Stephen's Green Shopping Centre is a large indoor shopping centre located at the top of Grafton Street in the Southside of Dublin City. It is named after St. Stephen's Green, a nearby park (its street address is Stephens Green West).
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The Dandelion Market, well known as the site of U2's earliest gigs and its array of stalls selling punk badges, clothes and posters was situated in the area the shopping centre now resides in. The site had been assembled over the years by the Slazanger family.
The market, which closed in 1981, is commemorated with a plaque, while Sinnotts Bar on South King Street is the only part of the original site that remains. Work began on the St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre in 1985, with the whole project taking three years to complete. The centre officially opened its doors on 8 November 1988.
An article about the Dandelion Market and the bands that played there (1979/1980) can be found at http://www.johnfisher.ie/Dandelion_Market.html
The centre has over 100 outlets. Major franchises include Dunnes Stores, Boots, Gamestop and TK Maxx. Examples of other, more independent and unusual shops include the gothic and alternative clothes shop Asha and the novelty gift store the Banana Tree. The first and to this day only Wrestling devoted shop in Ireland is in the Centre Wrestling Mania.