Where Can You Find The Georgian Doors Of Dublin?
Oh, the doors of Dublin. They’ve been an emblem of the city for decades, and still, to this day, visitors can’t get enough of them.
Blasted all over Instagram these days, the esthetically pleasing Georgian doors of Dublin have blown up in recent years, with tourists flocking in their hundreds daily to get the perfect snap of the painted doors.
Finding the Georgian doors isn’t too difficult; it’s more a matter of which area you want to go to see them as they’re scattered in little pockets throughout the city centre.
By the end of this post, you’re going to be able to navigate these doors like the back of your hand, along with learning the story behind them and why they’ve become so popular.
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What Was The Georgian Era In Dublin?
The Georgian Dublin era was an architectural evolutional spell between the beginning of the 18th and 19th centuries that occurred across the municipality.
Each Georgian development had stern building guidelines set by the regulators of construction at the time that they had to follow. In other words, each house had to be built the same in order to fall in line with legislation.
As you might expect, anyone who purchased one of the homes probably wanted to put their own stamp on their property. They did this by painting the door a certain colour, which we’ll get into more detail as we continue through the post.
Why Are The Dublin Doors Different Colours?
Putting your finger on the exact story behind the colourful doors of Dublin can be a tricky one, but there are two credible tales that have always been floating around.
Theory 1: George Moore VS Oliver St. John Gogarty
George Moore and Oliver St. John Gogarty were two prominent Irish writers who lived on the same road, which was Ely Place. It’s said that Oliver St. John Gogarty was fond of a few pints, and on his way home from the pub every night, he would mistakenly knock on George Moore’s door, thinking it was his own. To prevent further confusion, after this happened a couple of times, George Moore decided to paint his door a different colour. After Moore painted his one, the trend started all over Dublin.
Theory 2: The Dubs Become Rebellious
The second story that has been going around for decades about the doors is in relation to the death of Queen Victoria. After she passed away, Dubliners were apparently ordered to paint their doors black to mourn her death, but they decided to paint them different colours in celebration.
For those of you who are unaware of Ireland’s past, Britain colonised Ireland for over 800 years. So you can tell why the Dubs decided to rebel.
Where Are The Best Areas To Find The Georgian Doors Of Dublin?
The authentically coloured Georgian doors can be found all over Dublin. Some are situated in popular areas where tourists may walk past without even planning to, while others may be a little more difficult to find.
Here are the best areas in Dublin to find some of the most unique Georgian doors.
1. Merrion Square
Merrion Square is just over a 10-minute stroll from the popular shopping district of Grafton Street.
The affluent neighbourhood boasts a large set of the finest Georgian doorways that are just waiting to be admired. Merrion Square itself is one of the best walks in Dublin, with each side of it having its fair share of doors that can be gawked at for hours upon hours without getting bored.
Before the building of the houses, the area was once just large farmland. Some even said they could see as far as Dublin Bay as there were no buildings blocking the view. How times have changed.
2. Fitzwilliam Square
Fitzwilliam Square is one of the less-visited districts on this list that has these pretty Georgian doors on show.
Only a stone’s throw away from Merrion Square, those looking to get a heavy dose of the best-coloured doors in Dublin could begin their journey at Merrion Square and then head up to Fitzwilliam Square.
What makes Fitzwilliam Square unique is that a lot of the houses around the district are actually embassies for different countries around the globe. Who knows, you may even find your own country’s embassy there.
Some of the doorways at Fitzwilliam Square are known to have ivy growing around them at certain times of the year, which makes them ten times more adorable.
3. Ballsbridge
One of the best spots in Dublin to find some of the old Georgian front doors is Ballsbridge. It’s an area drowning in wealth and has an abundance of houses from Georgian times for you to discover.
From roaring reds to leafy dark greens, we found that Ballsbridge has the widest range of coloured doors of all the neighbourhoods on this list. You’re bound to grab some incredible shots down there if you’re into photography.
