Flee to the Dublin Flea Market

The Dublin Flea Market, which has been open since 2008 now has over 60 stalls is a monthly market that takes place the last Sunday of every month in Newmarket Square from 11pm to 5pm.

There are both outdoor and indoor spaces which means that it’s not ‘weather permitting’. The market contains an array of vintage and antique items from designer dresses to tobacco boxes as well as music, and delicious refreshments like coffee, falafel, cakes, pizza and Greek dishes.

The location for the flea has a rich history of markets in the area going back to the 17th century. Its origins can be traced back to the urban developments that the Earls of Meath, the Brabazons, were responsible for in the early 1620s. There are many traces of the earls to be seen in the area including well-known street names such as Meath Street, Brabazon Street and Ardee Street.  

The hustle and bustle, intriguing individuals and a variety of obscure yet alluring items at the Dublin Flea Market are reason enough to visit the historic hotspot and may very well have initiated my very own new-found obsession with vintage clothes and antiques.

The stalls are staffed by all different kinds of people from all different parts of Ireland. Some have established their own businesses while others just want to clean out what they forgot about in the attic.

Colette Jackson from JacksonRhodesIreland.com said: “I love the atmosphere in the market it’s multicultural and there’s a real family feel… I do Vintage jewellery, vintage sowing supplies like sowing and trimmings, and then I have my own line of bags which are yoga bags.”

Jane McBride, from ‘Shabbie’, said: “We do lots of markets we’re based in Belfast so we do markets all over but this our favourite… People just come here and hang out, we import materials from India, leftover Sarai fabric which is hand stitched.”

Julia McConville said: “This is all our own stuff… I have my Mum with me here and a lot of the stuff we have here are things she wore in the 70s.”

Newmarket is also in line to see development in the coming year with a €3-4m redesign proposed for the area. A major goal of the development is to repave the main market area while also making a more pedestrian-friendly space by removing car parks and creating a space for Dublin Bikes and cycle parking facilities.