Site of Blackeneys Inn, Dublin South City, Co. Dublin
Tucked away in the medieval heart of Dublin, near St. Audoen's Church, once stood Blackeneys Inns, a lodging house that served travellers and merchants in the city's bustling commercial district.
Site of Blackeneys Inn, Dublin South City, Co. Dublin
The 1978 Friends of Medieval Dublin Map marks its location to the east of the church, though today no physical traces remain of this once vital establishment. Like many of Dublin’s medieval structures, the inn has vanished beneath centuries of urban development, leaving only archival records and historical maps to tell its story.
During the medieval period, inns like Blackeneys played a crucial role in Dublin’s economy and social life. These establishments provided more than just beds for weary travellers; they served as meeting places for merchants conducting business, spaces where news and gossip were exchanged, and vital nodes in the network of trade that connected Dublin to other Irish towns and cities across the Irish Sea. The inn’s proximity to St. Audoen’s Church, one of Dublin’s oldest parish churches still in use, placed it at the heart of the medieval city’s religious and commercial life.
Archaeological surveys conducted by Bradley and King in 1987 confirmed the site’s location but found no surviving structural remains. This isn’t unusual for Dublin’s medieval landscape, where centuries of rebuilding, fires, and urban expansion have erased most physical evidence of the city’s early history. What remains is a fascinating puzzle of documentary evidence, old maps, and archaeological investigations that together help historians piece together the layout and daily life of medieval Dublin, one vanished building at a time.
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Bradley, J. & King, H. (1988) Urban Archaeological Survey, Dublin, Volume 4. A report commissioned by the Office of Public works (Unpublished).