The title is taken from a famous quip of Oscar Wilde, a favourite writer of Bob Johnston, owner of Temple Bar’s bright and airy new independent bookshop the Gutter, in Cow’s Lane near the Queen of Tarts cafe. Johnston, who has worked in the book trade for 20 years in various chains, came to Dublin for a weekend in 2000, fell in love with the city and never left.

While working for Waterstone’s in Dublin, his dream was to open his own bookshop, in the right location, which he finally realised in November. He runs the Gutter along with Anne Geraghty, another experienced bookseller. His customers are drawn from local offices as well as local residents and tourists, and he buys along general lines with a mix of literary fiction, books of Irish interest and travel, with food and drink titles also popular.

“We tend not to do well with lighter side of fiction,” he says. The shop has a grassed play corner for children and does particularly well with pre-schoolers. The Gutter Bookshop is open 10am-6.30pm, Monday-Friday, until 7pm on Thursday (usually a special events day), and 11am-6pm on Sunday. www.gutterbookshop.com.