Smithfield & Stoneybatter

From cattle market to city quarter

North of the Liffey, between the Four Courts and Phoenix Park, sit two quarters that have long since grown into one. Smithfield began life in the 17th century as a market square outside the city walls; cattle were traded on the long, now newly cobbled plaza, and traces of the old horse fair survived here into recent times. Today the square is framed by apartment blocks, the Light House arthouse cinema and cafés; the twelve tall gas-lamp masts date from the redevelopment around the turn of the millennium. Stoneybatter, just behind it, was once a village on the old road north and has become one of the city's most sought-after residential quarters, with its single-storey Victorian brick cottages.

Whiskey and mummies

The quarter's best-known address is the Jameson Distillery Bow St., where Ireland's most famous whiskey was distilled from 1780 to 1971 and where tours with tastings now run through the old buildings. A few steps towards the Liffey stands St Michan's Church, whose crypt is known for its mummified remains. On the riverbank, the neoclassical dome of the Four Courts closes off the quarter to the south.

Practical tips for visiting

Smithfield and Stoneybatter make a good contrast to the touristy south side: this is where locals shop in family-run stores, drink coffee in former corner shops and sit in pubs of an evening where neighbours mix with students from the nearby TU Dublin Grangegorman campus. Manor Street and its side streets in Stoneybatter are worth a wander for the rows of cottages; L. Mulligan Grocer and the Glimmer Man are among the most characterful pubs in north Dublin. The location also works well as a stopover: from Smithfield Square it's only a few minutes by Luas or on foot to the main entrance of Phoenix Park, so a whiskey tour and a park visit combine easily into a half-day out.