Running parallel to George’s Street, Drury Street dates to the mid-17th century. It appears on De Gomme’s map of 1673 as ‘Little Butter Lane1 and as ‘Little Boater Lane’ on Rocque’s map of 1756.2 That name, and its various later forms, derives from the Irish An Bóthar Beag (‘the little road’). An Bóthar Beag remains…
Running from Hanlon’s Corner to Cabra Road, this road was formerly part of Quarry Lane. See the entry for Quarry Road for this. In 1902 the Corporation received a letter from Mr John Hanlon, North Circular Road, asking that the name be changed to Annamoe Road; he had just built some houses adjoining his own…
Running from O’Connell Street to Marlborough Street, down the side of the Pro-Cathedral, for which it is named, this street went by three other names previously. It appears as ‘Stable Lane’ on Rocque’s map (1756),1 but within twenty years was called ‘Elephant Lane’. There’s no evidence for the origin of that name, but we do…
Off Summerhill, this very short lane has a convoluted history, name-wise. Listed as ‘Hutton’s Lane’ in 1833, by 1841 it was called ‘Mountjoy Place, Lower’. That name lasted until 1861, after which it reverted to ‘Hutton’s Lane’. In 1878 the Corporation decided to change the name to ‘Hutton’s Place’, no doubt because of the ‘evil…
Originally named Dispensary Lane, the street was renamed Dorset Avenue in 1902 at the request of the owner of the properties on the lane, Robert White, 1 North Frederick Street. It seems that Dispensary Lane had ‘acquired a very undesirable reputation, in consequence of which it is found impossible to induce a good class of…
Foxfield Park, off the Howth Road in Raheny, dates from the 1950s[?]. The name derives from Foxfield House, which stood on the site, and which first appears on the OS map surveyed in 1907.1 The similarly named ‘Fox Hall’ is shown on the 1837 map on the other side of the Howth Road, where Fox…
This street was built in the early 1990s on part of the Jesuits’ land in Milltown. In 1995 the Irish Independent described the new houses as ‘Perfect Home with the help of God’. I can find no reference to an ‘Abbey’ in the vicinity, so I assume the name derives from a loose association with…
Charlemont Road runs north east from the Howth Road to the Malahide road, in Clontarf. Colm Lennon identifies Charlemont Road (north and south) and Marino Avenue as different roadways but, as far as I can see, Charlemont Road as shown on the 1907 OS map, follows the line of Marino Avenue as it appears on…
Running west off the North Strand, near Newcomen Bridge, this street, according to M’Cready, dates to 1805, but, unhelpfully, he says nothing about the origin of the name. However, it’s likely named for William, Duke of Clarence, for whom the nearby Clarence Street was named. The IHTA cites it as appearing unnamed in a map…
On the North Strand, North Clarence Street is dated by M’Cready to 1796, although the IHTA’s earliest entry is from 1824. M’Cready’s explanation of the name is that it’s for William IV, who was Duke of Clarence from 1789, until he ascended the throne in 1830. That seems likely. See also the nearby North William…
Running north-west from Jones’s Road, near Croke Park, Fitzroy Avenue was laid out in the early 1900s. In April 1901 houses on the street were offered to be let at £28 per annum but the street is called Fitzroy ‘Terrace’. By the time the street was taken in charge by the Corporation in 1903, at…
Running north from Cork Street, Dublin 8, Reuben Street was developed in the early 1900s. In 1903 the houses were advertised as ‘wonderful value’ at ‘£220 each’. The street was taken in charge by the Corporation on 12 December 1904. The name presumably derives from the location of the street close to ‘Little Jerusalem’, the…
A cul-de-sac running north from Home Farm Road, this street is one of several in the area named after islands. CHECK THE MINUTES FOR THE DECISION The street is shown in outline, but unnamed, on the Ordnance Survey 6″ revised in 1907-8. It first appears in Thom’s for 1909, with six houses listed. That same…
A continuation of Abbey Park, the houses were built in 1987(?) and advertised for sale at €32,500.
