The Northside (Irish: Taobh Ó Thuaidh) is the part of Dublin city that lies to the north of the River Liffey.
The Northside is not an official or administrative area. The unofficial definition of what constitutes the Northside varies. Some consider that it stretches as far north as Swords. Malahide, a close neighbour of Swords, is more often described as being in North County Dublin, despite being marginally closer to the city proper.
James Joyce set several of the Dubliners stories on the Northside, reflecting his childhood sojourns in Drumcondra and Fairview. Other best selling authors who have written extensively about the Northside include Dermot Bolger and Booker-Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle, who set several novels in the fictional Northside area of Barrytown.
The soap opera Fair City is set in Carrigstown, a fictional suburb of Northside Dublin. According to the RTÉ Guide, Carrigstown is bounded by Drumcondra to the north, the city centre to the south, East Wall to the east and Phibsboro to the west.
The Northside includes Dublin city centre north of the Liffey, of whose many streets some are noted below, and districts such as Smithfield and Summerhill. Some older districts, such as Oxmantown, no longer exist. Beyond the centre, areas of the Northside include the below, most (at least two names were invented in the 1960s) of the names being of long heritage, though until recently many were rural townlands. Some are distinct suburbs or villages, others are parts of larger areas:
The 'area' is administered both by Dublin City Council (formerly Dublin Corporation) and Fingal County Council, responsible for 84% and 16% of the land area which lies inside the M50 motorway and north of the river Liffey respectively (excluding the Howth peninsula).