Three lads drinking, nd. (Credit – Jacolette blog)

If you knew where to go, it was possible to drink around the clock in 1930s, 1940s and 1950s Dublin.

When regular pubs closed at 11pm, still-thirsty revelers could travel to ‘bona-fide’ pubs on the outskirts of the city. A ‘bona-fide’ house utilised a legal loophole, dating back to early coaching days, that allowed a genuine ‘bona-fide’ traveler three miles (five in Dublin) from his place of residence to drink alcohol outside normal hours.

Some creative drinkers would send a letter to “themselves” using the address of a friend who lived the required distance away from their desired pub. They could then show the letter to the publican to give him some piece of mind. During a police raid, the publican would try to hide those who shouldn’t be there in his living quarters or rush them out a back door so they could attempt a getaway.

In a piece entitled ‘The Irish “Bona Fide Traveller” Nuisance”, The Sacred Heart Review (13 September 1902) noted:

Travelers, tramps and tourists are common the wide world over, but the so-called ” Bona Fide Traveler ” is peculiar to Ireland. Under the curious laws which govern or misgovern Ireland, it has been decreed that when any person “travels” three miles to a “public-house” on a Sunday he is entitled to all the drink he can buy, even though the Sunday closing law is in full force there. Thus a man living in the town of Kilronan can not legally enter a public-house to secure a drink, but let him walk or ride to Knooknagow, three miles away, and he can have all the drink he wants…

The United Irishman of recent issue, discussing the new Licensing Act, complains that it does not deal with the bona fide traveler scandal, and says:— ” Blackrock and Dunleary on the average Sunday night are a blot on Ireland. We heartily sympathize with the real bona fide traveler. But seventy-five per cent, of the people who travel down to Blackrock and Dunleary on Sunday evenings after seven o’clock do so for the purpose of indulging in the luxury of treating one another to drink … The bona fide traveler has become a standing joke in Dublin, and it was not, perhaps, too presumptuous to hope that the absurdity of men leaving a Dublin public-house at seven o’clock on a Sunday evening, stepping on a tram-car, and a few minutes later descending at the door of another Dublin public – house, invested with the rights of travelers, should have been considered. We have witnessed in English towns, it is true, scenes more degrading than we have witnessed in the streets of Blackrock and Dunleary on Sunday nights, but it is no excuse for an Irishman to make himself a bonham because an Englishman makes himself a hog.

There was at least one ‘bona-fide’ on each main road out of Dublin. They included Lamb Doyles (Dublin Mountains), Widow Flavin’s (Sandyford), the Dropping Well (Dartry), the Deadman’s Inn (Lucan), the Swiss Cottage (Santry), the Igo Inn (Ballybrack) and The Goat (Goatstown).

Throughout the years a number of late-night revellers, staggering or driving under the influence towards the bona-fide, were involved in deadly accidents. This was one of the main reasons for the Government abolishing the law in 1960.

If you wanted to keep on drinking after the bona-fide closed, you could travel back into the city and visit one of the ‘kips’ around Capel Street or Parnell Square. A ‘kip’ was a brothel-cum-speakeasy that sold whiskey or gin from tea cups till the early morning.

One of the City’s most famous ‘kips’ was the Cafe Continental at 1a Bolton Street near the corner of Capel Street which was in operation from the 1930s (?) to the mid 1960s. It was run by the legendary madam ‘Dolly’ Fawcett (often misspelled as ‘Fossett’ or ‘Fosset’). Annie Elizabeth, originally from Wicklow, married William Fawcett who was rumoured to have been a former Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) officer from the North who was discharged because of his relationship with her.

The Fawcett family also ran another ‘kip’ called the Cozy Kitchen on nearby North King Street.

Ostensibly an innocent late-night cafe, the Cafe Continental was a haven for late-night revelers who often carried clandestine “Baby Powers,” or miniature bottles of whiskey, which they tipped into their cups of coffee. ‘Dolly’ also served up ‘red biddy’ (mixture of red wine and methanol), poitín and water-down whiskey.

It was a popular place for ladies of the night and they’d often find clients there. So Dolly Fawcett’s would be better described as a ‘prostitute pick up-place’ as opposed to a brothel in the traditional sense of the word.

