This is my first upload for the year 2024 and it is also my birthday. I wish everyone a wonderful New Year.
I had intended to devote about four hours to photographing the streets of Trim in County Meath. After about two hours the weather became so bad that it was impossible to use my Canon 5DIII and I decided to walk back to base but I decided to use my iPhone 12 Pro Max but after about twenty minutes not even that idea was practical so I had to phone for a taxi.
The term “High Street” usually referes to the primary business street in a town or city. The name likely originated from the fact that these streets were often built on higher ground than the surrounding areas, providing a vantage point and making them prominent locations for commerce.
The term High Street is far less commonly used in Ireland than Britain [I am not sure about Northern Ireland]. Here, like in the United States, Main Street tends to be used instead. Neither of Dublin’s two main shopping streets (Grafton Street and Henry Street) carry this name, for example, nor does its main thoroughfare (O’Connell Street).
While Dublin has a street named High Street near Christchurch, formerly the centre of the medieval city, it is not a shopping street. The city of Cork’s main shopping street is St Patrick’s Street. The city’s oldest streets are named North Main Street and South Main Street. Limerick’s principal thoroughfare, like Dublin, is also O’Connell Street (the name is used in a number of other Irish towns in honour of Daniel O’Connell).
The term Main Street (Irish: An tSráid Mhór, literally “The Big/Great Street”) is used across various types of settlements; from densely populated inner suburbs of Dublin such as Ranelagh, to satellite suburbs of the capital such as Swords, and also in villages and small towns throughout the country. For example, the OSI North Leinster Town Maps book lists sixteen “Main Streets” and only two “High Streets” in its thirty-town index of street names. Similarly, the OSI Dublin Street Guide (covering all of Dublin City and County Dublin) lists twenty “Main Streets” and only two “High Streets”.
Some Irish towns do have a major shopping street named High Street (Irish: An tSráid Ard), including Killarney, Galway, Wexford, Ballinrobe, Westport, Bagenalstown, Macroom, Tuam, Wicklow, Trim, Monaghan, Kilkenny, and Kilrush.
Bantry, County Cork is an interesting variant; the main shopping street is called High Street in its western part and Main Street in its eastern part. The same is found in Athlone and Birr, County Offaly.
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The Steps Pub Is Located Across The Road From The Wellington Monument – At The Corner Of Emmet Street And Patrick Street.
A few days ago I discovered that my Grandfather was the owner of this pub a long time ago. I had been aware that another member of the family once owned Marcie Regans Pub which is one of the oldest in Ireland.
The Steps Pub was in reasonable condition when I photographed in December 2014 but it appeared to be somewhat neglected when I photographed it today [Christmas 2023]. I was surprised when my brother, who lives in Trim, told me that the Steps Pub is no longer in business as it ceased trading in 2023. The reasons for the pub’s closure are not clear. However, it is likely that the pub was struggling, post-Covid, to compete with newer pubs in the area that offered more modern facilities and entertainment but a large number of pubs have closed in the last few years for a variety reasons. According to one recent report: “Ireland’s pubs are shutting down fast with Cork and Limerick losing almost one-in-three of all licensed premises since 2005. Of the 108 pubs that closed last year, half – 54 – were in Cork. Changing lifestyles, rural depopulation plus tougher drink driving laws and enforcement has hit rural pubs hard”. According to the Irish Times an average of 152 pubs have shut each year since 2019 and over 450 pubs have gone out of business since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Pub is not a protected structure but the letter box is a protected structure NIAH Reg. No: 14328009 … Wall-mounted cast-iron post box, c. 1905, with ER VII insignia. This cast-iron post box is an important feature in the social and urban fabric of the town and is located at a prominent crossroad. The execution of the raised lettering and crown is particularly pleasing in this simple post box. Cast-iron post boxes which are still in use are becoming less common and are often replaced by modern boxes.
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