Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre

I come here for just a few things the odd time. Well, there is not much shopping possiblity left currently.

There seem to be less and less shops everytime I come here. Seemingly there are plans to update the outside of the building and to bring in a big chain but so far there is no movement on that. Fingers crossed they'll manage to get shops and hence customers back in.

On the positive: you can park here at weekends for the whole day for €3 which is very good seeing the parking prices in Dun Laoghaire in general.

This big blocky brute of a shopping centre dominates central Dun Laoghaire. In many ways, it feels like it was here first and everywhere else was just built around it, hanging off the fringes. Like a shanty town on the edge of some medieval castle.

Still, it's a good shopping centre.

One of the few shopping centers, in fact, that doesn't impose wrist slittingly mundane easy listening on you. This is something which makes the place tolerable, pleasant even, by comparison. Further allusions towards the civilised world include the welcome addition of a public house and, most important feature of any shopping centre, multiple exits.

I think it was mahatma Gandhi who said "you can't polish a turd", though I might be misquoting him...

Anyway, this was disproven on the show Mythbusters recently (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJ9fy1qSFI)

... But speaking of polishing undesirable things, the Dunlaoghaire shopping centre; paint it as often as you wish, lower the ceilings, add some nice lighting...and it is still it is horrible to its very core... plus they charge you for parking

No, not a fan.

With the addition of your Dundrum's and your Liffey Valley's to the scene, Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre is sure never return to the dizzying heights it once realised as an uber popular shopping destination in the 1990's. It was the kind of place you'd buy your confirmation outfit or pair of new school shoes.

But while the shopping centre that time forgot is no longer in its prime, it has survived. The shops inside have changed somewhat over the years, but classics like Grahame O'Sullivan's, still remain. There's still a good selection and you can get all the bits and pieces you might want, including groceries and a pint. I haven't seen it crowded for a while, though the car park has plenty of cars going through it.

Try shouting 'weeee!' when you're going down the ramps as you descend a floor in the car park - a simple pleasure from my childhood that should put a smile on your face. Either that of you'll freak out the other passengers in your car, which is still a good laugh courtesy of Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre.

I have some fond memories of Dun Laoghaire. It was the first place I ever got a bus by myself when I was but a lad. The Shopping centre was a bustling spot packed with people and shops. That's unfortunately not the case any more.

The shopping centre was brought to its knees in the recession and there's no sign of it getting back up. The top floor is pretty vacant aside from an Art & Hobbie Shop, a pen shop and a hair dresser if memory serves me right. There's a sweet shop, cafe and a Super Value downstairs while on the ground floor you'll find an O' Briens, phone shop, Ulster bank, a picture frame shop and one of the last of the Golden Disc branches.

I mentioned this in a tip I left but if you're visually impaired you're in for a treat. There are approximately 3 opticians in the building (with a 4th rumoured to be opening soon). So, even if you're almost completely blind, there's a good chance are you'll end up in one of the 3.

I think the rents need to be lower to fill some of these empty units. Surely a little rent money is better than no money at all!? Also something needs to be done about the parking. There are more traffic wardens than cars and it's hurting local businesses.

It's a nostalgic 3 stars for Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre but I'm optimistic things are on the up.

Like a few other suburbs the recession doesn't seem to have helped the shopping centre out... Old and dated, kinda appears every second unit is vacant so there's little or no drive to keep coming back here! What is left though ye got a retro sweet store, golden discs, new look (very small), 3 mobile phone stores and a few other randoms! Don't come expecting much folks :-(

Dun Laoghaire shopping centre was hang out spot number one when I was in my early teens. My parents didn't quite like the idea of me hanging around the city centre without supervision, but sure what harm could come to me in Dun Laoghaire?

They obviously hadn't noticed the disproportionate number of drunks, junkies and louts that also choose Dun Laoghaire as their number one hang out spot.

All the same, no harm ever came to us and we had a lot of fun here too. We bought clothes in Motion Picture thinking we were the bees knees altogether, ventured into A-Wear which we found to be a little too old and sophisticated for our young, cool tastes, and scoffed burgers in Graham O'Sulllivans.

The Shopping Centre remains a firm hit with teenage girls, especially with the addition in recent years of New Look (boy would I have loved that shop...). It's not somewhere I would go on a dedicated shopping trip, but it aint a bad place for a quick browse if you happen to be hanging around the area.

I don't like this shopping centre. It feels really old fashioned or something and the Tesco supermarket is downstairs and it's like you are going into the basement to get to it. Having said that, BB's is downstairs too and they do the most amazing muffins. And there is a New Look on the main floor, which is great as New Look is far too rare in Dublin for my liking. Still, I wouldn't be going here for a day's shopping. As shopping centres go, it's pretty shoddy.

I really want to give this shopping centre a better review but the truth is, there is a limited selection what you can really get there whether you're looking for clothes, accessories, or other items. There is an outdoor wear/gear shop on the second floor which I have gone to several times because it has some good finds. But besides that, although I look around from time to time at the other retailers, I just end up feeling little inspiration to actual purchase much and end up heading toward other retailers on the high street.