Henrietta Street, Dublin

Houses on Henrietta Street were originally occupied by wealthy and powerful families in the 1700s. Rooms were arranged in a way to impress visitors and display wealth during social events.

 

After the Acts of Union were passed in Great Britain and Ireland in the early 1800s, power shifted to London and most politically and socially significant residents were drawn from Dublin to London. 

 

In the context of Dublin’s economic decline, the Great Famine, and the rise in poverty, landlords took advantage of the demande for cheap housing and turned the houses into overcrowded tenements / flats.

 

Up to 100 people would live in each house at the time, living in poor and unsanitary conditions. This also encouraged the created of strong ties between families.

 

With the establishment of the new state, improvements to housing conditions in Dublin became a priority. New communities were created outside the city and the tenement houses on Henrietta Street were vacated around the 1970s.

 

Memories created inside the walls of Henrietta street’s houses were therefore incredibly diverse.