Parnell Street is located on Dublin's Northside and runs from Capel Street in the west to Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square in the east. It is at the north end of O'Connell Street, where it provides the south side of Parnell Square. Originally, Parnell Street was part of the ancient road connecting the old city to northern coast, with Father Matthew Bridge connecting Church Street and Wood Quay in the east, to Ballybough and Fairview in the west. During the 18th century, development of Amiens Street and Annesley Bridge provided a new coast road, and Parnell Street and its continuation to the east, Summerhill, became home to Georgian architecture. The western end of Parnell Street has been substantially redeveloped in recent years. The urban regeneration came after road plans by Dublin Corporation devastated the street in the 1970s, when it was scheduled to be part of the Inner Tangent Road scheme, causing massive dereliction and blight. Virtually all of the original Georgian architecture was destroyed and subsequently replaced by buildings of much larger scale. The eastern end of Parnell Street, having remained comparatively undeveloped, is now home to a thriving immigrant community. Most notably, a plethora of authentic Chinese and Korean restaurants have lent the east sidethe reputation of being Dublin's "Chinatown". There is also a significant presence of African and East and Central European businesses at the eastern end, including the Big Romance, a vinyl only craft beer pub.
The Ilac Shopping Centre is the oldest shopping centre in the city centre. It is a large single-story complex that contains many shops. One entrance leads out to Moore Street's famous market, and there are also a public library and chapel inside the centre. The Moore Street Mall, a recently opened shopping centre, also has an entrance on Parnell Street.
Other facilities
The Cineworld cinema on Parnell Street is the largest cinema in Ireland, with 17 screens. The street also has flagship city centre stores for German discount supermarket chains such as Aldi and Lidl. Smyths Toys and Toymaster are on Jervis Street, just off Parnell Street. A Stringfellow's restaurant and strip club operated on Parnell Street for a number of months before closing because of poor trading performance. Various residents' associations, women's groups and Christian groups had campaigned against it, and its demise has been linked to those protests. The street also has many other bars, restaurants, shops and internet cafes.
