The main city centre shopping areas are Grafton St and Henry St. Both are located roughly the same distance from O'Connell Bridge, with Grafton St. to the South, and Henry St. to the North. They are about ten to fifteen minutes on foot from one another so you can cover both in one afternoon.
Traditionally Grafton St and the surrounding area was considered the high class area with designer boutiques and exclusive stores, while Henry St was more accessible to everyone's budget. This distinction has largely been blurred these days as the shopping areas fill up with large UK chain stores, franchise coffee shops, and mobile phone shops, making Irish shopping areas resemble similar areas in the UK and USA. However there are still little boutiques in the streets around Grafton St, and it is recommended to visit the St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, the Westbury Mall and the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre. Off Henry Street beside the ILAC shopping center lies Moore Street with its street stalls selling flowers and vegetables, and hawkers calling out in a distinctive Dublin accent plus a range of ethnic food shops.
Shop opening hours depend on the type of shop - for more details see the Business Hours page.
Department Stores
The main department stores are Arnotts, Clerys, Brown Thomas and Debenhams.
Brown Thomas (Grafton St) is exclusive and therefore a little more expensive. In many cases, this store has Dublin's only concessions for designer brands. This is where to pick up your designer threads and watch Dublin's well off go about their business.
Arnotts, bounded by Henry St, Upper Liffey Street and Middle Abbey St is Ireland's largest store. More an everyman's store than Brown Thomas, it still retains some departments of its own but is increasingly yielding floor space to concessions like River Island, Adams, Principles etc. Departments range from hats to lighting, from makeup to luggage. It has been renovated in recent years and is constantly busy. Its bargain basement (there is a small version on the ground floor on the Abbey St side. No shoes or clothes in this part though) thrives and there's many a find to be had.
Clerys, a landmark building on O'Connell St is more down at heel than its rivals and has again brought in many concession like Topshop, Karen Millen, Dolcis Shoes to fill its floors. It has a number of restaurants including the rooftop restaurants where a good breakfast is the salvation of many's the weary Christmas shopper.
The British chain Debenhams has 2 stores close to one another in the Henry Street area. One is the former Roches Stores across the street from Arnotts. It features the usual fare and, like Arnotts, hosts a number of concession outlest like Zara, Gstar and others. The other branch is in the Jervis Centre.
Malls
Generally called "shopping centres", or simply "centres", Dublin has a range of malls in the city centre and suburbs. Some of the most interesting shops can be found in the smaller shopping centres in the city centre. These bijou arcades located just off Grafton Street are home to a number of independent retailers who should not be missed. The main ones are The Westbury Mall beside the Westbury Hotel, Hibernian Way which lies between Dawson St. and Grafton Street and the Powerscourt Centre between South William St and Clarendon St. If smaller boutiques are your thing, you should not miss Chica's two shops in the Westbury Mall. A favourite of Celebrities and Fashionista alike, this fabulous girlie boutique sells brightly coloured printed pieces as well as stunning jewellery. Nearby, you will also find Susan Hunters for amazing lingerie and Shag which stands for Shoes and Bags mind you!
The larger malls in the centre include the Jervis Centre and ILAC Centre in the Henry Street area and the Stephen's Green Centre at the top of Grafton Street. The Jervis Centre and Stephen's Green Centre both contain basement supermarkets.
Suburban Shopping Centres/Malls. The periphery of Dublin is dotted with shopping centres, the largest of which are Liffey Valley, Blanchardstown, and Dundrum Town Centre, featuring House of Frasier and Harvey Nichols. By and large, just like Grafton St. and Henry St. shopping experiences, these shopping centres are largely dominated by UK and USA chains like Principles, Next, Timberland, Marks and Spencer, FCUK etc.Speciality Shopping
Souvenirs: There are many high quality souvenir shops selling Irish crystal, antiques, china, tweed, etc., located on Nassau St which runs along the side of Trinity College. Kilkenny has a wide range of traditional and modern Irish crafts, textiles and jewellery, and has excellent sales. House of Ireland also appears popular. There is also a shop in the downtown center that is of the same quality as the home store. Avoca Handweavers have a Dublin city centre shop at Suffolk Street, just across from the main Tourism Office. If you are looking for Celtic souvenirs and jewelry, go to Celtic Craft. For novelty souvenirs like leprechaun hats, Guinness and Ireland tshirts, fridge magnets, musical instruments, pencils, dolls, Irish coffee glasses, shotglasses, a good place to try is Carroll's, who have outlets on Nassau St, Grafton St, Westmoreland St, Temple Bar, O'Connell St. You'll find it a challenge to miss one thanks to the blaring Irish music!
Books: Ireland's homegrown booksellers are Hughes & Hughes (you'll see them in the airport) and Eason's. For a bookbuying experience visit the Hodges Figgis store on Dawson St, or Waterstones directly across the street, making Dawson St a bookworm's heaven.
Farmers Markets: There are many excellent farmer's markets operating in and around Dublin these days - a far cry from a few short years ago when there were none. These are excellent places to purchase local produce including pies, cheese, jams, free range and organic meats and vegetables, honey, etc. The best known market operates in Temple Bar on Saturday morning. Other markets include Marlay Park on Sundays, Dun Laoghaire on Sundays, and Leopardstown on Fridays.