O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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Well I do agree with you there, that’s not what anyone wants but I think the opening of a large exclusive shop on the street would have the knock on effect of other less exclusive shops etc moving there.
For example I don’t shop in BT on Grafton Street but there are plenty of less exclusive shops on the street that I do shop in.
Its the capitals main street it should have a certain amount of exclusiveness and this will in turn attract less exclusive shops etc. that are better quality to what’s there at the moment.
Im not sure why we cant have our cake and eat it on O’Connell St. There is plenty of space for a new Abbey AND a shopping mall. Simply turf the Fingal crowd out an redevelop the old County Council Offices in addition to the Carlton site (if ever there was a building identifiable with so many bad things its this one).
Curoius this new Super Valu store. Just how many convenience stores can a city centre support. There is a new Spar opening at Chapter House on Abbey St and Musgrave’s new flagship store is opening soon in the old Virgin building (nice elabotrate windows here by the way).
I supose to dedpends on the type of development but its a bit depressing that this seems to be the only type of shop the street can attract.
Had an interesting presentation from the Project Manager of the IAP last week. The CC have no powers to compel traders to lerave the street (fast food, amusement arcades etc) but can only hope that through the imporvements (which are to continue for another 3 years!!!) more high calibre names will want to move to teh street and the undesiriables will sell up and move on. A bit tame eh!
Another thing… so far we have Harvey Nicks in O’Connell St… the old Bank of Ireland College Green and the new Gaiety Centre on South Kings Street!!
New SPARS are popping up all over the city centre too!
I spotted the tell tale ‘New SPAR opening here soon’ (Groan!) signs on Talbot St, Parnell St and Abbey St (opposite Jervis)!
I’m sure there are lots more too!Just how many convenience stores can a city centre support.
Exactly, it’s just unbelievably.
It’s the SPARIFICATION of the city.
SPARville as it will soon be known.
Super Valu, Centra, and Musgraves are the same company (i.e. Musgraves) so if anyone knows about market saturation in a particular area…
This shop wont be a Super Valu per se. I think they want to model it the lovely Dunnes’ on Georges St and N Earl St… so a classy shop in an area in dire need of something to attract some punters.Of course this is the key to it all, a decent, well-designed store with a broad range of produce would be welcome – rather than a place with a standardised factory churned-out bland interior, limited stock and general poor quality environment.
The description of ‘conveniece store’ isn’t encouraging, but then again, they’d hardly call it a supermarket either. Is there a demand though for such quality at the top end of O’ Cll St, joining with Parnell St of all places?
I was passing the other day and that area was crammed with mothers with buggies screaming at each other, hoards of kids queueing for the Savoy, and the place littered with rubbish; it’s gonna be hard to change…Did someone mention way back that the whole Eircom building is to be refaced?
I saw the new Spar on Talbot St too – all you can do is laugh.
I’ve seen the name Harvey Nichols mentioned all over the noticeboards – why this need for a upper-class English store to underpin a regeneration of what is hoped will be the main street of the nation?
Well I don’t see any Irish ones stepping up to do it! I would prefer and Irish store but its just not going to happen.
Whats wrong with a foreign store on the main street anyway or is it just because its English?
In part, yes it is because its English. It would be nice to see some variety in the retail choice and so, I would welcome some continental department store sooner than another English store – don’t we have enough with the Jervis centre?
I personally wouldn’t like to see the Irish High street a carbon copy of the English High street.
I would also question the repetition of the name Harvey Nichols when it comes to Dubln city centre regeneration – sure what have they got to do with here?
And if Irish department stores aren’t queuing up to locate onto O’Connell St. – well for one, that’s been understandable up to now. But if the DCC manage to pull off a fairly decent street after all this work, maybe we should begin asking why Irish department stores won’t relocate there rather than invite in an English store the first chance we get.
I agree with you, variety is the spice of life after all and we don’t want a carbon copy of Oxford St or any other English high street. However Harvey Nicks is hardly on every street corner in the UK and we already have Clearys, Eason and Pennys on this street so I don’t think it would end up a carbon copy. I just want to see the street restored to its former glory and if that means a large English department store leading the way I have no problems with that.
