Leeson Street (Irish: Sráid Líosain) is a thoroughfare near central Dublin, Ireland. Originally known as Suesey Street, it was renamed in 1728 after the Leesons, a family of local brewers, who branched into property development and subsequently became Earls of Milltown. In 1767 a Magdalen Asylum was established by Lady Arabella Denny in the street for Protestant women. The street is divided into two parts by the Grand Canal: Lower Leeson Street, in Dublin 2 is to the north of the canal, linking to St Stephen's Green, with Upper Leeson Street, in the Dublin 4 region, south of the canal.