The quay and its river
Ormond Quay runs along the north bank of the River Liffey between the Four Courts and the Custom House, one link in the near-continuous chain of quays that lines both banks through the city centre. It was laid out and finished by 1680, and it takes its name from James Butler, Duke of Ormond, then the most powerful man in Ireland.
Most people walk it without stopping, which is fair enough. It’s a working traffic corridor rather than a promenade, and the river views are better from the pedestrian bridges than from the pavement. But it rewards a slower look.
Number 18, and why it won an award
The one building to stop for is 18 Ormond Quay Upper, a four-storey merchant shop-house built in 1843. It looks ordinary, a narrow brick front with an arcaded shopfront, the kind of building Dublin once had by the thousand and now has very few of. That is exactly the point. Dublin Civic Trust bought and restored it as a demonstration project, to prove that the city’s everyday historic buildings are worth saving and can be saved with traditional skills, from lime plastering to hand-repaired joinery. The Trust funded roughly 90% of the work itself, with help from Dublin City Council and heritage grants, and in 2021 the restoration won a European Heritage Award, the Europa Nostra award that is the EU’s top conservation prize.
You will usually see only the outside. During Heritage Week in August and the Dublin Festival of History, though, the Trust runs free guided tours of the interior, no booking needed, first come first served.
Where to eat
The Winding Stair on Ormond Quay Lower began as a second-hand bookshop and became one of the north side’s best-known bistros without losing the books, so the shelves and the Liffey view are still there. It took a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2008 and has kept its name for plain, well-sourced Irish cooking since. Book ahead for a weekend evening. The Morrison Hotel nearby does more formal river-view dining at the Morrison Grill.
Getting there and around
The nearest Luas stop is Busáras on the Red Line, a few minutes east on foot, and several bus routes stop on Ormond Quay Upper. There is a Dublinbikes station at Ormond Quay Upper and free bike parking close by. If you are driving, space on the quay itself is tight, but there are spots on Ormond Quay Upper and Lower (Parkopedia lists what is available) and car parks a short walk away.
One practical note. The quay carries steady traffic, so cross at the Millennium Bridge rather than picking your way through cars, and the bridge gives you the better photograph anyway, looking west to the Four Courts or east to the Custom House.
Nearby
- Four Courts – Gandon’s domed courts complex, a few minutes west along the quay.
- Custom House – the great neoclassical block downriver, seen at its best from the boardwalk.
- Temple Bar – across the Millennium Bridge on the south bank.