South Great George's Street


South Great George's Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland.

History

The area is associated with Early Scandinavian Dublin; four burials excavated near South Great George's Street were also associated with domestic habitations, suggesting that the deceased had been members of a settled Norse community and not the fatalities suffered by a transient raiding party. It is thought that South Great George's Street follows the course of an early medieval route – or possibly even the eastern boundary of a longphort, assuming that there was a naval encampment along the eastern shore of the Black Pool at some stage in the settlement's early history.
The street was originally called George's Lane and takes its name from a church dedicated to Saint George, which stood here in 1181. The church was rebuilt in 1213 and stood until 1586.
The Castle Market was held here in the 18th century. The Dublin Lying-In Hospital was founded on George's Lane in 1745, the first maternity hospital in Great Britain or Ireland; it would later become the Rotunda Hospital. In 1765, George's Lane hosted the first exhibition by the Society of Dublin Artists.
In the 1780s, the street was rebuilt by the Wide Streets Commission and renamed South Great George's Street.
During Queen Victoria's infamous 1849 visit, shortly after the Great Famine, a pharmacist on South Great George's Street flew a black flag with a crownless harp and black banners with the words "Famine" and "Pestilence"; these were removed by the Dublin Metropolitan Police.
The South City Markets opened in 1881. Bewley's café opened in 1894.
In the 20th century the street became popular with homosexuals, despite homosexuality being illegal until 1993. The George, Dublin's premier gay bar, opened in 1985 and has become a centre of the LGB community. The Dragon, a rival, opened in 2006.

Cultural depictions

South Great George's Street appears several times in the work of James Joyce:
Annie Sparrow's shop was located at 16 South Great George's Street.