There is a myriad of streets around the Ballsbridge area where you’ll be able to spot the front doors of the Georgian-styled houses. Some of them, include:
- Shelbourne Road
- Northumberland Road
- Haddington Road
- Waterloo Road
- St. Mary’s Road
- Pembroke Road
- Raglan Road
4. St.Stephen’s Green
The easiest place to find the Georgian houses with the coloured doors is definitely St. Stephen’s Green since it’s so close to a lot of the major tourist attractions in the city.
You’ll notice that the buildings around St. Stephen’s Green are a tad bit bigger than anywhere else that has Georgian doors. There’s no explanation for this, but a wild guess from us would be that a lot of businesses own them, so they’d have bigger pockets than a standard family living in one.
Keep an eye out for the Grayson Hotel. It’s covered in dark-coloured ivy, and the ivy itself surrounds the front door of the hotel, along with the next couple of buildings beside it. A charming display of flora is an understatement.
5. Hume Street
Just off Stephen’s Green, you have another little street that has some Georgian doors with different colours, named Hume Street.
Hume Street is a quiet little street that doesn’t really attract that many tourists compared to its popular neighbour. When you look down the road, there’s not much going on, but once you make your way down there, you’re in for a treat.
There’s something special about the doors on Hume Street. Maybe it’s the admirable fan lights or the uniquely shaped pillars placed in the doorways, whatever it is, they’re bound to charm the life out of you.
6. Grand Canal
The Grand Canal Area is a stunning little spot on the outskirts of the Dublin city centre. A lot of the companies that are part of the Irish tech industry have set up shop down this way along the water. Thankfully, this hasn’t had an effect on the Georgian houses with the coloured front doors, as there are still some places around where they’re standing strong as ever to this day.
Some of the spots to check out when hunting for doors include :
- Pearse Square
- Percy Place
- South Lotts
Other Places Where You Can Find The Dublin Doors
Whilst we have mentioned the most popular spots in Dublin to find the colourful entrances, there are a few neighbourhoods that deserve a mention where the Georgian influence on doorways is hard to miss.
They include:
- Sandymount (Close to Poolbeg Lighthouse)
- Parnell Square
- Donnybrook
- Ranelagh
- Gardiner Street
- Clare Street
- Mountjoy Square
- Leeson Street
Some Brilliant Georgian Door 1-Day Itineraries For You To Follow
Now that you know where the pretty doors of Dublin are, here are some itineraries that you can stick to when searching for them so you can see a great bunch that are in close proximity to each other.
The Dublin 2 Loop
- Stop 1 – St.Stephen’s Green
- Stop 2 – Leeson Street
- Stop 3 – Fitzwilliam Square
- Stop 4 – Merrion Square Park
- Stop 5 – Clare Street
- Stop 6 – Hume Street
The Ballsbridge Loop
- Stop 1 – Shelbourne Road
- Stop 2 – Northumberland Road
- Stop 3 – St. Mary’s Road
- Stop 4 – Pembroke Road
- Stop 5 – Raglan Road
- Stop 6 – Waterloo Road
- Stop 7 – Haddington Road
The Grand Canal Triangle
- Stop 1 – Pearse Square
- Stop 2 – South Lotts Road
- Stop 3 – Percy Place
Frequently Asked Questions About The Doors Of Dublin
Where Is The Best Place To Buy A Poster Of The Dublin Doors?
Posters of the Dublin Doors can be purchased either online through Etsy or on certain days of the week, there are multiple vendors outside Merrion Square that sell their own designs.
Can You Go Inside One Of The Georgian Houses?
There are a couple of tours for anybody who would like to have a sneak peek at the inside of the Georgian houses. One of the most popular would be the 14 Henrietta Street guided tour that takes visitors on an informative journey through one of the settlements.
Adam, what a wonderful post on the Georgian doors of Dublin! I had no idea the Georgian era had such strict construction guidelines to the point of making deviating structures illegal. I’m not surprised human creativity found a way to express their individuality: Colored doors haha! I love the stories around the colored doors, this is exactly the kind of knowledge bits that make for interesting dinner conversations.
Thanks for your kind words Morris.