The Irish Times (7 Oct 1944) ran a front page piece about a journalist’s visit to an “all-night drinking den”. My bet would be that it was Dolly Fawcett’s.

‘In a Dublin All-night Drinking Den’. The Irish Times, 7 Oct 1944.

Dolly, who lived over the Cafe Continental with her family, passed away at home on 12 March 1949. Her funeral, which took place after mass at the Pro-Cathedral, attracted a large attendance. She was highly regarded in the area for her numerous charitable acts.

Longford Leader (19 March 1949) & The Irish Independent (15 March 1949)

Sons Eugene and George continued to run the two businesses after their mother passed away. The family was up in court for “unlawfully selling intoxicating liquor” in their two cafes in 1947, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1963. Inspector McCabe in the Irish Independent (28 Nov 1963) noted that the Fawcetts had been fined a total of £400 for fifteen separate convictions over the previous fourteen years.

In a newspaper report dating back to 1954, Eugene Fawcett told the Judge that he would “retire from business” if he had been able to have “his family educated”. He eventually did call it a day in 1965. In an article headlined ‘Cafe not to trouble the courts again’ (Irish Independent, 21 Jan 1965), Eugene Fawcett’s lawyer told the court that a “phase of the history of Dublin’s night life has come to an end”. The Judge noted that the premises had been taken over by Dublin Corporation for demolition.

Dolly Fawcett’s has been name-checked in two Dublin folk songs by Pete St. John. The first, The Mero, included the verse:

Me uncle had a wolfhound, that never had to pee
but Harry Lemon snatched it down on Eden quay.
Now I have me primo, and me scapulars are blue,
for helping the black babies, and Dolly Fawcett too

while the opening to ‘Inchicore Wake’ goes:

There was chase-the-hearse Whelan
And old Joe Sartini
On his two saddled bike
A black market on wheels
Into Stickfoots of Church Street
And the oul Hen and Chicken
With the Inchicore News
Molly Sonex was dead
Then came the word
Dolly Fawcett had joined her…

In Dublin slang, an ugly woman is still sometimes referred to as one of “dolly fawcett’s chamber-maids”

There were a number of other late-night cafes, kips and basements clubs where you could drink after-hours.

One such place was Toni’s Cafe on 23 Harcourt Road. Its owner was fined for selling whiskey in the early hours of the morning in 1940 and 1941. Changing its name to The Manhattan in the early 1950s, this late-night cafe was a favourite for taxi men, musicians and students until its closure in the early 2000s.

The so-called Catacombs in the basement of 13 Fitzwilliam Place was a popular after-hours spot and flop-house in the late 1940s for Dublin’s bohemian set. A labyrinth of cellars and pantries, these wild parties were held in an old wine cellar of a once fine Georgian mansion. The ‘underground’ club was opened by Englishman Richard ‘Dickie’ Wymann, a one-time cocktail shaker on board a cruise liner and a former nightclub manager in London, who moved to Dublin following the death of his British Army officer boyfriend in World War Two.

After McDaid’s closed, Dublin’s artist-literary set would head to the Catacombs and drink till the early morning. Regulars included writers Brendan Behan, Patrick Kavanagh, JP Donleavy, Anthony Cronin, Brian O’Nolan; poets Pearse Hutchinson and John Jordan; artists Tom Nisbet and Patrick Swift; actors Dan O’Herlihy, Tony MacInerney and Godfrey Quigley; musician George Desmond Hodnett; composer Frederick May; socialist activist George Jeffares and sculptors Irene Broe and Desmond MacNamara.

This amazing but unfortunately very grainy photograph shows a group of nineteen drinkers just after leaving McDaid’s on the way to the Catacombs:

Class of ’46 (Anthony McInerney archive). Published in the Sunday Independent, 10 March 1996.

Thankfully, details are provided for who is who in the photograph and also details of their whereabouts in the mid 1990s:

Details of the Class of ’46 photograph (Anthony McInerney archive). Published in the Sunday Independent, 10 March 1996.

