Overview
On a Saturday, Meeting House Square fills with a food market; on summer nights a screen drops for open-air cinema; the rest of the week it is a bare paved stage under four giant umbrellas. Tucked between Eustace Street and Sycamore Street, it is one of the few free, publicly accessible performance spaces in the city centre, with a proscenium stage and a projection booth built in. That flexibility is the whole point of the place, and also its catch: on a random weekday with nothing programmed, it is simply an empty yard. Time your visit to a market, a film or a festival and it comes alive.
History and architecture
The square came out of urban regeneration. Through the 1980s and early 1990s the site was a disused car park behind a cluster of old meeting houses. When a bus terminus was proposed, local campaigners pushed instead for a public cultural space, and the square was laid out by Group 91 (Paul Keogh Architects) and completed in 1996, alongside the opening of the Ark Children’s Cultural Centre. It takes its name from two former meeting houses beside it: an 18th-century Presbyterian one and a 19th-century Quaker one, the latter now the Irish Film Institute.
The four retractable umbrellas came later. Sean Harrington Architects’ €2.4 million canopy, Ireland’s first large-scale movable umbrella structures, went up around 2011 (sources differ on the exact date) and won an International Architecture Award in 2013. The square is compact, roughly 23 by 32 metres, which makes for an intimate space that seats around 600 for screenings and stage events.
What’s on
The programme changes constantly, but it tends to revolve around three things: markets, film and live performance.
- Temple Bar Food Market: Every Saturday, 9.30am to 3.30pm. Stalls around the edge sell artisan breads, Irish cheeses, fresh produce, potato cakes and street food. It is the most reliable reason to turn up.
- Open-air cinema: Screenings run through the warmer months and start after civil twilight. The Irish Film Institute and independent curators mix classic Irish titles, arthouse films and the odd opera broadcast; past line-ups have included Don Giovanni and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
- Live music and theatre: Seasonal concerts, street theatre, dance and poetry, with city festivals like the Dublin Fringe and the St Patrick’s Day celebrations often using the square as a venue.
- Exhibitions: Rotating photographic displays spill out from the neighbouring Gallery of Photography. A guitar sculpture honouring Rory Gallagher was unveiled here in 2006 by U2’s The Edge.
Most daytime activities and exhibitions are free. Cinema screenings and some festival performances need booking ahead and carry a modest fee.
Visiting guide
Hours and access: The square is open daily, 7am to 11.30pm. Event curfews apply, with performances ending at 11.30pm Monday to Thursday and midnight Friday to Sunday. Screenings are weather-dependent and only begin after dusk.
Umbrella status: The umbrellas are the square’s signature feature, so it is worth knowing that they are currently out of order until further notice, per Dublin City Council. If you are heading to an evening event in unsettled weather, check the council venue page or the Temple Bar social channels first.
Getting there:
- Public transport: Dublin Bus routes serve Temple Bar directly, and the nearest Luas Red Line stops are a short walk over the river.
- Walking: The square is roughly ten minutes on foot from Dublin Castle, Trinity College and the GPO.
- Parking: There is no dedicated parking. The nearest multi-storey is Q-Park Fleet Street (around €3.50 per hour); street bays nearby are pay-and-display.
Accessibility and facilities: The paved surface is level and fully wheelchair accessible. There are no toilets in the square itself, but there are facilities inside the National Photographic Archive and the Irish Film Institute. Large events bring in temporary ones.
Venue hire: The space can be hired for private functions and cultural events, with the stage, projection booth and sound gear included. Enquiries go through the Dublin City Council venue hire portal.
Explore the area
The square sits at the centre of Temple Bar’s cultural cluster, so it is easy to fold into a wider walk:
- Ark Children’s Cultural Centre – A dedicated children’s arts venue on the square’s edge, with workshops and family programming.
- Abbey Theatre – Ireland’s national theatre, a short walk north on Abbey Street.
- National Photographic Archive and Gallery of Photography – Free exhibitions of Irish and contemporary photography, in the buildings around the square.
- Irish Film Institute – An independent cinema with a café and bar, in the former Quaker meeting house.
- Dublin Castle and Trinity College – Both within ten minutes on foot.
For the best of it, come on a Saturday morning: get to the food market early for the pick of the stalls, and if there is an evening screening in the calendar, book it ahead in peak season.