The influx of antique shops into Francis Street in the early 1980s came when there were no more than a small handful of such shops.

It also came when rents for the street were very low given a lack of regeneration in the area, extremely high borrowing rates and the near absence of an apartment accommodation sector, according to one trader on the street who preferred not to be named.

This has changed in more recent times, the source says. "The rents have become prohibitive, they are astronomical. When we arrived on the street they were very low. There were very few antiques people on the street at that stage. The whole street has changed so much. I suppose it is progress."

The Oxfam shop on Francis Street is typical of what is happening. It occupies a new retail unit at ground floor with accommodation above.

There are a number of properties available on the street including the former Gordon Nichol Antiques unit close to the southern end of the street near St Patrick's Cathedral.

Each lends itself to this type of development although there is also scope for consolidation of adjacent properties.

While the mind's eye pictures a narrow, winding alleyway at the thought of a street full of curio and antiques shops, Francis Street is surprisingly wide.

It supports two lanes of traffic as well as parking on both sides and runs one way from its junction at the north end with Cornmarket Street downhill to its two lane outlet into the Coombe and Dean Street. It runs near parallel with Nicholas and Patrick Streets.

The street used to support an amount of passing trade but there are conflicting views amongst the traders as to the volumes today. One felt it had significantly diminished and had been hit further by a decline in the numbers of visiting Americans looking for antiques.