High Street - Irish Usage

Irish Usage

High Streets are far-less-commonly seen in Ireland. Neither of Dublin's two main shopping streets (Grafton Street and Henry Street) carry this name, nor does its main thoroughfare (O'Connell Street). While Dublin has a High Street near Christchurch, it is not a shopping street. The city of Cork's main shopping street is St. Patrick's Street;Limerick's, like Dublin, is also O'Connell Street (the name is used in a number of other Irish towns in honor of Daniel O'Connell).

Main Street is used in many smaller towns and villages. 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". Killarney and Galway are two of the few large Irish towns in which the shopping streets are named High Street. Nonetheless, the term "high street" is often used in the Irish media to refer generically to shopping streets.