If you’re looking for an alternative Christmas shopping experience to crowded shopping centres and busy city centre streets, then you should look no further than Francis Street in Dublin 8.
Popping in and out of the fantastic range of shops in the capital city’s antique quarter can feel like a radical act in this era of online shopping. But my recent visit to the street, on a beautiful crisp November day, stands out as one of my most enjoyable pre-Christmas outings in a while.
“Antiques are coming back in a big way after Covid. Tradition represents stability in these uncertain times‚” says Chantal O’Sullivan, who runs O’Sullivan Antiques in Francis Street and its sister premises at The Gallery at 200 Lex, in the New York Design Center.
“Good-quality items hold their value, and people are interested in the sustainability side of buying things that are already made.”
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Her shop has an interesting range of 20th century Chinese decorative temple jars made into lamps, including one with 18th century designs of figures in court against a rural backdrop for €3,500. O’Sullivan suggests an oval brass wine cooler – while pricey at €15,000 – could make a perfect heirloom Christmas gift. She also points to a rare William IV mahogany book stand at €4,500 as a fitting gift for book lovers.
Porcelain birds have always held quite an allure when displayed well, and the pair of 19th century blue birds for €850 at O’Sullivan Antiques might make a super present.
Esther Sexton, the longest running antique dealer on the street, has an eclectic range of items in her shop, including a Bassett Hound ornament from the Stoke-on-Trent pottery brand, Price Kensington, at €120. It has a characterful expression which will appeal to some Christmas shoppers.
Yeats Country Antiques (which also has a shop in Rathcormac, Co Sligo), has a great collection of antique bone-handled walking sticks from €195-€695 – but be careful to choose the correct height for the recipient of your gift.
Brian Behan’s Antique Gallery has an interesting selection of decorative fire guards, hall lanterns, vintage centre light shades and table lamps which would add style to either contemporary or period homes.
A brass table lamp with an opalescent shade by the English Arts and Crafts designer, William Arthur Smith Benson, at €750 is a particularly stylish piece.
Straffan Antiques (also in Straffan, Co Kildare) and Killian McNulty are two newcomers to Francis Street whose shops are well worth visiting. Straffan Antiques has a super range of gilt mirrors for anyone sprucing up their homes before Christmas, while McNulty’s leads the way in furniture from the 1960s to the 1980s.
“We have a warehouse and vintage hub in north Co Dublin, and earlier this year, we decided to put all our best Scandinavian, French, Italian and American furniture in this shop,” explains McNulty.
The shop also displays stunning lights by Irish designer, Niamh Barry. The Swedish modernist Gusum brass candlesticks (€395-€895) would be perfect Christmas presents, while the cobalt blue bottles with stoppers from Otto Brauer (€250-€950) are another alternative.
Meanwhile, Niall Mullen has plenty of offers in his closing down sale, as he moves his business online. A specialist in art deco items, he points to a delightful set of eight 1920s French crystal champagne coupes for €380, and a vintage hexagonal fruit bowl for €140, as excellent value Christmas gifts.
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Connaught Antiques, Michael Mortell, Martin Fennelly Antiques and Patrick Howard all of have very alluring windows. These will no doubt draw in potential purchasers who opt to stroll around Dublin’s antique quarter for a pleasant Christmas shopping experience.
The Oxfam furniture shop on Francis Street is also worth browsing through, as are the multiple other antique shops and charity shops in towns and cities across Ireland.
A book for Christmas
Rare collectable books are another Christmas gift option for avid readers and book collectors alike. De Búrca Rare Books and Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, are good places to look. The Adams At Home online auction, closing on December 18th, has a collection of literary books previously owned by the late poet, novelist and critic, Seamus Deane.
The first English edition of Samuel Beckett’s novels – Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable – published by Calder in 1959, and with an inserted postcard inscribed and signed by Beckett, is one gem from De Búrca Rare Books for €950. A signed first edition of Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney and published in 1999, for €950 is another. Also consider a bound 1920s American edition of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol for €275, or a signed first edition of Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography, Born to Run at €750.
Mealy’s auctions on December 11th and 12th will have more than 1,000 items, including collections of fishing and poetry books, atlases and maps and much, much more. Those with the time and inclination to browse such historic books will realise that the hand-coloured plates of natural history illustrations and prints in art books could also make excellent framed gifts.
The Irish Georgian Society bookshop in City Assembly House, 58 South William Street, Dublin 2 is another good place to look when seeking out gifts for heritage enthusiasts. The bookshop has some fascinating books on architecture and art, including the recently published The Language of Architectural Classicism by Edward McParland (€44.05). Drawing on his decades of art history research and teaching at Trinity College Dublin, McParland’s book offers readers an in-depth look (with more than 300 illustrations) at how classical architecture of antiquity was adopted and adapted by artists and architects from the Renaissance onwards.
Dublin: Mapping the City, by Joseph Brady and Paul Ferguson (€38.50), and The Irish Country House: A New Vision, by Robert O’Byrne (€64.10), are other options among the many contemporary collectable books.
Meanwhile, you can buy 2025 membership of the Irish Georgian Society – €60 for an individual, €90 for a family – until December 31st. This gives the recipient access to national and international trips, as well as advance notice on all lectures and events run by the organisation.
Finally, the ultimate gift for antique lovers must be an antique restoration course. Pepie O’Sullivan and Nigel Barnes run weekend courses (€225, which includes materials and lunch on both days) in furniture restoration, reupholstery and clock restoration from their home in Co Clare. Email nigel@oldchairs.ie for details.
What did it sell for?
Tutti Frutti gem set, Cartier
Estimate: €15,000-€20,000
Hammer price: €16,000
Auction house: Adam’s
Sapphire and diamond eternity ring
Estimate: €1,400-€1,800
Hammer price: €1,600
Auction house: Adam’s
Yellow diamond ring
Estimate: €30,000-€40,000
Hammer price: €30,000
Auction house: Adam’s
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