Myself and Alan Finn took a trip down to the Liberty Market on Meath Street to see what kind of fare one of our local markets has on offer for local shoppers this Christmas. We were met by the general manager, Michael FitzGerald, and a pretty packed market!
We were there from about 11am for an hour or so, last Friday morning, and the place was thronged the entire time. That added to the really good atmosphere throughout the market, which is also helped by the layout, with stalls packed tightly together and products on display from the floor to the roof, along a bunch of ‘corridors’ for want of a better description. It feels jam packed, almost like its surrounding you, and that gives this market a lot of character.
We spent some time going around the different stalls, and after a little bit of suspicion – we were one guy with a notebook another with a camera! – we had a chat with a lot of them about how things are going with the Christmas shopping. By all accounts, they all seemed quite happy with their sales figures so far this year, although that may be tempered by our economy having been not up to much for a few years now.
But there did appear to be optimism in the air, economy-wise, and as I mentioned earlier, the place was absolutely packed with shoppers. Whilst we we’re there Alan took a bunch of photos, so here’s a sample of whats on offer at the Liberty Market for Christmas shoppers!
Address: Liberty Market, Meath Street, Dublin 8
Phone: 01 280 8683
Email: info@libertymarket.ie
Website: www.libertymarket.ie
Social: facebook / twitter
Opening Hours: 10:00-15:30 (Thu), 10:00-16:00 (Fri), 10:00-17:00 (Sat), 11:30-16:30 (Sun)
You can click on all images of products below here, for larger versions…
Popular Affordable Christmas Gifts
We chatted to many of the stall owners to see what the popular sellers are right now. With the economy still feeling sluggish in my own pockets, I was particularly interested in affordable gifts, and I came across quite a few that are currently popular with Liberty Market shoppers. Here are my three picks…
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- Organic Toiletries Gift Set
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- Kids Toy Gift Sets
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- Hi Quality Silver Necklaces
The first is an extremely popular organic toiletries gift set, which is available for €12 from John’s Cosmetics, right beside the Engine Alley entrance. The second item is more like a group of items! They are reasonably priced kids toy/stationary gift sets, that are very popular right now, from a stall at the centre junction of the market. That stall is run by a young lady who was a little bit shy, and did not want to be identified. The third affordable gift idea I came across was a series of silver chains (priced €20-25), from the Liberty Jewellery stall, which is holding an incredible pre-Christmas sale. They are offering 70% discounts on all silver jewellery until the 24th of December!
Late Late Show Christmas Jumpers
As per usual, the Late Late Show wollen Christmas jumpers are a big seller this year, with the Rudolph one (far right in the picture below) being the most popular so far.
Clothing @ The Liberty Market
There are plenty of women’s, men’s and kids clothing stalls at the Liberty Market.
Christmas Gifts/General Gift Ideas @ The Liberty Market
There are tons of stalls at the Liberty Market that supply gifts for all occasions.
70% Off Silver Jewellery @ Liberty Jewellery (Until Dec 24th)
IMAGES: All taken at the Liberty Market on Meath Street, December 2013 – image credit: Alan Finn/FRG.ie
I am from Wicklow Town and was wondering if there were any shops that stocked girls dresses aged 8 (old fashioned dresses). Kind regards
Hello Ann Sinnott. There is a market on Thomas Street called “The Liberty Bell, here in Dublin 8, its facing St John’s Cathedral, or aka St Johns Lane Cathedral; on opposite side of Thomas Street, go in there and go straight down to the back of the shop beside the Cafe, ask for Sean, or where the Vintage shop is and you should find what you are looking for if not they should tell you where you should get it. Or go around to the Liberty Market which is only around the corner on Meath Street, they may be able to assist, there is Parking on the side streets or if you come up to Dublin by bus or train. Get the number 40 bus in O’Connell Street, heading for Clondalkin and get off on Thomas Street, or the number 13 and it will bring you straight up to Thomas Street, or the 123 bus from City center, & it would be cheaper to buy a Leap Card for the buses you & Good luck.