‘Grafton Street’s a wonderland, There’s magic in the air’ … in Dublin and in Milton Keynes

Grafton Street in Milton Keynes is 4,186 metres long (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Patrick Comerford

Grafton Street’s a wonderland,
There’s magic in the air,
There’s diamonds in the lady’s eyes,
And gold-dust in her hair.
And if you don’t believe me
Come and meet me there
In Dublin on a sunny Summer morning.

‘The Dublin Saunter,’ also known as ‘Dublin can be heaven,’ was written by Leo Maguire (1903-1985). It was originally recorded by Noel Purcell in the 1940s and later by Paddy Reilly and Maureen Potter.

Leo Maguire wrote over 100 songs, his most famous being ‘The Whistling Gypsy.’ Maguire worked for the national broadcaster RTÉ, presenting a weekly sponsored radio programme, ‘The Walton’s Show’ where he played ballads for 30 years.

Paddy Reilly, who made the song his own, became an overnight hit in 1982 when he recorded Pete St John’s song ‘The Fields Of Athenry.’

Grafton Street in Dublin is named after Charles FitzRoy (1683-1757), 2nd Duke of Grafton, who was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1720-1724. The title of Duke of Grafton was first given in 1675 by Charles II of England to Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. But the family seat is not in Grafton Regis – it is at Euston Hall in Suffolk, an 11,000-acre estate straddling the Norfolk-Suffolk border.

The most famous Duke of Grafton was probably his grandson, Augustus Henry FitzRoy (1735-1811), 3rd Duke of Grafton, who served as Prime Minister in 1768-1780. When he became Prime Minister in 1768 at the age of 33, he was the youngest person to hold that office until William Pitt the Younger 15 years later.

The Grafton in the titles of the Dukes of Grafton comes from the village of Grafton Regis in Northamptonshire, with a population of about 253 (2011) census. The village is about 13 km (8 miles) south of Northampton and 14 km (9 miles) north of Milton Keynes.

This explains the name of the V6 Grafton Street, a major road in Milton Keynes. It is 4,186 metres long, and its formal name is simply Grafton Street. The V6 designation is an urban planning name that indicates that it is the sixth north-south grid road in Milton Keynes.

This Grafton Street starts beside Wolverton railway station in the north of Milton Keynes, between Wolverton and New Bradwell, and extends as an unnumbered local rural road to Haversham and Castlethorpe.

Travelling south from here it passes the district and village of Bradwell before becoming a dual carriageway at the point that it crosses the A422. It remains a dual carriageway from here for about four miles until it meets the A421. During this time it crosses the A509 and passes through the Central Milton Keynes grid square where, for this short distance, it is named V6 Grafton Gate.

After crossing the A421, Grafton Street acts for one grid square as a spur of the A421, connecting it to the A5. After crossing the A5 at Redmoor Roundabout, Grafton Street once reverted to being a single carriageway, although it was widened in 2005. The V6 terminates at Granby in a three-direction roundabout with the H10 Bletcham Way and V4 Watling Street.

Due to its nature as a Milton Keynes grid road, Grafton Street has an unusual number of roundabouts along its short route, compared with other towns.

Grafton Street in Milton Keynes has an unusual number of roundabouts along its short route (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

I’ve been North and I’ve been South
I’ve been East and West
I’ve been just a rolling stone.
Yet there’s one place on this earth
I’ve always liked the best
Just a little town I call my own

For Dublin can be heaven
With coffee at eleven
And a stroll in Stephen’s Green.
There’s no need to hurry,
There’s no need to worry,
You’re a king and the lady’s a queen.

Grafton Street’s a wonderland,
There’s magic in the air,
There’s diamonds in the lady’s eyes,
And gold-dust in her hair.
And if you don’t believe me
Come and meet me there
In Dublin on a sunny Summer morning.

I’ve been here and I’ve been there,
I’ve sought the rainbow’s end,
But no crock of gold I’ve found.
Now I know that come what will,
Whatever fate may send,
Here my roots are deep in friendly ground

For Dublin can be heaven
With coffee at eleven
And a stroll in Stephen’s Green.
There’s no need to hurry,
There’s no need to worry,
You’re the king and the lady’s a queen.
Grafton Street’s a wonderland,
There’s magic in the air,
There’s diamonds in the lady’s eyes,
And gold-dust in her hair.
And if you don’t believe me
Come and meet me there
In Dublin on a sunny Summer morning.

And if you don’t believe me
Come and meet me there
In Dublin on a sunny Summer morning.

‘With coffee at eleven … Grafton Street’s a wonderland’ … Jim Fitzpatrick’s stained-glass window in Bewley’s of Grafton Street, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)