Camerino bakery on Capel Street, Dublin 1
This year’s shortlist of 100 nominees for the Best Shops in Ireland 2015 (irish Times Magazine, August 15) makes for an interesting, and somewhat unsettling, observation. A quick tot of the geographical locations indicate that 49 of the shortlisted nominees are located in the general Dublin area, while 44 are to be found countrywide and seven are online.
On closer examination of the 49 Dublin-based nominees I ascertained that only one, the wonderful Camerino on Capel Street, lies north of the river Liffey. Shop horror! Could this signify a strong bias in favour of businesses situated in south Dublin? Surely not.
Yours, etc,
Clare Balfe
(north of the Liffey)
Dublin 7.
BUN FIGHT!
Shop horror! – ‘The Best Shops in Ireland’ (Irish Times letters page)
Pic: Carynascakes
Oh I like these ones…
this was patently obvious from the cursory glance i took at this on sat. glad someone took the tine to count and collate. oirish toimes baby
Fav shop amongst Southside champagne socialists competition
It’s a thundering disgrace!
The south side has the best of everything. Deal with it.
Except for people, of course.
Snobby are we.
it surely does. there is more heroin between ballyfermot and crumlin than on the entire northside. ye must be so proud..
That’s probably true, but the north side is still a plophole compared to the south side. I’m on the south side but I’m right beside the liffey. For me personally there is no divide, people on both sides that near the river are all just inner city. Both sides of the quays have been looked after brilliantly.
Despite the fact that he division you’re talking about doesn’t really exist (the real economic division as many point out is East West, not North South), it is true that South of the river has had more investment in infrastructure and open green space than North. The reason I think is obvious, more policy makers have traditionally lived south of the river. They have not only lined their own pockets but also taken the lions share of public money to improve their communities while leaving potentially beautiful places like Phibsborough, Glasnevin etc to rot. Not having a whinge about it, although I do think it’s a shame that buildings like the stunning Aldborough House and the surrounding area or the brutalisation of O’Connell street, one of the jewels in the crown of Georgian Dublin and the heinous removal of the trees on the street in the early 2000s still occur. These areas in North Dublin are looked down on, but if the investment was made it would be on a par with anywhere in South Dublin.
Spot on.
Adding Mountjoy Square, NCR, Denmark Street to your list.
This ‘division’ thrives mainly in people’s attitudes.
With Culture Night coming up, I’d encourage anyone to check out the north city centre offerings and have a meal / drink there while you’re at it.
Those historic O’Connell Street trees that were planted by our forefathers’ forefathers, many centuries ago in the 1960s? Sure what are you on about, there are more trees on O’Connell Street now than there were in 2000. They just happen to be trees that are more suitable to their environment and that have less destructive roots.
‘it is true that South of the river has had more investment in infrastructure and open green space than North.’
How is this true? Quite a lot of money has been spent on some of the following over the last few decades: National Botanic Gardens), Dublin Airport, the national theatre – the Abbey, DCU, Zoo, Croker, Luas Red Line, Farmleigh, IFSC…
You may not like what has happened to O’Connell Street but it was part of an attempt to reinvigorate the area. It hasn’t been a gem of Georgian Architecture since the Easter Rising at least.
Glasnevin Cemetry
Of course the Taoiseach of the country for 11 years was a proud Northsider. He, of course, failed the whole country but perhaps those closest to him the most. Good job, Bertie.
The Promised Land.
Southside that is not airport side.
Perhaps more a strong bias of the readership of the IT to nominate shops from the Southside in the first place?
Demographics dude.
Exactly, Spud; it was a readers’ competition, so if people from the south side nominated more shops than those on the north side, then so be it. There’s nothing to see here.
Fairplay Camerino!
Wish I had this little to worry about.
Ha!
+1
Me too. Best wishes.
I wish you had this little to worry about. Best wishes.
I dont think there was a category there for Antos “cheap bike” pop-up shop or Ritas knock-off perfume and chinese fags shop
Mattress Mick
I love when culchies stir it. Fair play Balfie, you’re alright.
D7 is culchie territory now? Deh Dubs wont like that.
Place is bristling with them. And we’re fine with it. We just need to make sure all the shops get the memo about painting the front sludge grey, next year will be the breakthrough year oh no wait no fkr cares.
:0)
Claire should get over that chip she has on her shoulder.
Anyone could nominate a shop. Perhaps Claire should have been more active in nominating places herself.
Why doesn’t Claire tell us which Northside shops should have been there? And maybe which shops they should have replaced?
And while she’s at it, maybe she could tell us which ones she nominated in the first place.
