Amiens Street

Amiens Street
Amiens Street with the Italianate entrance to Connolly Station. Connolly Station was previously known as Amiens Street Station
Amiens Street is located in Central Dublin
Amiens Street
Location within Central Dublin
Native nameSráid Amiens (Irish)
NamesakeJohn Stratford, 1st Earl of Aldborough and Viscount Amiens
Length750 m (2,460 ft)
Width25 metres (82 ft)
Postal code
D01
Coordinates53°21′05″N 06°14′59″W / 53.35139°N 6.24972°W / 53.35139; -6.24972
south endCustom House
north endPortland Row
Other
Known forConnolly station, Gandon House

Amiens Street (Irish: Sráid Amiens) is a road in Dublin, Ireland, that runs from Memorial Road to North Strand.

Location and public transport

The street links the International Financial Services Centre and the Custom House Quay across the tramlines of the Luas where there is street level tram terminal and interchange for the trains in Connolly Station. Across the road over the pedestrian crossing is Talbot Street. Further up the street with an over bridge carrying the DART (en route to Tara Street across the Liffey) over the street to the junction at the Five Lamps onwards to the North Strand Road heading towards Fairview.

The street underwent redevelopment in the 2020s to accommodate cycle-lanes, with further active travel plans to integrate more cycle-lanes from North Circular Road planned.

History

The road was known as The Strand in the early 18th century. It was renamed after John Stratford, 1st Earl of Aldborough (Viscount Amiens) in 1877, but only to the eastern end. The entire street was named after the Earl in 1829. Previous to this, the eastern end of Gloucester Street (now Seán MacDermott Street) was known as Amiens Street.

As part of a wider set of proposals to rename a number of Dublin streets in 1921, it was proposed that Amiens Street be renamed Bohernatra (Strand Road) along with North Strand, in a report by the Dublin Corporation street naming committee. This new naming scheme was not implemented, despite the Corporation voting in favour.

Aldborough House sits at the junction of Amiens Street at North Strand, and was constructed in 1796 for Viscount Amiens. The house was one of the last significant 18th-century constructions in Dublin, costing £40,000.

It is one of the most frequented streets by railway passengers using Dublin Connolly station, formerly Amiens Street station, which opened in 1844. The Italianate architecture of the Dublin and Drogheda Railway station buildings are the focal point. In 1966, the station was renamed after the General Post Office Commandant James Connolly who was executed for his role in the Easter Rising.

The Loopline Bridge crosses over Amiens Street towards Connolly Station, between the junctions with Talbot Street and Buckingham Street. It was constructed between 1889 and 1891, and was designed by J. Chalconer Smith.

At the junction with North Strand Road, Portland Row and Seville Row, sits the Five Lamps memorial to General Henry Hall erected circa 1880. Built as a public fountain, the lamp motif evokes the area as previously a gateway to the city of Dublin.

The street was one of the boundaries of Dublin's red-light district, Monto, that existed between the 1860s and 1920s.

Talbot Memorial Bridge, completed in 1978, was intended to improve traffic flow by providing a more direct crossing of the River Liffey from Amiens Street. Until the opening of the bridge, one of the worse traffic bottlenecks in Dublin existed at the Custom House.

Notable residents

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Bennett 2005, p. 5.
  2. 1 2 "North Circular Road (Dorset Street Lower to Amiens Street) Active Travel Scheme". Dublin City Council. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Coates, Liam (18 June 2026). "Cycle lanes to be installed in the middle of Dublin's Amiens Street". Irish Independent. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Clerkin, Paul (2001). Dublin Street Names. Dublin: Gill & MacMillan. p. 4. ISBN 0717132048.
  5. ↑ McCready, C.T. (1892). Dublin Street Names: Dated and Explained. Dublin: Carraig Books. p. 63. ISBN 1850680000. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  6. ↑ Whelan, Yvonne (2003). Reinventing modern Dublin : streetscape, iconography, and the politics of identity. Dublin, Ireland: University College Dublin Press. pp. 218, 221. ISBN 1-900621-85-1. OCLC 51270664.
  7. ↑ Bennett 2005, p. 4.
  8. ↑ "Connolly Station, Amiens Street, Dublin 1, DUBLIN". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Clerkin, Paul (23 September 2010). "Archiseek.com - 1846 - Connolly Station, Amiens Street, Dublin". Archiseek.com. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Amiens Street, Dublin 1, DUBLIN". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Clerkin, Paul (7 March 2016). "Archiseek.com - 1891 - Railway Bridge, Amiens Street, Dublin". Archiseek.com. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "The Five Lamps, Amiens Street, North Strand, Dublin 1, DUBLIN". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Red-light alert". Love & Sex. Irish Independent. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "Talbot Memorial Bridge". RTÉ Libraries and Archives. RTÉ. 15 December 1974. Retrieved 15 October 2026.
  15. ↑ Walsh, Michael (16 September 1977). "New Dublin Bridge Nears Completion". RTÉ Libraries and Archives. RTÉ. Retrieved 15 October 2026.
  16. ↑ Walsh, Michael (14 February 1978). "New Bridge Over River Liffey". RTÉ Libraries and Archives. RTÉ. Retrieved 15 October 2026.
  17. ↑ Seccombe 1911, p. 508.
  18. ↑ FSIO. "T.S. Ó Cléirigh, 55 Amiens Street, Dublin 1, DUBLIN". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 29 June 2026.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Amiens Street, Dublin at Wikimedia Commons