Entrance to the Catacombs was granted by offering (the almost always naked) Wymann a brown paper bag of half a dozen bottles of stout. In the morning, the porter in McDaid’s, John Flynn, would be dispatched on his bicycle to collect the empties from the Catacombs and bring them back. The money that Wymann collected from selling thsee empty bottles and occasionally renting out basement rooms in the Catacombs is how he largely made a living. He also apparently made sweets and sold blood to the nearby Blood Transfusion Service when times were tight. A well-loved eccentric, he once walked from Dublin to Catherdaniel, Kerry, where Brendan Behan was helping to restore Daniel O’Connell’s house, for a £10 bet.

The Catacombs was renowned for its sexual licence. Brendan Behan infamously recalled that it was a place where “men had women, men had men and women had women”. A 2007 RTE radio documentary brought back former guests JP Donleavy, Steve Willoughby, Joan De Frenay, Sheila Bradshaw to the premises for the first time in sixty years.

Anthony Cronin lived in The Catacombs for a period and wrote that the:

…whole place smelt of damp, decaying plaster and brickwork, that smell of money gone which was once so prevalent in Ireland. Off the corridor leading out of the kitchen were various dark little rooms. Mine, I think, once been a wine cellar. There was hardly space for a bed in it, and none for anything else except a few bottles and books. The other rooms were variously occupied and people came and went according to need and circumstances…

What happened to Dickie Wyman? It was revealed in the documentary that he got a job as a barman in Welwyn Garden City, England and then moved to the States. He kept moving house and his Dublin-based friends eventually lost touch with him.  It is believed he died in the early 1980s.

Another late-night cafe that served alcohol after-hours was the ATS Restaurant at 6 Nassau Street. Ran by Ruby Elizabeth Egan and her husband Patrick, it was raided in 1956, 1957 and 1961 for serving whiskey, stout and beer in the early hours. When up in court in 1961, Patrick Egan told the judge: “I plead guilty, there is no point telling you lies”. From January 1959 to May 1961, the couple were fined fourteen times for liquor offences. Simon de Beauvoir’s boyfriend Nelson Algren was witness to one of these Garda raids:

I was reaching for a drop of wine when the glass was snatched from my hand by the proprietor’s stout wife, seizing all the glasses empty or full out of the hands of the drinkers, thirsty or dry. Under the tables went the lot. Everyone sat up straight as in church, with nothing before them but ashtrays. Two inspecting officers entered from offstage, where they had been waiting for their cue, inspected the ceiling, flower-pots, tabletops and jukeboxes without finding anything

While the Bona-Fide law ended in 1960 and legendary cafes like Dolly Fawcett’s closed in 1965, you could still manage to drink around the clock in 1970s and 1980s Dublin if you knew the right people.

Groome’s Hotel, opposite the Gate Theatre, was described by Tim Pat Coogan in his book ‘Ireland In The 20th Century’ as the “most famous late-night drinking club in Dublin in the sixties and seventies” . Ronnie Drew in his autobiography says its regulars included almost “everybody who worked in the theatre; the newspapers, painters, poets, writers and almost all visiting celebrities”. Charles McCabe in ‘The good man’s weakness’ (1974) noted that the hotel “somehow manage(d) to keep open after hours free of police harassment.”

This probably had something to do with the fact that it was owned by Joseph Groome, one of the founding members of Fianna Fail and life-long honorary vice-president. He was involved in Na Fianna Éireann and then the IRA from 1919-1923. The hotel was popular with aspiring young Fianna Fail TDs like Charles Haughe, Brian Lenihan but also attracted a Labour Party set led by Michael O’Leary. It was frequently referred to as “a sub-office” of the Dail due its popularity with politicians.

The hotel was sold in 1973, turned into offices but then redeveloped as a hotel (Cassidy’s) in the late 1990s.

On the other side of the political divide, and probably more difficult to get into, were the republican and left-wing drinking clubs. These included Official Sinn Fein’s ‘Club Ui Cadhain‘ at 28 Gardiner Place, the Provisional Sinn Fein‘s office/drinking club at 5 Blessington Street and the back of Connolly Books which was ran by the Communist Party on East Essex Street. I heard, on occasion, there were also serious sessions in the sound-proof music room in the basement of Liberty Hall.

