The Liberties
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The Liberties (Irish: Na Saoirsí) is a well-known district in the south-west inner city of Dublin, Ireland.
Large areas around the center of the city remained outside the jurisdiction of Dublin Corporation until the mid-19th century. Today, the term 'the Liberties' has come to mean the part of inner Dublin approximately west of Aungier Street and south of the River Liffey, out to the inner suburbs.
Many places in The Liberties still have connections with either a turbulent past or a grim one in which political upheaval or dire poverty were the order of the day. In the 17th century, they were wealthy districts, when the crafts of the immigrant Huguenots had a ready market - today Meath Street Market.
When, in 1699, the English put penal duties on Irish imports, the Liberties were plunged into a despair that lingered until relatively recently. The once terrible slums and dereliction of the past have since been wiped away, and only a few pockets of deprivation remain. Instead one passes a succession of pleasant and busy streets, a pair of former graveyards now converted into tiny city parks, and the spot outside Saint Catherine's Church where the patriot Robert Emmet was executed, before finally arriving at the extraordinary visitors' centre attached to the world famous Guinness Brewery at St. James's Gate.
The Liberties roughly corresponds to the postcode, "Dublin 8". This postal district in turn incorporates some of Dublin's old city Civil Parishes including St Catherine's, St James', St Nicholas Without St. James' Gate, St. Nicholas Within St. James' Gate, St Audeon's, Manor Court of St. Sepulchre, St. Patrick's, St. Michael's, St. Luke's and others.
The name comes from the Earl of Meath's Liberties, originally the Liberties of the Monastery of St. Thomas of Canterbury in Thomas court, Thomas Street, granted by Henry VIII to William Brabazon. Many properties located in the Liberties belonged the descendents of Brabazon, Earls of Meath up to the present day. They lend their names to streets in that district e.g Meath Market and Meath Street (St Catherine's), Brabazon Row, Brabazon Street (St. Luke's) and Ardee Street (they were Barons Ardee since 1616).
The first Baron Ardee, Sir Edward was a Privy Councillor to Queen Elizabeth I and lived in Dublin, probably in Cork St.
The Liberty is a free newspaper for the Liberties produced by journalism students in the School of Media at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier Street.
[edit] Controversy
In October 2007, plans for a multi-million euro redevelopment of The Liberties were revealed by Dublin City Council. These plans have been met with strong opposition from residents of the area, claiming that the character of one of the city's oldest surviving areas will be destroyed by such redevelopment.
[edit] Play
The Liberties is also a play written by Melissa Carton-McKevitt based on her childhood growing up in the area. It centers around the life of Liberty Pearse (Libby) and the tragic events which occur in her life in just a short space of time.Performed for the first time last year in the Pioneer Club,Mountjoy Square the part was played by Lauren Larkin and was met with much acclaim. The cast also included Ian Lawless as Steven Wright, Etain Ni Ruaric as Sindy Shaw, Alex Dunne as Drew Wright, Sarah Meyler as Summer (she also cameoed as the doctor) and Ciara Murphy as "Miss" the teacher. The play had to be edited to fit the requirements of the location but originally had appearances from Angela (a school mate of Libbys), Paulie (Drew's best mate), Eric (Sindy's boyfriend) and Stacey (Summer's mate). The play was directed by Megan McKevitt and produced by Maria Schweepe of Dublin Youth Theatre.
