FourCourts100
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FourCourts100
@FourCourts100
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The Cattle Market between North Circular Road and Stoneybatter, with all its sights and smells and noise, was an institution of old Dublin. The market's 10-acre site opened in 1863. At the height of the trade, up to 4,000 cows were sold a week. Stoneybatter's nickname was Cowtown, but sheep, pigs, and chickens were also on sale in the Wednesday market. The livestock travelled from all corners of Ireland, and they would be kept in nearby "cattle parks" in Castleknock, Cabra, and Finglas for a few days. Then drovers led them to market with the help of special dogs called "short hairs," a collie/terrier cross. The markets were serviced by a flourishing hospitality industry in the parish catering to the buyers, sellers, and hangers on. Culchies and foreign buyers alike often stayed at nearby lodging houses or the City Arms Hotel in Prussia Street, now Clarkes City Arms pub. Sadly, the economy changed, and eventually Dublin Corporation closed the traditional market on the 9th of May, 1973. The site is now a housing estate.