PSF’s Blessington St office/drinking club in the early 1980s. Now Dublin Central Hostel. Credit – dublincentralhostel.com

If you were able to make it until 7am, you could then make your way to the ‘early houses’ on the quays or close to the fruit and vegetable market at Smithfield. These pubs were given special early-morning licences in 1927 for dock workers, traders, fishermen and other shift-workers.

Colm Sexton, who owns The Chancery Inn, on Inns Quay, Dublin told a Dublin newspaper in 2008 that:

There are only 12 remaining early houses in Dublin. They were originally set up to facilitate people working late at night in fares and markets. The Smithfield Fish Market is gone but the Fruit and Flower market is still going. The markets usually start at six in the morning and finish at 10, and the people who work there would normally come in for a few pints. We also get nurses, journalists and artists and the occasional homeless person. The early house is renowned around the world because it is such an anomaly, and we get tourists calling in so that they can say they were in an early house.

I think these are the twelve remaining early-houses in Dublin but I’m open to correction.

Northside:

1. The Boar’s Head, Capel Street
2. The Chancery Inn, Inns Quay
3. Delaney’s, North King Street
4. Hughes, Chancery Street
5. The Metro, Parnell Street
6. Molloy’s, Talbot Street
7. Slattery’s, Capel Street

Southside:

8. The Dark Horse, Georges Quay
9. The Galway Hooker, Heuston Station
10. Ned Scanlon’s, Townsend Street
11. Padraig Pearse, Pearse Street
12. The Windjammer, Lombard Street

Some former early houses include Regan’s Tara bar on Tara Street (now MacTurcaills), Kennedys on Burgh Quay (no longer an early house) and Trader Johns on Moore Street (closed).

Piece on the early-house DJ nights at the White Horse (now Dark Horse). The Irish Times, 17 August 2006.

There are around 50 early-houses left around the country, including 12 in Dublin, three in Cork city and seven in the Killybegs fishing port in Donegal. In 2004, the Sunday Independent reckoned there were 16 early-houses in Dublin. In 2008, the Government scrapped plans to abolish them in a forthcoming overhaul of drinking laws but no new ‘early house’ licences will be handed out to pubs.

Were there any other after-hour drinking spots in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s? Please don’t reveal any information that might get someone in trouble.

Do you have any early-house anecdotes?

3 Beresford Place, behind the Custom House on Dublin’s Northside, boasts an interesting history. As a hotel from the 1930s to the mid 1940s, it was a popular meeting place for gay men in the capital. This predated 1950s and 1960s gay-friendly pubs, Rice’s and Bartley Dunne’s, and was several decades ahead of gay community centres, the Hirschfeld (1979) and pubs, The George (1985).

For the last seventy years, the premises has been managed by the St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) to provide a “friendly location for visiting seamen.”

The always informative Archiseek website tells us that Beresford Place:

 …is a short curving terrace of five houses built on an axis with the central dome of the Custom House. The terrace was designed by James Gandon in 1790 but was much simplified from his designs in execution but still shows James Gandon’s vision for the setting of the Custom House. Much dilapidated externally the interiors are relatively unremarkable. The terrace is named after the Rt. Hon. John Beresford who as Chief Wide Streets Commissioner was responsible for bringing Gandon to Ireland.

Beresford Place in 1967. No. 3 has the ‘Apostolatus Maris’ signage. Credit – Wendy.

The Hotel Beresford at 3 Beresford Place was first opened in 1931 by a Ms. Mary Cahill. It offered a “most comfortable and up-to-date” stay with excellent catering and moderate terms. In 1940, the hotel was taken over by a Mrs McKeown from Co. Longford.

Advertisement for the Beresford Hotel (Irish Times, 30 May 1931)

I’ve come across two brief mentions of the Hotel being a rendezvous spot for Dublin’s small and underground gay community.

Paul Candon in a history article, published in Gay Community News (February 1996), quotes an elderly gay man who said that in the 1930s “the popular social meeting place for men at this time was a hotel called the Beresfort” (sic).

The same person also pointed to the significance of the opening of the Parisian-style Pissoirs around the city for the Eucharistic Congress in 1932. These public toilets were widely used as a cruising spot for gay men for the next number of decades.

