WORDS & PICTURES: Abi Prowse
Perhaps it’s the weather, sprinklings of drizzle falling from a dull sky, which has deterred locals from venturing into Dublin this morning. The wide square at the heart of the neighbourhood seems devoid of life. Overhead, seagulls circle, their signature call echoing from the sharp edges of Smithfield’s characteristically modernist architecture. There is something almost dystopian about this neighbourhood in the rain, the thin silhouette of the Skyview Tower reaching upwards in a bid to escape the relative flatness of Dublin’s skyline. But there’s a palpable charm to Smithfield, inspiring a curiosity in its visitors; here, history is being rewritten, crisp, contemporary apartment buildings perched alongside the redbrick walls of the Jameson Distillery.
Originally established as a marketplace during the 1600s, Smithfield is now known as one of Dublin’s most promising neighbourhoods, hoping to solidify itself as a cultural and creative hub. The reopening of its Lighthouse Cinema marked the rebirth of Smithfield in the early 2000s, attracting Dublin’s youthful, liberal population. Although it’s clear that the area is still finding its feet (many of the buildings are still unused or abandoned), a sense of potential hums in the air; in spite of the rain, it’s easy to picture Smithfield on a summer day, throngs of people celebrating at the heart of its eponymous plaza. Street art is beginning to spring up here like moss, interrupting the brickwork with jarring splashes of colour.
Café culture has taken Smithfield by storm. Every corner seems to house a different coffee house, their neon signage casting eerie shapes into the grey puddles of the road. It’s here that I find Smithfield’s locals, hunkering down from the rain at long pine tables, shielded by laptops or timeworn paperbacks. These haunts are testament to Dublin’s distinctively outgoing personality – I am less surprised than I perhaps should be by a man with a live parrot on his shoulder who chats to me as I sip my coffee (the man, not the parrot). Urbanity is a bright, spacious coffee house favoured by students and remote workers; Third Space is a café and meeting point which acts as a community hub and serves a mean Full Irish Breakfast. Proper Order is the go-to spot for coffee aficionados and fast-paced locals.
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Recent years have seen the introduction of a handful of contemporary, youthful hotels and hostels in Smithfield, attracting a slowly increasing number of tourists to the area. Luxury hostel chain Generator set up camp in Smithfield Square in 2011, adjacent to the old distillery. Just a short walk away sits The Hendrick: a trendy and achingly artistic boutique hotel with compact, stylish rooms and a thriving bar area on its ground floor. Because the area is well-connected to the rest of the city, with tram lines running neatly along the southern face of the square, Smithfield is quickly becoming a coveted spot for accommodation; here, visitors get a taste for a more understated, authentic side to Dublin.
