Francis Street is one of Dublin’s oldest thoroughfares, and is best known today as Dublin’s Art & Antiques Quarter. The street is lined with small shops and businesses but also has a diverse community living ‘over the shop’ on the street and in the adjoining areas.

An ongoing programme of investment by Dublin City Council is improving the quality of streets and public spaces of The Liberties. The Council adopted The Liberties Greening Strategy in 2015 setting out a series of projects to renew historic streetscapes and develop new public spaces; to increase tree cover and provide new parks and amenities; and to improve the quality of the environment through measures such as Sustainable Urban Drainage systems (SUDs) and the installation of energy efficient street lighting.

In June 2017 Dublin City Council announced a proposal to undertake a public realm improvement plan for Francis Street, Hanover Lane and Dean Street, Dublin 8. The proposal comprised improvements to the public realm along the full length of Francis Street, Hanover Lane and part of Dean Street to include kerb buildouts along with footway repaving, raised junction plateaus, kerb buildouts to formalise parallel parking and loading bays, landscaping, bicycle stands, carriageway resurfacing, raised pedestrian crossings and ramps, public lighting improvements and all associated ancillary works. In July 2021 it was indicated that the project would be completed within ten months however more recent statements claim that the work will be completed in Autumn 2022