Blackrock Market

Blackrock Market is set in an old seaside merchant house in the centre of Blackrock village Co Dublin. It is one of the last surviving bric-a-brac markets left in Dublin from a line-up of markets which used to be dotted around the city from the prettily named Dandelion market off Stephens Green to the Blackberry market in Rathmines. Somehow, Blackrock Market has remained as a bone fida market through many decades and many recessions. The market itself is mainly antique and bric-a-brac with some vintage and new wares. The stall-holders are reminiscent of the Portobello Market in London- each with their own personality, nook and specialist goods.

The market has always had a charming ramshackle quality to it. There is no self-conscious hipsterness to it- apart from a recent face-lift (a lick of paint) and two new cafes one at the entrance called Bear Market Coffee and The Canteen which replaces the previous Market cafe space.

The entrance to Blackrock Market can be found right in the heart of Blackrock village.  Open on Saturday or Sunday it isn’t difficult to find with balloons and signage out on the street. A walk through an archway from the street leads you straight into the market stalls and the old merchant house, the stalls curve around the house and out to the backyard.

The house itself has two permanent fixtures, a barbers and a bookshop. This secondhand bookshop still retains the original features of the house in particular their real open fire and is a lovely spot to riffle through books for an hour or two.

The Market was  a place I was brought to as a child as my Granny lived nearby. I never forgot those visits or the Aladdin’s cave of treasures with stalls full of the most curious things and happily, it has remained largely the same. You’ll find stalls selling curiosities, paintings, sacred hearts, hat-stands, vinyl, china, furs, chairs, croquet sets, children’s games, rocking horses, tea-sets, war memorabilia and to complete the picture it has a token fortune teller and stalls selling hippy accroutrements. There is a small amount of vintage to be found for the discerning hunter.

I took some pictures this cold February Saturday. There is a certain seaside cheeriness to the stripes and colours the market has been painted in. See the pictures from my visit and my pick of the best stalls…

You should start your visit with a browse in the second-hand  Market bookshop in the old house, the books are  set in the old drawing room and it is complete with old bookshelves and an open-fire place. From a quick browse The Book of Nonsense (pictured below) caught my eye.

The newest addition to the market is a stall called Clarabelles. The stallholder buys leather goods, jewellery and bags from her travels around the world particularly from India and Morocco. She has painted her stall beautifully with a bright pink floor and colourful textiles I loved the carved elephants, French Rivera baskets and the studded Moroccan bags below.

At the very back of the Blackrock Market is a stall called The Antique Workshop owned by Richard Callrick. He has a fine collection of mid-twentieth century furniture and often does the Dublin Flea Market so look out for him. I loved his selection of silver cutlery, Belleek shell tea-cups and a guide to Paris from the 1940s.

I noticed these colourful painted plasterworks dotted along the roof of the archway of the market  just as I was leaving. Take a look upwards to see them when exiting! And pop into Bear Market Coffee for a hot-drop before you go home.

My greatest find from Blackrock Market are these beautiful and greatly treasured gold kid-leather 1920s dancing shoes which I found a number of years ago when I lived in Blackrock. They were, incidentally, going to be featured in a shoot by Nathalie Marquez Courntney last summer, so here they are Natalie! They are Parisian with an inscription stamped on the sole and very beautifully crafted. I can put my feet in the them but they are too delicate to wear so they have sat on a shelf  in the many apartments and houses I have lived in over the years. These are an example of the gems which can be found if you are up for the hunt in the Blackrock Market!

Gold kid-leather 1920s dancing shoes

Find out more about the Blackrock Market here

Blackrock Market
19A Main Street
Blackrock
Co Dublin