Dublin Attractions

Temple Bar, Dublin

The city Dublin in Ireland is a very popular place for tourists to visit.  Thousands of visitors each year descend upon the city and enjoy the delights of Irish hospitality and the ‘crack’ as it is known in Ireland.  Within the city is an area known as Temple Bar which lies on the south bank of the River Liffey.  The area has maintained its’ twisting cobbled streets and the medieval layout that form part of the narrows lanes and passageways, making the area a magnet for tourists.  Locals, approximately 3,000, of them still live and work in the area making the place even more authentic and interesting.  Nobody is sure how the area came to have the name of Temple Bar.  Some say it was named after a provost of Trinity College Dublin, one Sir William Temple, way back in 1609.  Others say it was named so because after the Temple Bar already in existence in the City of London, in England. 

Temple Bar was not always the attractive area it is renowned for.  Back in the 19th and 20th centuries, the area was run down and buildings were dilapidated and falling rapidly into disrepair.  None of the big property developers were interested in regenerating the area with new housing developments of office and cultural buildings.  At one point, a large area of Temple Bar was earmarked for a large bus terminal, however slowly a small numbers of boutiques and galleries began to open and a new lease of life was breathed into the area.  Once again, it became popular and many of the narrow streets were filled with small shops and businesses, trading comfortably from the new influx of tourists to the area.

The area began to attracted cultural venues and famous artists and performers.  A location in Fishamble Street held a performance of Handel’s Messiah and this is repeated annually on the same date at the same place.  Other cultural establishments can be found in the area such as the Ark Children’s Cultural Centre, the Temple Bar Gallery and Studio, the Temple Bar Music Centre, the Irish Film Institute, the Irish Photography Centre and the Gaiety School of Acting, plus many more.  Hence the area of Temple Bar has been dubbed ‘Dublin’s Cultural Quarter’.  Large businesses soon based their headquarters there such as the Irish Stock Exchanged and the Central Bank of Ireland.

With its many famous squares, streets and bars, the area became ever more popular and in recent years attracted hen and stag parties from closer European countries.  The area became a little tarnished with the behaviour of many drunken tourists filling the public bars to bursting point.  The City of Dublin tourist board tried to stem this flow by introducing bans of large groups but although this initially worked the bans were eventually to no avail.  The area is as still as popular as ever today and a must visit for most of the tourists who visit Dublin.