0ne of the defining features of the city of Dublin in recent years has been its diffusion into the surrounding hinterland, creating major outlying suburban communities some of which now quallfy as 'edge cities'. One consequence of this diffision is a re-orientation of the citizenry away from the downtown. It is hard to imagine now but, in the 1940s and 1950s' O'Connell Street was the vibrant core of the city of Dublin replete with entertainment, restaurant, hotel and business facilities. If we try to think of an iconic image from that period, it has to be that of young men and women, sensibly belted against the wind and rain, waiting expectantly for their dates under Clerys' clock. From the 1960s, as the commercial heart of the city migrated across the River Liffey to Grafton Street and St Stephen's Green, O'Connell Street and its surrounding environs went into decline. While the city centre's main thoroughfare retained its status as the civic centrepoint - it is still the main route for all protest marches in the city - lax planning laws saw it increasingly colonised by burger joints, gaming arcades and pound shops. The sad decline of 0'Connell Street served to deepen the northside/southside distinction already embedded in the city's narrative.