The "Grand Old Lady of South King Street" – the Gaiety Theatre – opened in Dublin's City centre on the 27th of November, 1871.
With the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland as the guest of honour, the first performance was a double bill of Goldsmith’s evergreen comedy "She Stoops to Conquer" followed by the tuneful burlesque "La Belle Sauvage".
It has long been home to the familiar faces of Maureen Potter, Niall Toibin, John B. Keane, Anna Manahan, Des Keogh and Rosaleen Linehan, whose bronze handprints, are set into the pavement in front the theatre (together with those of Luciano Pavarotti and Brian Friel) and has championed the talents of Irish icons such as The Dubliners and The Chieftains.
The Dubliners Live at the Gaiety in 1980
It was the Gaiety that first brought international stars such a Julie Andrews, Spike Milligan, Joan Rivers and Peter Ustinov to Dublin.
Michelle Obama speaks at the Gaiety Theatre in June 2014
Today the Gaiety is still a busy theatre with sell-out shows running all year round. In the summer it becomes the home of Riverdance...
... and every Christmas period it hosts its famous Gaiety Panto...
Outside the theatre, the busking can be just as entertaining (and surprising) especially on Christmas Eve...
Hoozier busking outside the Gaiety Theatre on Xmas Eve 2017
READ MORE History of the Gaiety Theatre Dublin
