublin () is a convention centre in the Dublin Docklands, Ireland. The Convention centre overlooks the River Liffey at Spencer Dock. It was designed by the Irish-born American architect Kevin Roche. Construction started i ...

(North Wall Quay) *

North Wall railway station North Wall was one of Dublin's six original rail termini, the others being Westland Row (now Pearse Station), Amiens Street (now Connolly Station), Kingsbridge (now Heuston Station), Broadstone and Harcourt Street (now a bar and nightclub c ...

(1877-1922) *

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland () is the national central bank for Ireland within the Eurosystem. It was the Irish central bank from 1943 to 1998, issuing the Irish pound. It is also the country's main financial regulatory authority, and since 2 ...

(North Wall Quay) * Royal Hibernian Marine School (Sir John Rogerson's Quay) (1773-1979) *

Dublin Landings Dublin Landings is a commercial and residential development in the Docklands Strategic Development Zone and within the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) along the Dublin quays, Ireland. The development includes 300 private rented s ...

(North Wall Quay) * Liffey Service Tunnel (North Wall Quay) *

3Arena 3Arena may refer to the following: * 3Arena (Dublin) The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 December 2008 and was re-bran ...

, previously the Point Depot and the O₂ (North Wall Quay) *

Point Village The Point Village is a commercial and residential development in the North Wall area of Dublin, Ireland. The elements of the €800 million development completed to date include offices and residential and hotel accommodation, a small shopping c ...

(North Wall Quay) *

Grand Canal Dock Grand Canal Dock () is a Southside (Dublin), Southside area near the city centre of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the border of eastern Dublin 2 and the westernmost part of Ringsend in Dublin 4, surrounding the Grand Cana ...

(Britain Quay) *

Silicon Docks Silicon Docks is a nickname for the area in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland around Grand Canal Dock, stretching to the International Financial Services Centre, Dublin, IFSC, city centre east, and city centre south near the Grand Canal (Irela ...

(undefined area) *

Dublin Port Dublin Port () is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximately two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the island of Ireland. Locatio ...

(east of the quays, towards

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay () is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth He ...

) * Poolbeg Chimneys (east of the quays, towards Dublin Bay) *

Poolbeg Lighthouse Poolbeg Lighthouse () is an active aid to navigation at the mouth of the River Liffey, near Poolbeg in Dublin, Ireland. First established in 1767, it initially operated on candlepower but this was changed to oil in 1786. It was re-designed and ...

(east of the quays, towards Dublin Bay)

Gallery

Image:Inns Quay, Dublin, Ireland - panoramio (2).jpg, Inns Quay, 2012 Image:Wellington Quay, Dublin, Ireland - geograph.org.uk - 2567240.jpg, Wellington Quay, 2011 Image:Dublin, the Four Courts from Merchant's Quay - geograph.org.uk - 3302618.jpg, Merchant's Quay, 1993 Image:Commissioners of Irish Lights fleet, South Wall, Dublin 01.jpg,

Commissioners of Irish Lights The Commissioners of Irish Lights (), often shortened to Irish Lights or CIL, is the body that serves as the general lighthouse authority for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and their adjacent seas and islands. As the lighthouse a ...

fleet moored against Sir John Rogerson's Quay, 1971 (Gasometer in background) Image:Britain Quay, Dublin (1990) - geograph.org.uk - 3352368.jpg, Britain Quay, 1990 Image:Lifting bridges at Custom House Quay, Dublin - geograph.org.uk - 5621343.jpg, Lifting bridges at Custom House Quay, 2002 Image:Container Terminal at North Wall Quay, Dublin - geograph.org.uk - 5417793.jpg, Container Terminal at North Wall Quay, 2017

References

{{Landmarks of Dublin Dublin Docklands Quays in Dublin (city)

Routes description

History

Dublin quays in culture

Notable buildings and locations along the quays

Gallery

See also

References