SMITHFIELD AREAS OF DUBLIN

Smithfield is an area on the Northside of Dublin. The focal point of the area is a public square, formerly an open market, now officially called Smithfield Plaza, but known locally as Smithfield Square or Smithfield Market.

Historically, Smithfield was a suburb of Oxmantown and lay within the civil parish of St. Paul's. There is no general agreement on the extent of the area known as Smithfield, but it 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.

Recent commercial, residential and cultural developments led to the area becoming newly fashionable in the first decade of the 21st century. However stagnation set in as developments stalled. 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.