Pissoir on Ormond Quay beside Capel Street bridge, 1969. Credit – NLI/Archiseek

David Norris has commented on this activity and even specifically referenced the above public toilet in his 2012 autobiography A Kick Against The Pricks:

There was a hugely active sexual life in Dublin in the 1950s and 1960s but it was concentrated in public lavatories, because that was where society corralled gay people. I find it hard to imagine that nobody seemed to think it extraordinary to have a queue as long as you might  see outside a cinema along Burgh quay, at the corner of Capel Street bridge and Ormond Quay, every weekend evening.

The second Beresford Hotel mention comes from To Live the Impossible Dream: The Life & Times of Liam Ledwidge (1997). Author John Farrell remarks on a scandal in the early 1950s, that “destroyed many a career”, when a number of gay men were arrested by the authorities. He said that the “gents” concerned were known as “the Beresford” and that they used to “stand across from the current Liberty Hall”.

The hotel was put up for sale in 1945 and bought by the SVP to use as a ‘Seafarer’s Club’. Before Beresford Place, this Club was based at 12- 14 Eden Quay. Opened in 1910, it was advertised in the ‘Seaman’s Handbook For Shore Leave’ as a place that was:

Open day and night to all seamen without distinction of creed, nationality, or color. Accommodations for 7 officers and 35 men. Rates per day, including subsistence, 4 shillings and 6 pence, rates per week 35 shillings; rates per night, bath, 1 shilling and 6 pence. Check-room, restaurant, lunch-counter, reading-room, writing-room, library, billiard rooms. Entertainments every Wednesday evening.

While 3 Beresford Place was purchased in 1945, due to serious renovation work and other unknown delays, the Seafarer’s Club did not move north of the river until 1962. It had to temporarily close its doors in 1978 after a severe fire damaged the building but opened again two years later.

What kind of service did the Seafarer’s Club provide in the 1980s? An article published in the in-house magazine of Irish Shipping Ltd Signal (Autumn 1980) noted that the Club offered:

….dancing, bar, billiards, table tennis, library including foreign newspapers, television, chapel, telephones and a small shop … The members are all volunteers and number about forty hostesses and twenty stewards and run the Club for 365 days of the year … Looking through the club’s Visitors’ Book one discovers that (sailors) come from as far apart away as Greenland and the Gilbert Islands…

Sign on 3 Beresford Place today. Credit – informatique

The ghost-sign on the building is still clear today:

Detail of 3 Beresford Place. Apostolatus Maris (‘Apostleship of the Sea) is the Catholic Church’s maritime agency. Credit – Boards.ie user WishboneAshe

So why did the Hotel Beresford become a popular meeting place for gay men in Dublin? It’s hard to know specific reasons but I assume its close location to the docks and the one-time Monto area had something to do with it. It was also within easy reach of Amiens Street train station (now Connolly Station).

Perhaps one or two liaisons took place in the hotel and then word spread slowly amongst the local gay population and visiting sailors that this was the place in the city to meet others with similar interests. When it closed down as a hotel, gay men probably still met up in the area. This makes sense if the immediate area was popular with sailors from all around the world. According to journalist John Farrell, locals who cruised in the area were known as “the Beresford” – in reference to the hotel that they used to meet each other in.

If you have anymore information on the Hotel Bereford or gay social history in Dublin (1930s – 1960s), please leave a comment or drop me an email.

[Note: The Hotel Beresford in question has nothing to do with the current hotel of the same name that is directly opposite the passenger entrance to BusAras. A converted wine warehouse, this was formerly known as Hotel Isaac with Isaac Butt's bar attached.]

An attempt to collate a chronological list of all the major incidents in Dublin during the conflict in the North. If I have missed any, please leave a comment.

1969
5 August - The UVF plant their first bomb in the Republic of Ireland, damaging the RTÉ Television Centre in Donnybrook. No injuries.
27 December – The UVF plant a bomb at the Daniel O’Connell statue on O’Connell Street. Little damage was done to the statue but the blast smashed windows in a half-mile radius.
28 December – The UVF detonate a bomb outside the Garda central detective bureau in Dublin. The nearby telephone exchange headquarters is suspected to have been the target.

