The Libertine Market, combining shopping with a local pub crawl, takes place on the first Sunday of every month. This month, the market embraced a Samhain theme. T
The pubs are all within five minutes of each other in the heart of the Liberties, which made navigating the streets simple. The market’s four pubs were Arthur’s, Love Tempo, Dudley’s (all on Thomas Street), and Lucky’s on Meath Street.
As we stood on the corner waiting to enter Arthur’s, a crowd of people formed, eagerly awaiting what lay ahead. As the crowd grew, a local elderly woman walked over inquiring what everyone was waiting for. When the word ‘market’ was mentioned, a scowl formed on her face: “Markets are all money.”
We could not help but laugh at her quick remark as we all turned back to face Arthur’s.
Walking into any of the pubs, the smell of beer immediately hit you – until you went upstairs or downstairs to see the market in full swing. The overwhelming new scent of face paint, metal, and different types of candles created a warm environment for anyone to walk in and feel comfortable.
The merchants try to get everyone who walks by their stands involved, even if it means a couple words in passing or a full conversation. People were joking about walking around town covered in face paint, but the artist was quick to remark that people do it every month. “You would be surprised the amount of people who walk out of here with half of their face looking like Spiderman,” she joked.
At most of the jewellery stands, the merchants were working on their next piece right then and there. For example, weaving a piece of silver around a finger measurer for the next customer to come along and grab it. At the market there was lots to choose from, between jewellery, hats, face paint, candles, soaps, and tarot reading, this market really has it all. Having the market in pubs gives it a more home-like feeling, rather than having it in a big hall.
There was a sense of community across all four pubs due to the market. If you wanted a little break in between any of the pubs, no one would stop you from sitting down to have a quick pint before heading into the next pub. Although there was not much food being offered at the market itself, there are plenty of places to get food nearby, some even next door to the pubs themselves.
The Liberty had the opportunity to talk to one of the women who was working the market. She caught our attention when joking about not being allowed to sell bracelets with fictional characters on it in fear of copyright. After joking around she offered us sweets, something we could not refuse.
An avid reader of The Liberty herself, Amanda explained how she always works the market every month. Normally, she would have just “stretched bracelets, earrings, mostly all jewellery and accessories”. Was she was excited about the Samhain theme of the market?
Amanda let out a laugh: “I don’t like Halloween, but I try to make an effort because of what it is.”
The biggest stand of all was in Love Tempo, a vintage clothes stall. With the younger generation embracing the vintage look, it seemed like the perfect stand to have at a market. Halloween themed songs played in everyone’s ears throughout the day. Sticking to theme, the market crawl did not have just any DJ, but a DJ dressed up as a ghost. There was not a single person working at the market who did not stick to theme.
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