The entrance of UK retailers into the Irish market can only be seen as positive, offering the consumer more choice and VARIETY. The much-berated Jervis St Centre is a fine example of this and also how a shopping centre should be run. Irish shopping centres where second rate, in my opinion, until arrival of competition.
What will probably happen is a new shopping centre will eventually be built on the Carlton cinema site and this will have the necessary draw to get people into the north end of the street and in turn hopefully raise the quality of the surrounding establishments.
Sorry forgot to add:
Bill Cullen worked as a paper/delivery boy in Findlaters before moving onto his successful car dealership career (I seem to remember from his autobiography!)It can’t be closed all that long!
Think it was knocked in 1969 or 70. I’ve never seen a pic either, or a decent one of Gilbeys for that matter.
With regard to department stores, unfortunately there simply aren’t any Irish ones, save Clerys, Arnotts and Roches(ish) – all of which are now well established in their locations. Looking abroad is the only option.
A continental store would be preferable, and considering Harvey Norman’s ease of move here – all be they used to it – it can’t be that difficult for a non-British store to come to Dublin.
Although – condsidering Arnotts commandering programme, it won’t be long before they reach O’ Cll St anyway!The street is so lucky to have Clerys, it really isn’t pointed out enough, both in terms of the institution and the building itself.
It’s entrance doors are just magnificent, it’s remarkable they’ve survived. Also great are the bronze display windows, and the windows above ground floor which have fanastic profiles and detailing, as well as the many brass name plates at ground floor level.And there’s some much unnoticed beautiful stone carving too, comprising heads and wreaths, at the join with the first floor.
The fact that it’s an Irish business, and an old one at that, is possibly the best aspect to it, and that it’s surviving in what is now a hugely international industry. And whereas its ground floor is now very international in produce, the upper floors are remaining distictively Irish (and affordable), selling flowery curtains and all that malarkey.
It’s so bizarre at the moment, going up the escalators, passing through the grand columned ground and first floors, and suddenly landing back in 1976 on the 2nd floor, with the suspended ceilings, flouresent tubes and brown carpets!The renovations thus far have been meticulous, with the one exception of the ceilings on the ground floor, where the new suspended panels with new lighting are a bit too wide, concealing too easily the original plasterwork – that ridge-and-ribbon design – so typical of the 1910s & 20s.
Super Value on O’Connell Street is not necessarily a bad thing. It is fitting considering the History of the site that it returns to selling groceries.
As for Clerys, does anyone know that Mary Guiney, Chairwoman of Clerys, is 102 and possibly the oldest proprietor of any company in the world (certainly the oldest woman?) It makes Clerys unique in more than one respect. I read somewhere that someone called the store ‘Irelands answer to Selfridges’. Certainly it has similarities, but the building is more elegant and refined than its overpowering London counterpart. If anyone has been at both stores, the similarities and the differences are quite startling.
Good on ye Mary Guiney!…..any relation to Michael down Talbot Street?
As O’Connell Street is starting to take shape and look great is’nt it only a pity that it’s not finished or even half finished for St Partick’s day tomorrow and especially as we hold the Presidency of the EU at the mo. Could have been a showpiece for the city and country…..alas not, but remains a building site!
I wouldn’t mind a bit more “carbon copy” Oxford St here. I live here! It’s not like I have my monthly flying visits to London or anything so having a decent range of comparison shopping venues in my everyday life would be welcome. Dublin has a pathetic lack of decent city centre commercial space. Suffolk St, Sth King St, new ILAC might help out though…
The only good thing about Clery’s is it’s facade – a thoroughly second rate shop inside (stock etc). Potentially with it’s location and building could be a premier department store. Must do better!Admittedly I’ve never bought a thing in the place – just a good nose around at the lastest changes and slip out…
And their A/V section upstairs is pretty dismal, it should come on big time though once the builders reach that far up.Just on the issue of Clerys, or rather the building that pre-dated it, the New Mart monster store; I’ve always though it more than just a coincidence that this huge building, with all the bells and whistles of Victoriana was completed in 1853, slap bang in the middle of the Wide Streets Commission’s regemented Lr Sackville St, within 2 years of the Commission disbanding in 1851 and their powers being assumed by Dublin Corporation.
It would be more than just a tad humorous to think that the Corpo were wrecking the street from the moment they got their hands on it!
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