1970
3 April – Garda Richard Fallon (44) is shot by members of Saor Eire during a robbery of the the Royal Bank of Ireland at Arran Quay.
26 March – A bomb damages an electricity substation in Tallaght. An anonymous letter claimed responsibility on behalf of the UVF.
2 July – A bomb damages the main Dublin-Belfast railway line at Baldoyle. Gardaí believed it was the work of the UVF.
13 October -  Saor Eire member Liam Walsh (35) is killed in a premature explosion when himself and another member Martin Casey were planting a device at a railway line at the rear of McKee army base off Blackhorse Avenue in Dublin. His funeral was attended by over 3,000 people.

Funeral of Liam Walsh (Saor Eire), O’Connell St, 1970. Note two revolvers. Photos were in possession of the late Paddy Browne

1971
17 January -  Daniel O’Connell’s tomb in Glasnevin Cemetery is damaged by a Loyalist bomb. No injuries.
8 February -  The Wolfe Tone statue at St. Stephen’s Green is destroyed by a Loyalist bomb. No injuries.
25 October -  Saor Eire member Peter Graham (26) is shot dead in his flat at 110 Stephen’s Green in an internal feud.
30 December -  PIRA member Jack McCabe (55) is killed in a premature bomb explosion in a garage, Swords Road, Santry. McCabe had been active in the IRA since the 1930s.

Pieces of the statue of Theobald Wolfe Tone on St Stephen’s Green, 1971. Credit – Irish Photo Archive

1972
2 February -  The British Embassy on Merrion Square is burned down in response to Bloody Sunday. A British-owned insurance office in Dun Laoghaire and Austin Reeds outfitters on Grafton Street are also petrol bombed. The Thomas Cook travel agency along with the offices of British Airlines and the RAF club on Earlsfort Terrace were also attacked.
28 – 29 October – A 12lbs bomb is planted in Connolly Station, Amiens Street by Loyalists but dismantled by the Irish Army before it went off. They are also responsible for leaving firebombs in bedrooms in four Dublin hotels (Wynns, The Gresham, The Skylon and The Crofton).
26 November – Loyalists plant a bomb outside the rear exit door of the Film Centre Cinema, O’Connell Bridge House injuring 40 people.
1 December -  Bus driver George Bradshaw (30) and bus conductor Tommy Duffy (23) are killed and 127 injured in the first Loyalist car bomb planted in the Republic close to the CIÉ Depot at Sackville Place off O’Connell Street. A second car bomb exploded 7 minutes before causing massive damage to Liberty Hall and many injuries.

1973
20 January -  CIE bus conductor Thomas Douglas (25) is killed and 17 injured in Loyalist car bomb in Sackville Place off O’Connell Street. The car used in the bombing had been hijacked at Agnes Street, Belfast.
3 August – Cashier James Farrell (54) is killed by the IRA during during an armed robbery while delivering wages to British Leyland factory, Cashel Road, Crumlin.
31 October – The IRA use a hijacked helicopter to free three of their members from the exercise yard of Mountjoy Prison, Dublin. On of those who escaped was Séamus Twomey, then Chief of Staff of the IRA who was later recaptured in December 1977.

1974
17 May -  Three no-warning bombs explode in Parnell Street, Talbot Street, and South Leinster Street during rush hour. 26 people and an unborn child are killed. Over 300 are injured. Italian restaurant owner Antonio Magliocco (37) and a French-born Jewish woman Simone Chetrit (30) are amongst those killed.
8 June – Tens of thousands attend the funeral march of PIRA volunteer Michael Gauaghan from Co. Mayo who died on hunger striker in Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight.

Michael Gaughan’s IRA guard of honour passes Daniel O’Connell statue, 1974. Credit – corbisimages.com.

1975
22 March – The funeral of IRA member Tom Smith, shot dead during an escape attempt from Portlaoise Prison on St. Patrick’s Day, is attacked by Gardai. Three people, including a press photographer, are injured.
11 September – An off-duty Garda, Michael Reynolds (30), is shot dead in St. Anne’s Park by two Anarchists Noel and Marie Murray, former members of Official Sinn Fein, following an armed robbery at the Bank of Ireland, Killester.
2 October – Official IRA member Billy Wright (35) is shot by members of the organisation in his brother’s hair salon on the Cabra Road. He died in hospital on 19 October. He was targeted after he made a statement to Gardai, implicating a prominent member of the Official IRA, about an armed robbery in Heuston Station that occurred in September 1973.
28 November – Two Loyalist bombs at the arrival terminal at Dublin airport injure eight and kill John Hayes (30), an Aer Rianta employee.