SHES A WITCH. BURN HEEEERRRRRR!
De Northside shopping center, of course.
Northside …. northside … northside shopping sin-ter. (to the air of amazing grace or something …. i was a culchie child at the time so I didn’t pay much attention.
Fake northside vs southside one-upmanship. Staying firmly on the bridge for this one.
In fairness read the results from last year, there was an incredibly strong southside bias… says more about the Irish Times than anything else. If I recall there was an asian restaurants from Capel Street/Parnell street.
All it says about the IT is that more people from the south side read it, and/ or, more people from the south side participate in its competitions.
Or that there are far more good shops in the Southside?
Sligo & Dublin have about the same number of nominations per capita.
You would expect this to lean towards the Southside, but 1 out of 49 is pretty shocking. Why does Dublin so often feel kind of like a parody of itself?
I’d personally like to nominate (northside) Oxmantown as the best sandwich shop in Dublin, and perhaps even the world.
Had you never tasted a sandwich beforehand? Are you one of the Fritzel kids?
Remember our agreement about constructive criticism, Mani? We all signed that page together. Your mam and I have spent a lot of money on your appointments and it disappoints me to see you’re still not taking things seriously.
I don’t remember anything about it. So either you’ve confused me with someone else or your a complete fantasist. Which would explain your opinions on both sandwiches AND my mother.
We’ll talk about this later. I’m bringing Oxmantown home for dinner.
Lucky you Mani, you will now experience the delights of bread placed either side of stuff.
Grouse, Your humour is indeed as dry, unoriginal and tasteless as an Oxmantown sandwich.
Honestly, I can see how you went for “dry” to complete the trifecta (you could hardly call my humour “pleasingly succulent”), but if you’re applying the word to their sandwiches maybe you’ve never been there, or just got very unlucky? I thought we were having a good time here but now I’m really concerned.
There are nominations for shops in at least 22 counties – including 4 in Sligo, 4 in Waterford & 3 in Clare. Is the IT just naturally biased in favour of these counties?
it’s the IT, they only cross the river to report on the courts.
It’s the readers of the IT.
I think you’ll find that many northsiders stopped reading the Irish Times years ago.
if they ever could, I thought they only read the Supervalu prompts to go to the zoo.
Very droll
The best shop in Ireland is the internet. It’s the only way to avoid the average 35% mark up on goods on the Irish high streets that retailers know you will pay, just to feel good walking around with a fancy bag of over priced stuff and a frappaccino fulfilling some fantasy that retail is therapy.
One day all shops will be either Tesco, Aldi & Lidl.
You must be looking forward to it?
I hate those independent retailers. Always trying to make a living from offering alternative products to the international mega corporations while keeping their profits local and paying tax here.
Well said Sir.
There are at least four coffee shop places on Capel Street could have made any Top Ten.
MishMash is my own favourite, but Camerino is good too.
You should have nominated it then and got others to vote.
I did nominate it.
Go there for the scones – really reasonable and tasty as feck (sorry Kennedy’s). They come with their own jam as well
These were selected by public vote. I’d a friend who owns a shop, canvassing like mad to get people to vote for his store on FB for ages before the final list was released, he made it through.
delighted with this the less southsiders know about what’s really going on on the northside the better they’d only drag the place down.
It would seem that your “beef” is actually with Northsiders for failing to nominate shops. Perhaps they did nominate shops but they were nearly all on the south side of the river?
I Nominated a lot of North Side shops and cafes including
Mish Mash on Capel Street,
Oxmantown,
Slice,
Mulligans,
Love Supreme,
Fish Shop,
Brother Hubbard,
147 Deli,
Boqueria,
The Anglers Rest,
Koh,
Boojum,
Hop House,
Bread & Bones,
My Meat Wagon,
Nua.
All of these were ignored in favour of South Side shops. Why?
The broader answer is that more people agreed with other nominations than yours presumably. From my own experience, I reckon Slice is decent but nowhere near best shop in Ireland status.
While we are on the subject a couple of your list are not shops or their shop activities don’t merit inclusion. Mulligans is a gastropub (are you makign a case based on a weekly market?), The HopHouse is a restaurant cum bar. The Angler’s Rest is a restaurant/pub. Boojum is a burrito restaurant/take away,
Perhaps you have made the IT’s case on their behalf?
We have Sister Sadie now-so we’re good.
When The Star runs its competition looking for the best bookies and chipper then the northside will have its day. You’ll see.
It’s all the same. … full of bleedin howiyas
At least they have a pic of the best bakery in Dublin