Overview
George’s Street Arcade has been trading since 1881, which makes it Ireland’s oldest purpose-built shopping centre and explains why its red-brick Gothic front looks nothing like the shops around it. It opened as the South City Market, filling most of the block between South Great George’s Street and Fade, Drury and Exchequer Streets, with a vaulted glass roof pitched over two rows of stalls. More than 40 independent traders still work side by side inside, from record shops to jewellers to food counters. It’s free, it’s covered, and it’s five minutes from Grafton Street – which is exactly what makes it a good hour when the Dublin weather turns.
History
The market nearly didn’t survive its first decade. On 27 August 1892 a fire gutted the interior; nobody was killed, but many stallholders had no insurance on their stock and a public relief fund was set up to help them back on their feet. William Henry Byrne oversaw the rebuild using local labour, keeping the exterior and adding the brick-fronted units inside, and the arcade reopened on 13 September 1894. It has traded ever since. The Layden family have owned it since 1992, when they bought it from Dublin City Properties, and have kept the Victorian shell intact while the tenant list turns over.
What to see and do
Independent shops and curios
The appeal is the small traders, not the building. If you’ve only twenty minutes, make for Spindizzy, one of the country’s longest-running record shops, and Stokes Books, a second-hand shop with something over 10,000 titles. Others worth a look:
- New Moon Jewellery – silver, gold and gemstone pieces near the Drury Street entrance.
- Body.1973 – jewellery and piercing, known for Celtic-inspired work.
- Designist – locally designed homeware and the sort of souvenir that isn’t a leprechaun magnet.
- Doni Doni – handwoven textiles and Tuareg silver from Mali.
- Lir Coins – Irish and international coins, banknotes and militaria.
Food and drink
There are food counters on both levels – wood-fired pizza, juices, pies, sandwiches, pastries – and Bodega Coffee has been the reliable spot for a flat white and a light lunch since 2017. Seating is limited, so most people take away. The arcade isn’t dog-friendly beyond registered assistance animals.
When to go, and one caveat
The stalls keep their own hours, and some close for lunch, so a very early or very quiet visit can find a chunk of the arcade shuttered even when the doors are open. Mid-morning midweek is the sweet spot: enough open to be worth it, few enough people to actually browse, and soft light coming through the glass roof if you’re there for photos. Give it 60 to 90 minutes.
Events and seasonal markets
The arcade hosts pop-up exhibitions, craft workshops and acoustic music in the central atrium, along with the odd Tarot-and-Tea session. The December Christmas Market is the biggest draw. Check the official website for what’s on before you go.
Practical information
- Opening hours: Monday–Wednesday 9am–6pm, Thursday–Saturday 9am–7pm, Sunday 11am–6pm. Individual shops vary.
- Location: South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2, in the block between Fade, Drury and Exchequer Streets.
- Transport:
- Luas: Green Line at St Stephen’s Green or Red Line at Jervis, both about a 5-minute walk.
- Bus: routes 9, 15, 16, 68A and 83 stop on South Great George’s Street.
- DART: Tara Street is roughly a 10-minute walk.
- Parking: on-street parking is restricted; the nearest car parks are Q-Park St Stephen’s Green and Drury Street, roughly €4–9 an hour.
- Accessibility: level floors, ramped entrances and wide aisles make it fully wheelchair accessible. Ground-floor toilets have baby-changing facilities.
- Admission: free.
Nearby
Everything worth pairing it with is within a ten-minute walk: Grafton Street and its street performers, the cobbles and pubs of Temple Bar, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin Castle and Trinity College. The Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national theatre, is about 15 minutes off across the Liffey.
For a made-in-Ireland gift, the craft and jewellery stalls here beat the souvenir shops on Grafton Street every time – and you can be in and out in the time it takes the rain to pass.