James's Street, Dublin

James's Street (Irish: Sráid San Séamas)^[1] is a street in the Liberties area of central Dublin, Ireland.

James's Street

Buildings, some disused, on James's Street in Dublin
Native name	Sráid San Séamas (Irish)
Length	740 m (2,430 ft)
Width	12 metres (39 ft)
Location	Dublin, Ireland
Postal code	D08
Coordinates	53°20′35″N 6°17′26″W
west end	Mount Brown
east end	Thomas Street
Other
Known for	St James' Church (Church of Ireland), St James' Church (Catholic), St. James's Hospital, James's Luas stop, St. James's Gate, New children's hospital,

History

St. James's Gate, located where the modern street exists, was the western entrance to the city during the Middle Ages. During this time the gate was the traditional starting point for the Camino pilgrimage from Dublin to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (Spain).^[2] Though the original medieval gate was demolished in 1734,^[3] the gate gave its name to the area in which it was located,^[4] and in particular to the St. James's Gate Brewery (which was taken over by Arthur Guinness in 1759).^[3]

As part of a 1966 TV special named A Little Bit of Irish, singer Bing Crosby sang amongst the keeves and vats at the Guinness Brewery in James's Street with the Guinness Choir.^[5]

Location

The former James's Street Post Office

The street runs from approximately the steps of Cromwell's Quarters to the junction with Watling Street and Thomas Street.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people

• W. T. Cosgrave (1880-1965), first president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, was born on James's Street
• The comedian Brendan Grace (1951-2019) lived at 2E Echlin Street, off James's Street, in the early 1960s^[6]
• Mark Sheehan (1976-2023) of the band The Script was originally from the James's Street area

References

1. James's Street / Sráid San Séamas. Placenames Database of Ireland.
2. "The Pilgrimage". Irish Society of the Friends of St.James. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011.
3. "Archive Fact Sheet: St. James's Gate" (PDF). guinness-storehouse.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2018. The medieval gate of St. James was demolished in 1734, 25 years before Arthur Guinness took over the Brewery on the site
4. Stephen Mansfield (2009). The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World. Nelson. ISBN 9781418580674. Called St. James's Gate because of the church and parish by that name nearby, it stood for five centuries before crumbling to the ground. The name was retained for the location though, largely because there had been a holy well on the site that was the centrepiece for an annual summer festival
5. O'Reilly, George. The Making of the Television Show "A Little Bit of Irish". Printcomp. p. 1.
6. Nolan 2010, p. 6.

Sources

• Nolan, Karen (2010). Sweet Memories: The Story of Urney Chocolates. Whitestown, Drinagh, Wexford: Blue Rook Press. ISBN 978-0-9566474-0-5.