10 things we really miss in Dublin

DUBLIN is now one of the most popular capital cities in the world, attracting tourists from near and far. But since its Celtic Tiger makeover, our Fair City seems to have lost part of itself in the process. Here are a few things we miss about Dublin.

1. Clerys. The iconic department store closed its doors under controversial circumstances in 2015. Christmas has never been the same since.

2. Boyers. The North Earl Street store, which closed earlier this year, had clothed generations of Dubliners and is another sad loss to the city. Missed by mammies everywhere.

3. The Ambassador Cinema. It has survived as an entertainment and exhibition centre. But who remembers going to see ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ there in 1980, or dancing in the aisles to ‘Stop Making Sense’ every Friday night in 1984?

4. Switzers. Its Christmas window display was legendary and hasn’t been the same since Brown Thomas took over the famous Grafton Street store.

5. Peats Electronics. It was your only man if you needed a stylus for your dad’s record player, or even if you wanted to marvel at one of those newfangled twin tape decks. It sadly closed its doors in 2013, changing the commercial landscape of Parnell Street forever.

6. The Anna Livia Fountain. Quickly dubbed the ‘Floozie in the Jacuzzi’ by witty Dubs, it often took the form of a polluted swimming pool after the pubs and clubs closed. In 2001 it was moved from O’Connell Street to make way for the controversial Spire before eventually finding a new home in Croppies Memorial Park near Heuston Station.

7. The Dandelion Market. Located close to St Stephen’s Green in a disused warehouse, the legendary market was once the spirtual home of the city’s traders, buskers and painters. A fledgling U2 played one of their first gigs there. It closed in the 1980s to make way for the development of Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre.

8. Freebird Records on Grafton Street. As a youth, there was nothing more exciting than walking up those dusty stairs into a small wonderland of vinyl and tapes. After it moved, Northsiders had one less reason to cross the Liffey.

9. Chicago Pizza Pie Factory. Located in the basement of Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, this was a great place for a first date. It later became Planet Hollywood and is now home to TGI Friday’s.

10. Dancing Mary. A regular face on O’Connell Street for years, she will be fondly remembered as one of Dublin’s great characters.