Gateway

The National Monuments Service's description

The precise location of St. Kevin's Gate has not been identified. Clarke (2002, 21, E14) suggested that the gate may have been located on Wexford Street at the junction with Protestant row. The present location has been identified based on the 1326-7 and 1603 description of the site location. The gate may have been somewhere within the vicinity of this area marked on the OSi map. Referred to in historical documents as St. Kevin's Gate, it was situated in Wexford Street which was still known in the 19th century as St. Kevin's Port (McCready 1892, 42). The Urban Survey of Dublin (Bradley and King 1987, 1, 57) recorded that 'its precise position in the street, however, is unknown'. The Friends of Medieval Dublin marked the site of St Kevin's Gate to the E of St Kevin's Church at the junction between Wexford Street and Protestant Row (FMD map 1978, B17; Clarke 2002, 21, E14).
According to Clarke (2002, 21) St Kevin's Gate was first mentioned c. 1213 in Archbishop Alen's Register (McNeill 1950, 41). At the Common Pleas held at Dublin in 1326-7 before Thomas Fitz John, earl of Kildare, justiciary of Ireland, an Inquisition into the extent of the boundaries of Dublin City recorded that; 'the pasture which extends as far as St. Kevin's gate and so by the way as far as Kilmerecaregan [area around Leeson Street] and by the boundary of the land of Dovenachbrok [Donnybrook] as far as Dodir [Dodder]. And from the gate of St. Kevins church (DU018-020078-), by the way towards the north, so far as the stone cross [Butter Cross DU018-020124-] where the old market was formerly, towards the west. Thence by the lane near the church of the Holy Sepulchre [DU018-020118-], going towards the north so far as an old lane, closed up, near the common of the vicars of St Patrick's church (DU018-020113-) extending as far as the street of that church' (CARD 1, 156-7).
In 1603 the boundaries of Dublin City were described as from; 'the high way aforesaid [Dublin-Donnybrook Highway] at a shard uppon the west corner of the said Kilmakeregan [area between St. Stephen's Green and Donnybrook/possibly the area around Leeson Street], and rode alongest that high way to St. Stephin's green, and tooke the sowth syde of the green, to St Kevin's Gate, and torned in the lane nor[th]ward, tyll they came to the east end of the Butter lane [Great Boater Lane now Bishop Street], which was broken, and they entred therat; and in that lane lyeth an ould cross of stone' (CARD 1, 193). This description could place it at the top of Wexford Street at the cross-roads with Redmond's Hill. No gateway is shown at this location on Speed's 1610 Map of Dublin or on Rocque's 1756 Map of Dublin. The Down Survey map of Newcastle barony c. 1655 shows 'Kevvensport' standing on the SE corner of the outer defences of Dublin City with St Stephens Green to the E (Hib. Reg.). The present Kevin Street Lower was previously known as 'Kevin's Port' (Lennon 2008, 16).
It is possible that there may have been two gates known as 'St Kevin's Gate' for the Dublin City Assembly Roll of 1465 recorded that the city granted the prior and convent of the Carmelite's (DU018-020049-) of Dublin, the laneway/street that went from the church of Saint Stephen's (DU018-020593-) to the church of Saint Kevin's (DU018-020078-) with the right to build a gateway at both ends of the lane (CARD 1, 321).

See attached Friends of Medieval Dublin 1978 map showing possible site of a town gate (E14), referred to as St. Kevin's Gate (Clarke 2002) and Down Survey Map of Newcastle Barony, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin.

Compiled by: Geraldine Stout

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 23 November 2022

References

Clarke, H.B. 1978 Dublin c. 840 - c. 1540: the medieval town in the modern city. Dublin.

McNeill, C. (ed.) 1950 Calendar of Archbishop Alen's Register c. 1172-1534. Dublin. Royal Society of Antiquaries.

McCready, C.T. 1892 (1975 reprint) Dublin street names dated and explained. Dublin. Carraig Books.

Rocque, J. 1756 An exact survey of the city and suburbs of Dublin. Available at https://libguides.ucd.ie/findingmaps/mapshistDublin Accessed on 5 January .

Clarke, H.B. 2002 Irish Historic Towns Atlas No. 11: Dublin, part I, to 1610. Royal Irish Academy. Dublin.

Speed, J. 1611-12 The theatre of the empire of Great Britaine: presenting an exact geography of the kingdomes of England, Scotland, Ireland. Atlas.2.61.1, Cambridge University Library.

Lennon, C. 2008 Irish Historic Towns Atlas No. 19: Dublin, Part II, 1610 to 1756. Royal Irish Academy. Dublin.

Calendar of Ancient Records of Dublin: In the Possession of the Municipal Corporation of that City.

Bradley, J. & King, H. (1988) Urban Archaeological Survey, Dublin, Volume 4. A report commissioned by the Office of Public works (Unpublished).

Hibernia Regnum: A set of 214 barony maps of Ireland dating to the period AD 1655-59. The original parish maps have been lost but the Hibernia Regnum maps are preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris (Goblet 1932, v-x). Photographic facsimiles of these maps were published by the Ordnance Survey, Southampton in 1908.