North Wall, Dublin facts for kids
North Wall (Irish: Port Thuaidh) is a cool area in Dublin, Ireland. It's on the east side of the city's north part, right along the River Liffey. This area is part of the famous Dublin quays, which are like riverside streets.
The name "North Wall" comes from the Bull Wall, a big wall built to create Dublin Port. This wall helped extend the river's mouth and reclaim land from the sea. This project started in the early 1700s and finished around 1825. Today, North Wall refers to the area between Sheriff Street and the River Liffey.
It includes a large part of the Dublin Docklands, which is a modern business and living area. You'll find important places here like the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), Spencer Dock, and the main part of Dublin Port further east.
Contents
Discovering North Wall's Past
How North Wall Was Created
The North Lotts area, which is part of North Wall, was mostly made between 1717 and 1729. The Dublin Corporation, which was the city's local government, drew lots in 1717-18 to share out the land among themselves.
By about 1750, this land was fully reclaimed. This means it was no longer covered by sea water when the tide was high. A map from 1756 by John Roque shows the areas of today's East Wall and North Wall. They were fully protected by walls and divided into plots of land.
You can see many of today's streets on that old map. These include Mayor Street, Wapping Street, Guild Street, Commons Street, Sheriff Street, and Fish Street (now called Castleforbes Road). In East Wall, Church Road, West Road, and East Road were also noted. What we now call East Wall Road was then known as "East Quay."
The names of the new streets in the North Lotts area were linked to different roles or ideas within the Dublin Corporation and the City Assembly of Dublin. For example, they were named after the Sheriff of Dublin City, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, the Guilds of the City of Dublin (groups of skilled workers), and the Common Council, also known as the "commons."
This newly reclaimed area was separated from the rest of Dublin by the Strand Road. Today, this road is called North Strand, even though it's no longer a beach ("strand").
The Story of Castleforbes
The Castleforbes part of North Wall is thought to be named after a house built around 1729. This house belonged to George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard. He was the Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1720.
Later, the Castleforbes site was bought by Lever Brothers. This company built its main Dublin factory there in 1927. Before that, the site was home to the Dublin Glass Bottle Company.
North Wall Today: A Modern Hub
The North Wall area today has a mix of new buildings. You'll see many modern apartment blocks and offices. A lot of these were built thanks to the Docklands Strategic Development Zone Planning Scheme. This plan helped develop the old docklands. You can also still find older homes where dock workers used to live, along with areas for dockland activities and fun.
Some of the big new developments in the area include Spencer Dock, Dublin Landings, and the Point Village.
Getting around North Wall is easy because of its good transport links:
- The Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) train has a station called Docklands railway station on Sheriff Street.
- The LUAS (Dublin's tram system) Red Line has several stations here. These include George's Dock, Mayor Square, Spencer Dock, and The Point.
- There are also 8 dublinbikes stations, making it easy to cycle around.
