We partnered with The Gloss to find the Best Shops Ireland 2022. We also asked The Gloss readers to nominate their favourite shops and together we have a list of over 100 Best Shops. These are the Best Bookshops & Stationery Shops Ireland 2022. For more Best Shops Ireland 2022 click HERE.
BOOKS UPSTAIRS
17 D’Olier Street, Dublin 2
www.booksupstairs.ie
Dublin’s oldest independent bookshop was founded in 1978. Two friends, Maurice Earls and Enda O’Doherty, opened the bookstore with a mission to support the positive role of books in society and particularly in Irish culture. They stocked the shop with books focused on literature, history and politics, and the underrepresented areas of philosophy, literary criticism, psychology, feminism, and gay literature. After several moves, today the bookshop occupies a beautiful Georgian building, is under the stewardship of Maurice’s daughter Louisa along with Mary McAuley and has expanded to include a secondhand book section.
BRIDGE STREET BOOKS
Bridge Sreet, Wicklow, Books, Co. Wicklow
In Wicklow town, the family-run BRIDGE STREET BOOKSHOP has been in business since 1999 and Hilary and Joanna Hamilton are continuing the legacy. The beautiful storefront and busy interior has tourists flocking to it in the summer months and a steady local trade, with children especially catered to.
CHARLIE BYRNES BOOKSHOP
The Cornstore, Middle Street, Galway
www.charliebyrne.ie
Established in 1988, Charlie Byrne’s bookshop has expanded over the years to six rooms housing more than 100,000 new, bargain, secondhand and antiquarian books. The exterior walls that face into The Cornstore, a covered shopping mall, are lined with eye-catching fully stacked bookshelves.
DINGLE BOOKSHOP
2 Green Street, Dingle, Co. Kerry
www.dinglebookshop.com
While away an hour or two in THE DINGLE BOOKSHOP owned by Camilla Dinkel, includes more than 6,000 books, with a strong emphasis on Kerry, of course. Locally published books for adults and children are available in both English and Irish. The secondhand section is very popular, particularly with travellers in the summer.
HALFWAY UP THE STAIRS
1 Malvern, La Touche Place, Greystones, Co Wicklow
www.halfwayupthestairs.ie
One of the few bookshops in Ireland specialising in Children’s books, Halfway up the Stairs was opened by Trish Hennessy in 2019. The bookshop is designed with childhood imagination in mind, from the charming logo (designed by children’s illustrator Michael Emberley) to the mural-painted walls. Alongside a diverse selection of children’s and young adult books, in both English and Irish, there is a selection of wooden and plush toys, and puzzles.
HUNTER PAPER CO
366 Upper Newtownards Road, Ballyhackamore, Belfast, Northern Ireland
www.hunterpaperco.com
After establishing her wholesale card and print business in 2016, illustrator Emma Johnston opened Hunter Paper Co in 2020 with her husband Ross. The shop has a printing press that Emma uses to produce her own greeting cards and stocks beautiful stationery from all over the world.
IMMA SHOP
IMMA, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin 8
www.theimmashop.com
An art inspired gift shop with goods for all ages. The IMMA shop is located between on the first floor in the atrium between the east and west wings of the museum. There are plenty of gifts by Irish makers and a range of Limited Edition fine art prints that is updated with new additions with every exhibition. There are books on design, fashion, art, and architecture as well as a selection of children’s titles.
KENNY’S BOOKSHOP
Liosban Business Park, Tuam Road, Galway City, Co. Galway
www.kennys.ie
Galway’s no village but any list of bookshops outside the capital would have to include KENNY’S BOOKSHOP, going strong since the 1940s and just as relevant today with its huge stock of books on site and a busy online business too.
LIBER
35 O’Connell Street, Abbeyquarter North, Sligo
www.liber.ie
In Sligo, head for LIBER, an independent bookshop run by the Caliendo family who have owned the premises for almost 100 years. Find carefully curated new titles, a strong poetry selection, as one might expect in Yeats country, and lots of good books for children.
MOLI
The Museum of Literature Ireland, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
www.moli.ie
The Museum of Literature Ireland has a lovely shop leading from a landscaped Courtyard and the Reader’s Garden that in turn connect to the Iveagh Gardens. The shop is stocked with a selection of Irish interest books, literary-inspired gifts, and bespoke items.
MARROWBONE BOOKS
78 The Coombe, The Liberties, Dublin
www.marrowbone.ie
A bright, yellow-painted shopfront is the eye-catching home to Dublin bookshop, MARROWBONE BOOKS. The bookstore established in 2017 by two Trinity College Dublin graduates, Brian Flanagan and Lily Power, specializes in second-hand books. The comfortable chairs, rugs and plenty of plants give this bookstore a cozy living room vibe. The paper-back books that line the shelves, are mainly fiction from the last 70 years.
RAVEN BOOKS
34 Main Street, Blackrock, Co. Dublin
www.ravenbooks.ie
RAVEN BOOKS in Blackrock, Co Dublin. OK, so you have to shimmy around tightly packed bookshelves and step aside for fellow browsers, but the selection is always interesting with some pre-owned books and a slight skew towards crime, and plentiful piles of bestsellers.
