Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin,
Ireland. The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the
south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to the west. Unlike
other parts of Dublin's city centre, it is promoted as Dublin's cultural quarter
and has a lively nightlife that is popular with tourists. Popular venues
include The Palace Bar, The Temple Bar Pub, Oliver St.John Gogarty's and The
Auld Dubliner. Temple Bar is in the postcode Dublin 2,
and has an estimated population of 3,000.
History The historic name of the district was
not Temple Bar but St. Andrews Parish. It was a suburb of medieval Dublin,
located outside the city walls, but it fell into disuse beginning in the 14th
century because the land was exposed to attacks by the native Irish. The land
was redeveloped again in the 17th century, to create gardens for the
houses of wealthy English families. Many sources agree that Temple Bar
Street got its name from the Temple family, and specifically Sir William
Temple, whose house and gardens were located there in the early 17th century.
However, given the existence of a storied district of the same name in
London, it seems that the new Temple Bar street of Dublin must have been a nod to
its older and more famous cousin. Fishamble Street near Temple Bar was the
location of the first performance of Handel's Messiah on 13 April 1742. An
annual performance of the Messiah is held on the same date at the same
location. A republican revolutionary group, the Society of the United
Irishmen, was formed at a meeting in a tavern in Eustace Street in 1791.
In the 18th century it was the centre of prostitution in Dublin. During the 19th
century, the area slowly declined in popularity, and in the 20th century, it
suffered from urban decay, with many derelict buildings.
In the 1980s, the state-owned transport company Córas Iompair Éireann proposed
to buy up and demolish property in the area and build a bus terminus in its
place. While that was in the planning stages, the purchased buildings were let
out at low rents, which attracted small shops, artists and galleries to the
area. Protests by An Taisce, residents and traders led to the cancellation of
the bus station project, and then Taoiseach Charles Haughey was
responsible for securing funding, and, in 1991, the government set up a
not-for-profit company called Temple Bar Properties to oversee the regeneration
of the area as Dublin's cultural quarter.
In 1999, "Stag Parties" and "Hen Nights" were supposedly banned from Temple Bar,
mainly due to drunken loutish behaviour, although this seems to have lapsed.
However, noise and anti-social behaviour usually fueled by excessive alcohol
consumption remain a problem at night. Present day
The area is the location of many Irish cultural institutions, including the
Irish Photography Centre, the Ark Children's Cultural Centre, the Irish
Film Institute, incorporating the Irish Film Archive, the Button Factory, the
Arthouse Multimedia Centre, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, the Project Arts
Centre, the Gaiety School of Acting, IBAT College Dublin, as well as the
Irish Stock Exchange and the Central Bank of Ireland.
After dark, the area is a major centre for nightlife, with many tourist-focused
nightclubs, restaurants and bars. Pubs in the area include The Temple Bar Pub,
The Porterhouse, the Oliver St. John Gogarty, the Turk's Head, Czech Inn, the
Quays Bar, the Foggy Dew, The Auld Dubliner and Bad Bobs.
Two squares have been renovated in recent years — Meetinghouse Square and
the central Temple Bar Square. The Temple Bar Book Market is held on
Saturdays and Sundays in Temple Bar Square.
Meetinghouse Square, which takes its name from the nearby Quaker Meeting
House, is used for outdoor film screenings in the summer months. Since
summer 2004, Meetinghouse Square is also home to the Speaker's Square project and
to the Temple Bar Food Market every Saturday.
The Cow's Lane Market is a fashion and design market which takes place on Cow's
Lane every Saturday. Part of the 13th century Augustinian
Friary of the Holy Trinity is visible within an apartment/restaurant complex
called "The Friary." In popular culture
The Bollywood film Ek Tha Tiger had a song featured in the area.
Irish singer/songwriter Billy Treacy released a satirical song about Temple
Bar. See also
List of streets and squares in Dublin References
External links Traders in the Area Supporting the
Cultural Quarter — A non-profit organization representing businesses and
traders in Temple Bar Temple Bar Cultural Trust website
The Architecture of Temple Bar — from the Irish Architecture Online website
Google Maps — Google Maps view of Temple Bar
Live WebCam