Yesterday I visited the Clock Bar on Thomas Street as it was the end of an era as it would not be opening again on Monday as the building had been sold for redevelopment. On my way hope I passed through Smithfield Square which I do not normally visit at night and as it was dark my iPhone camera did not work well as many of the images had excessive motion blur.

Smithfield is an area on the Northside of Dublin. Its focal point is a public square, formerly an open market and common, now officially called Smithfield Plaza, but known locally as Smithfield Square or Smithfield Market. Historically, Smithfield formed the western part of Oxmantown and lay close to Oxmantown Green.

The area known as Smithfield roughly incorporates the area bounded by the River Liffey to the south, Bow Street to the east, Queen Street to the west, and North Brunswick street in the suburb of Grangegorman to the north.

Notable landmarks include the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery and the Observation Tower.

Recent commercial, residential and cultural developments led to the area becoming newly fashionable in the first decade of the 21st century. However, most notably in the period 2008 to 2010, stagnation set in as developments stalled and the Irish economy/property market nose-dived once the post-Celtic Tiger economic recession struck. The significant issues of variable apartment occupancy rates, coupled with closed retail spaces and a number of unfinished and unoccupied commercial units at Smithfield Market have created a highly visible reminder of the economic and community challenges still to be addressed in this historic part of Dublin.