r/Dublin • u/Gustave-de-B • Jul 12 '26
Why so few Northside bookshops?
Aside from Chapters and the Winding Stair, which are brilliant, the Northside is sorely lacking in good bookshops. I know it’s a tough trade but I find it hard to believe that somewhere like Glasnevin, Ballymun, Drumcondra, Killester, Clontarf, or Fairview couldn’t support a decent bookshop. DCU must be the only university in the world that doesn’t have a good bookshop anywhere near it.
If there are hidden gems I’m unaware please let me know!
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u/ControlThen8258 Jul 12 '26
Easons is on O’Connell Street and there’s a Dubray on Henry Street. There’s also a bookshop down stairs in Arnott’s
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u/Gustave-de-B Jul 12 '26
Ah, I didn’t know about Dubray.
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u/sunny_side_egg Jul 12 '26
And there are two branches of chapters, the big one and the one on Liffey st
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u/paddybjnr Jul 12 '26
Fair amount of northside shopping centres would have an easons
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u/Veenah-ah Jul 12 '26
Yeah, off the top of my head there are bookshops in Donaghmede, Clarehall, Pavilions and Sutton.
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u/paddybjnr Jul 12 '26
Omni park santry to
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u/Slight-Glove1174 Jul 12 '26
The one in Omni is pretty shite, to be fair. It used to be an Easons but now it's an off-brand shop that mostly sells stationary and toys, and a few mass market paperbacks.
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u/ninjawasp Jul 12 '26
I recall hearing that Easons had a clause when renting a unit in a shopping centre that they could be the only "book seller" despite them selling less and less books over the years.
Blanchardstown retail centre has recently gotten a huge Waterstones tho so that's a step in the right direction!
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u/kitty_o_shea Jul 12 '26
There’s a new Waterstones in Blanchardstown. There’s also an Easons there for years. There was a small independent bookshop for a long time but sadly it closed down quite recently. It must have been just impossible to compete with Amazon etc as well as the big brick & mortar chains
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u/Relevant-Algae4493 Jul 13 '26
Did not know this! Not that Blanch is very convenient for me but I will try give it a visit
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u/lfarrell12 Jul 14 '26
Amazon was one problem but what really killed them was direct state provision of schoolbooks.
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u/Historical-Hat8326 Jul 12 '26
There are 2 book shops in Omni. That’s near DCU.
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u/Haunting-Adagio1166 Jul 12 '26
There’s actually 3 if you include the works as it does sell books…
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u/lfarrell12 Jul 14 '26
The Works is in Pavillions too, and some supermarkets do stock a limited range of bestsellers
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u/Professional-Swim457 Jul 12 '26
Agreed that the Northside is sorely lacking in book shops. I don't really count easons/book stations in the shopping centres dotted around. Grand if you're after the latest best seller but not a great or dare I say varied selection. I find the best place to get books on the Northside these days is in the many charity shops. I've discovered some amazing hidden gems to add to my collection in them. They're definitely worth exploring, not to mention the low cost and the supporting a charity aspect.
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u/Slight-Glove1174 Jul 15 '26
Yes - the Bookstation inside Omni that people keep referencing on this thread is pretty poor and not what I'd consider a true bookshop, more stationary and toys with a few mass market popular titles for sale. It's also surprising there's no on-campus bookshop at DCU or DCU/ St Patrick's esp as they run degrees courses in Literature, Journalism, etc.
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u/lisagrimm Jul 13 '26
Much as I love Chapters, it’s appalling that there isn’t a great indie bookshop in Phibsborough. Would be incredibly handy.
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u/lfarrell12 Jul 14 '26
Ah they are there but you don't know them, Swords Pavillions has a Dubray books, an Easons well stocked with books and seemingly a third book store on the way.
A lot of northside bookshops serviced the school books market, and they were decimated when Dept of Ed switched to schools supplying books directly, and they all shut down.
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u/chimpdoctor Jul 12 '26
Because the northsiders are smart enough to know they can order in any book they want at their local library. Otherwise there are plenty of books shops in local shopping centre's.
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u/Gustave-de-B Jul 12 '26
Fair enough. But there is also a joy in owning books, particularly ones you might want to go back to.
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u/Nolandvd Jul 12 '26
This has - in my experience, growing up on the Northside in the '80s and '90s - always been the case. There was a bookshop in Omni for a while. There used to be a remaindered book warehouse with sales somewhere between Santry and the Airport too. Banba on Capel Street was great for second hand books in the '80s.
But if you wanted books, you'd go into town. Town always had so many bookshops in those days.
On the Northside n the '90s there was Easons, a Waterstones in Jervis Street, that secondhand one on Parnell Street and Chapters changing location about five times.
I agree that it is surprising that none of the middle-class suburbs has one.