The Clerys Building (closed) (Dublin)

 store / shop  Add category

www.clerys.com/

Clery's was a large department store on O'Connell Street, established in 1853, which closed in 2015. It is the second Clery's store on this site, the first being destroyed during the 1916 Easter Rising. It is heavily based on the Selfridges store in London and designed by the same architect, Robert Atkinson. For generations Clery's has been a Dublin tradition, with couples arranging to meet "under the clock" affixed to the exterior. In 1853, the Imperial Hotel stood here, the ground floor of which was occupied by a department store trading under the name McSwiney, Delany & Co. In 1883 the store was taken over by Michael Clery, and in spite of being bought out in 1940 by Denis Guiney it continues to trade under the name of Clery & Co.

Smaller than Selfridges, Clery's is much more monumental with a giant classical row of columns above continuous uninterrupted shop windows set in large bronze frames. The interior is quite well preserved containing its original bifurcating staircase leading to the first floor and columns.