Mixed Fortunes: The Meath Street Story

Meath Street was laid out in the late 17th century as a planned street, in what was then the domains of the Earl of Meath. In 1680, a stonemason by the name of Wheeler was commissioned to draw up plans for a new thoroughfare linking Thomas Street and The Coombe. The then-Earl’s intention was to create a spacious and fashionable residential enclave in what was at that time the semi-rural western suburbs of Dublin.

The street measured 44 feet in width at its centre, and originally the street narrowed at its north and south ends on account of existing buildings at either end. Later work by the Wide Streets Commission in the 18th century widened the junction with Thomas Street and left a notable corner building, what is now Baker’s Public House. The side streets and lanes off Meath Street developed organically and a map from 1728 shows the area fully urbanised and densely developed – much as it remains today.

The Earl of Meath was not particularly prescriptive in the design of buildings on the street and it is thought that in its earlier years, Meath Street would have been lined with gabled buildings, after the fashion of the time with large chimney stacks punctuating the roofline. Contemporary accounts also point to some buildings have balconies, showing the eclectic mix of styles and foreign influences in the area.

The street almost from the start developed into a thoroughfare of merchant shops with living accommodation above. A concentration of the Quaker community in The Liberties in the early 18th century resulted in businesses such as bookshops, publishing houses and educational establishments. You can still see the remains of the arched entrance to a Quaker meeting house beside Fusco’s at 26-27 Meath Street.

Initial prosperity didn’t last. By the mid-18th century, many of the thriving industries in the area began to decline dramatically as competition from elsewhere in the city and even from England began to take its toll. The area became increasingly disadvantaged, with poverty and overcrowding becoming rife by the later 18th century and into the 19th. Nevertheless, the street remained a trading street, becoming dominated by household provisions, notably bakeries and dairies. However dereliction set in, particularly along the southern end of the street, and its commercial activity became something of a veneer, masking surrounding slums and deprivation.

The street revived somewhat in the early 20th century with developments of new housing such as the Gray Street scheme by Dublin Artisan Dwellings Co – a scheme supported directly by the Earl. Gradually over the 20th century the street lost more and more of its older building stock, with new buildings being usually bland and functional and often single or story in size. Handsome details such as timber shopfronts and joinery were lost.

An intriguing image from the collection of photographer John Walsh shows Meath Street at a crux. The terrace, on the street’s west side looking towards Thomas Street, is lined by handsome Georgian buildings, attractive shopfront and elegant awnings. The scene is 1957 and it can just be imagined that the newer fashions and tastes of the 60s and 70s that are set to change the street more radically, are around the corner. Today, the street is in sore need of a new injection of life and vitality. Market life continues but to a much-reduced degree than before 2000. Now almost 340 years old, Meath Street need a new lease of life for the 21st century.

In 2025, Meath Street will embark on a new chapter in its life as work begins on a major refurbishment of its public realm. The €5m investment in the street will bring widened footpaths, trees and landscaping, improved pedestrian space and facilities and greater opportunities for outdoor uses on the street. The Meath Street Public Realm Improvement Scheme is expected to begin in earnest in the middle of next year.

Above is extracted from Dublin Civic Trust’s 2008 Study of the Past, A Vision for the Future: Meath Street & Francis Street. The image is from the archive of John Walsh “The 50 Francis Street Photographer”.