A Brief History of Temple Bar
Probably few people reading this blog know much about the Temple Bar area in Dublin. In fact, I don’t know that much about it myself! So that inspired me to read up about its history and write a synopsis, plagiarizing heavily from Wikipedia articles and other sources I’ve linked.
Dublin’s “Temple Bar” is named after the Temple Bar of London, on its western border with Westminster. The word “bar” actually refers to a literal bar, gate or chain used in medieval times that served as a physical barrier for regulating trade into the central city. “Temple” came from the Temple Church in London built by the Knights Templar, which is also why that district is known as the Temple. Dublin also borrowed Fleet Street and Essex Street from its London counterpart.
Dublin’s Temple Bar is also associated with the Temple family, whose progenitor Sir William Temple came to Ireland in 1599 as part of the Earl of Essex military campaign during the Nine Years War (sometimes known as Tyrone’s Rebellion, an uprising against English rule by an Irish alliance led by two Hughs). Sir William Temple had built a house and garden in Temple Bar and later served as provost of Trinity College, which had been founded not long before in 1592. The association between Temple Bar and Sir William Temple was a sort of a play on words or homage to the English landowner.
The Temple Bar area was located just outside the city walls of medieval Dublin and was originally known as St. Andrew’s Parish. The area fell into disuse beginning in the 14th century due to attacks by the pesky native Irish, then redeveloped in the 17th century to create gardens for the houses of wealthy English families (including the aforementioned Sir William Temple).
Other fun historical tidbits about Temple Bar:
- The Augustinian Friary of the Most Holy Trinity was founded in 1259 in the area around Crow Street (where my apartment building is located); the order was suppressed in 1540 but they continued operating secretly in the city until the consecration of a new church in the late 1700s.
- In 1692 the Quakers opened a meeting house in Sycamore Alley, off Dame Street, that is still in operation today (although in-person workshop meetings have been suspended during COVID-19); nearby Meeting House Square, developed as a public space in the early 1990s, is named in its honor.
- The first performance of Handel’s Messiah took place on April 13, 1742 in the now gone Music Hall on Fishamble Street, but it’s performed again every year at the same site.
- A republican revolutionary group, the Society of the United Irishmen, was formed at a meeting in a tavern on Eustace Street in 1791.
- In the 18th century, Temple Bar was the centre of prostitution and brothels in Dublin.
- During the 19th century, the area slowly declined in popularity, and in the 20th century, it suffered from urban decay, with many derelict buildings.
- In the 1980s, plans were made for a state owned bus terminal to built in the area; in the meantime, small shops, artists and galleries moved in thanks to the cheap rents and then started a protest against the demolition of old buildings. In 1991, the government set up a not-for-profit company called Temple Bar Properties to oversee the regeneration of the area as Dublin’s cultural quarter.
- The area has since become a popular tourist destination, which in my opinion, has a similar vibe to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. So much so that in 1999, bachelor parties (“stag parties”) and bachelorette parties (“hen nights”) were supposedly banned/discouraged from Temple Bar due to drunk and disorderly behaviour. However, the coronavirus pandemic has changed all that – “wet” pubs (those only serving alcohol and no food) have been shut down, and the tourist industry has ground to a halt.
Some of the more notable historic taverns/pubs in and around Temple Bar:
- The Temple Bar (1840) – namesake of the area and original site of Sir William Temple’s house and gardens.
- The Palace Bar (1823) – Victorian bar favoured haunt of the best writers in the country for generations.
- The Brazen Head (1754) – touted as Ireland’s oldest pub, legend says a tavern/alehouse has been operated on site back to 1198.
- The Stag’s Head (1770; rebuilt 1895) – best known Victorian pub complete with taxidermy, known to have been patronized by James Joyce.
- The Foggy Dew (1901) – named after a traditional Irish folk song, but more commonly associated with a later ballad written about the Easter Uprising of 1916 during World War I; the pub is known for its live music.
Sunday stroll
After being cooped up in the apartment under self-quarantine, I decided to sneak out to get some fresh air. Grafton Street, a well-known pedestrian shopping area, was full of people carrying bags from all the shops. You wouldn’t have known from the scene that COVID-19 cases were spiking. I’d say about 50%-75% of people were wearing facemasks on the streets. Some storefronts were boarded over and closed, but the vast majority were open and queues formed outside their entrances due to social distancing restrictions. Outdoor cafe tables were all packed. I also briefly strolled through St. Stephens Green, a public park also quite replete with people enjoying the autumn foliage.
The historic Shelbourne Hotel, pictured in the last photo, is famous for being the location where the Constitution of the Irish Free State was drafted in 1922. I stayed in the Shelbourne in December 2007 during the big family trip to Ireland (also my first time here) and hosted a traditional tea service for everyone. The hotel has been in the news recently for removing four statues of Egyptian/Nubian women in July in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, a knee-jerk reaction out of excessive political correctness based on the mistaken belief that they were representations of slavery (historians say they aren’t). The Dublin City Council has ordered the statues be returned to their places due to the protected status of the Shelbourne Hotel’s facade, but they had not yet replaced when I passed by.
