THE DUBLIN CHRISTMAS Flea Market is moving to a new location south of the Liffey, giving the public a rare glimpse inside a landmark building in the city.

After seven years, the market is moving from its home in Smithfield to the former John Player Factory on South Circular Road.

Organisers believe this is the first time the building, currently used to film scenes from TV3 series Red Rock, will be accessible to the public.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Sharon Greene said the decision to move the market wasn’t based on an intention to expand the not-for-profit event, but rather ensure it didn’t shrink, as a new business at Block B in Smithfield meant they had less space for stalls.

“We had been looking at the John Player factory for years,” she explained, noting that the market has always been keen to get into vacant spaces.

The event is oversubscribed with traders looking to set up shop at the market, running for three days from Friday 11 December, and will have more than 100 from all over the country at the event.

“Right now is an exciting time in Ireland for small stallholders like these”, Greene said.

“At the beginning it was pretty much nobody. We were just running a monthly market consisting of people clearing out their attics, essentially providing a service to anyone emigrating.

“Now a lot of entrepreneurs are using the flea market as an incubator for their small businesses.”

Last year up to 30,000 people paid a visit to the Christmas market.

Greene remarked on how it offers a different experience to the hustle and bustle of high street Christmas shopping: “There’s a lot of people just meeting up and wandering, and it creates a lovely atmosphere. There’s no rush, it’s not crowded, and there’s plenty of room for buggies.”

For more details about the website, check out the Dublin Flea Christmas Cracker Market here.

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