QUARTER WAY THERE
“We do love a good Quarter in the city. It seems to signify a way of pulling things together, a lazy signpost of sorts for tourists – Grafton Street Quarter, Italian Quarter, Parnell Square Cultural Quarter – a Quarter is not as brash as a District and seems to indicate a cohesion of thought and surrounds. It rarely does.
“A quarter tends to create itself,” says Martin Fennelly in our lead feature when referencing Francis Street which has become known as the Antiques Quarter – a Quarter which actually does what it says on its Brasso polished tin. The best of people tend to gravitate towards like-minded souls and this is often the same for savvy businesses. Being a hub of craftsmanship dating back to the 18th century, Sam’s Junk Shop set up at number 35 in the 1930s before the antiquarians started laying down roots in the 1970s.
Now like so many other things in the city, it is up for grabs. First they came for our clubs and then the antique stores? Like everything else in retail, when spaces become fashionable they often lead to rental hikes and the squeeze of the heart and soul of a place. Slapping a preservation order on the world of antiques seems like a novelty thing to do but the early warning signs around its survival are already evident. And now we are entering the Hotel Quarter.” – Michael McDermott
Issue 211 features
- Our lead has Michael Lanigan & Killian Broderick exploring the Antiquarians of Francis Street.
- Conor Stevens reviews Richard Corrigan’s Park Cafe
“To lose two or three members of staff as a young restaurant working out the kinks is understandable, if unfortunate. To lose 14 is the stuff of ferry disasters.”
- We take flight with Direction of Travel.
- M(h)aol discuss dealing with bracing topics on their debut album.
- Cúán Greene sharpens his knives.
- Kerry Mahony wraps her thoughts around the creative scarf scene on the city.
- Tom Lordan meets first time curator Ria Czerniak-LeBov to discuss the new group show at Graphic Studio Dublin.
- Brand New Retro unearths pop connections with the League of Ireland
+ much much more…
