Patrick Street in the 1960s   62 Patrick StPatrick Street runs southward from the town centre at the point where Lower George's Street meets Upper George's Street

The street is a mixture of residential and commercial buildings - the northern end of the street is mainly commercial

History of the name of Patrick St

The annual Corpus Christi procession going up Patrick Street approximately 1980 Looking up Patrick St

The original Patrick Street in Kingstown was renamed Adelaide Street, and still holds that name.  The present Patrick Street combines the previous roads known as Kingstown Avenue and Kingstown Parade.  Kingstown Avenue was a very narrow street from George's St up to the present location of Irish Building Supplies.  Kingstown Parade ran from there through to Corrig Road (not named on early maps).

The name change dates from the 1860s

Almost every significant town in Ireland has a Patrick Street, called after Ireland's national saint.

History of the Street

Patrick Street was built as a residential road of mixed house types, mainly terraces.  In very many cases, the backyards of these houses were developed into very poor quality accommodation and rented to the working families in the area.  Many of the tenants worked on the construction of the harbour.  The accomodation could best be described as sheds and hovels, and for administrative purposes were called "courts". Sanitary facilities were basic where they existed.  Cooking, heating, water and lighting were also primitive.  It was a street where rich (relatively) and poor co-existed side by side, and was best documented by Charles Halliday.

The 1901 census records 673 people on the street.  This does not include those who lived in the courts, which are individually listed

The 1911 census records 654 people on the street, This shows that the houseowners were largely unaffected by to changes in the area

Jim Cahill's Recollections of Patrick St

"I was born at 75 Patrick Street, Dun Laoghaire in May 1947. I grew up there and remained living in the house until about 1963 when I went on to study as a Christian Brother in Carriglea, up on Kill Ave, which was once a notorious Industrial School. I hope to describe what that time was like, up until I entered the Brothers, because after that I was rarely home and lost touch with friends, neighbours and the "progress" of Dun Laoghaire and Patrick Street in particular."... Read More...

Some Shops on the street through the ages

advertisement taken from Dun Laoghaire cycling week July 1960 Advertisement in Dun Laoghaire Cycling Week July 1960

62 Patrick Street