quay/wharf

Dressed ashlar granite quays, constructed c.1810, having cut granite coping, recent steel railing, cast-iron mooring hooks, granite quay steps and attached cast-iron ladders. Situated to south of river.

The area south of the river and east of the city was slob land in the early years of the eighteenth century, until Dublin Corporation began to infill and create what became City Quay. The granite quay walls were built by the Ballast Board as part of the continuous quay along the south side of the river at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This quay served as a landing stage for goods, most notably Guinness, bringing produce to the port for export. It continues to serve a practical function in supporting the raised riverside, and is notable as a physical reminder of the civil engineering heritage of Dublin city. Its execution in ashlar granite attests to the high level of skill and artisanship employed in its construction, and it forms a significant part of Dublin’s historic urban fabric.