TALES FOR TADPOLES
47 Drury St, Dublin 2
www.talesfortadpoles.ie
Established in 2016, TALES FOR TADPOLES is inspired by Caroline Sullivan’s love of children’s literature, illustration and picture books. There are both new and secondhand illustrated books alongside a selection of goods, including prints, stationery and toys inspired by children’s books.
TERTULIA
Unit 2 The Harbour Mill, The Quay, Westport, Co. Mayo
www.tertuliabookshop.com
With its sunny yellow exterior and reading nook under the stairs, TERTULIA in Westport, Co Mayo, is a great place to spend time in the company of books, old vinyl and coffee. Proprietors Neil Paul and Bríd Conroy, who have their own YouTube books show, “Tertulia TV”, named the shop from an old Spanish word meaning a social forum and have made it a popular spot for book club events, literary launches and book signings.
THE BOOK & COFFEE SHOP
William St. Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
Librarian and writer, Stephen Buck and Marian O’Neill, realized their dream when they opened their own bookshop in 2019. So much more than just a store, The Book & Coffee Shop has launched books, hosted plays, and recitals, held creative writing classes and exhibitions, a space for meetings, and, of course, a destination for a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and a secondhand book.
THE COMPANY OF BOOKS
96 Ranelagh, Dublin 6
Dublin Sixers swear by THE COMPANY OF BOOKS which is bright and inviting with a really strong selection of current literature and non-fiction. Excellent website too with free delivery anywhere in Ireland when you spend over €30.
THE CLIFDEN BOOKSHOP
Main St, Clifden, Co. Galway, Ireland
www.clifdenbookshop.com
In Connemara on a rainy day? Head for the award-winning Clifden Bookshop which has lots of titles of local interest and all the bestsellers to take back to your getaway cottage. Shopkeepers Nicole Shanahan and Maire O’Halloran established the bookshop in 1997.
THE GUTTER BOOKSHOP
Cow’s Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin 8 & 20 Railway Rd, Dalkey, Co. Dublin
www.thegutterbookshop.com
Named after the famous Oscar Wilde quote from his play, Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Gutter Bookshop was established in Temple Bar in 2009 with a second shop in Dalkey opening in 2013. Both shops have a knowledgeable staff, ready to help with recommendations, host events and popular bookclubs.
THE LAST BOOKSHOP
61 Camden Street Lower, Dublin 2
Secondhand bookstore THE LAST BOOKSHOP has been in its current location since 2017. The previous location on Sandford Road, Ranelagh was demolished to make way for a hotel. Behind the red façade, owner Alan Warnock has organized the incredible number of books in neat stacks, reserving the front of the shop for books on Irish interest. A narrow path through books leads to the back door and into a hidden garden that is home to the Cake Café.
THE LILLIPUT PRESS
62-63 Sitric Road, Arbour Hill, Stoneybatter, Dublin
www.lilliputpress.ie
Comfortable sofas and armchairs give THE LILLIPUT PRESS bookshop the air of a cosy sitting room – replete with full bookcases. The Lilliput Press, is one of Ireland’s smallest publishing houses established in 1984 by Antony Farrell. The bookshop moved to its current location in Stoneybatter from Westmeath in 1984. The original location being nearby to the townland of Lilliput, inspired Jonathan Swift as well Antony Farrell in the naming of his bookshop and publishing house.
THE MAYNOOTH BOOKSHOP
68 Main Street, Maynooth, Co.Kildare
www.maynoothbookshop.ccom
Books run in the family at THE MAYNOOTH BOOKSHOP where Cian Byrne is at the helm. Established in 1988, helpful service and a great offering for young readers make this a must-stop on the high street.
THE WINDING STAIR BOOKSHOP
40 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin
www.winding-stair.com
Named after both a Yeats poem for its twisting staircase, The Winding Stair opened in 1970 as a three-storey bookshop and café. Rescued from closure twice by Elaine Murphy, once in 2006 and then again in 2009, who opened a restaurant serving authentic Irish fare. The bookshop occupies the ground floor with the front area featuring new books and a smaller space at the rear for secondhand titles.
ULYSSES RARE BOOKS
10 Duke Street, Dublin 2
www.rarebooks.ie
Retired teacher, Enda Cunningham established Ulysses Rare Books in 1986. The original shop was in Market Arcade on Georges Street, moving to Duke Street in April 1988, when his son and daughter, David and Aisling, joined the family business. The bookshop specialises in 20th century Irish literature, an unrivalled selection of rare and signed editions. There is also a collection of rare and collectible Children’s and Illustrated books and a variety of books on Irish history and topography from the 17th Century period to the recent past.
Please note that more shops will be added to this list on an ongoing basis, so do continue to check in.
While nominations are now closed for 2022, we will invite new nominations from January next year. So, if you have discovered a fabulous shop, whether it’s a coffee shop, a flower and plant shop, food shop or market, menswear or womenswear boutique, accessories or beauty shop or a vintage, interiors, lifestyle or antique shop, share your knowledge with us! Our panel – Sarah McDonnell, Editor, THE GLOSS, Paula Flynn of The Shopkeepers and Amanda Pratt, creative and retail consultant – want to hear from you. Email us on digital@thegloss.ie with the subject line ‘BEST SHOPS’.