Funeral of IRA member Tom Smith attacked in Glasnevin, 1975. Credit – Coleman Doyle via Shane MacThomais.

Funeral of IRA member Tom Smith in Glasnevin, 1975. Credit – Coleman Doyle via Shane MacThomais.

1976
February – A 25 lbs. bomb explodes in the Shelbourne Hotel along with eight incendiary bombs in department stores and shops in the Grafton Street and Henry Street areas. There were no injuries. Loyalists were the main culprits.
21 July – Christopher Ewart-Biggs (55), British Ambassador to Ireland, and Private Secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Northern Ireland Office Judith Cooke (26) are killed by an IRA-planted land mine outside his official residence at Glencairn estate, Sandyford, South Dublin.

Scene after land mine destroys the car of British Ambassador to Ireland Christopher Ewart-Biggs. Credit – keptelenseg.hu

1977
7 September – John Lawlor (38), a suspected informer, is killed by the IRA in Timmons Bar (later called Leonard’s), on the corner of Watling Street and Victoria Quay.
5 October – INLA Chief of Staff and leader of the IRSP Seamus Costello (38)  is shot dead in his car on North Strand Road by OIRA member James Flynn.

1979
28 January – English salesman Arthur Lockett (29) is found dead in Ticknock in the Dublin mountains. He had been beaten with clubs by a number of men and left for dead. Lockett had been boasting in a pub that he had connections in the British Army. It emerged he had worked in West Germany for a time where he had business deals with both American and British army personnel at NATO bases.

1981
24 March – Members of Revolutionary Struggle shoot and injure Geoffrey Armstrong, the chairman of British vehicle-manufacturing company British Leyland and director of the Confederation of British Industry, while he gives a lecture in Trinity College. Before shooting, the gunmen shouted: “Everybody freeze, nobody move! This action is in support of the H-Blocks’’
18 July – 15,000 strong demo in support of Hunger Striker clashes with 1,500 Gardai close to the British Embassy in Ballsbridge. 200 people are injured, including 150 Gardai. Dozens are arrested and 1 million pounds worth of damage is caused.

The Battle of Merrion Street, 1981. (c) Irish Times

1982
19 February – Garda Patrick Reynolds (23) is shot dead by an INLA member at at 33 Avonbeg Gardens, Tallaght. Reynolds and four other police officers had burst into the flat where a group of armed INLA men were counting money from a recent bank robbery.
4 June – Senior Official IRA member James Flynn (40) is shot dead by the INLA outside Cusack’s pub, North Strand Road close to where he had killed Seamus Costello five years previously.

1983
25 March – Brian Stack (47), chief prison officer at Portlaoise, is shot by the IRA while walking along South Circular Road, shortly after leaving a boxing contest at the National Stadium. He dies in hospital on 29 September 1984.
24 November -  Don Tidey, an American supermarket executive, is kidnapped outside his home in Rathfarnham. He was rescued on 16 December after being held captive for 23 days.

1985
20 August – Tyrone businessman Seamus McEvoy (46), a building contractor for the British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary, is shot dead by the IRA at his home on Eglinton Road, Donnybrook. A statement said he had been repeatedly warned against doing work for the security forces but continued to supply materials and temporary huts for barracks and military border posts.

1986
22 March – A member of the Special Branch fire shots into the air on Prince’s Street North off O’Connell Street following scuffles while Gardai rearrest Irish Republican Eibhlinn Gleholmes after a much-publicised extradition battle.
8 November – UFF plant four small four explosive devices in O’Connell Street. No injuries.

1987
February – The UDA plant incendiary bombs in a cinema and cafe in Middle Abbey Street, a bonded warehouse in Mabbot Lane and a bookshop in Talbot Street. Only the device in the warehouse exploded but caused little damage.

1991
February – Loyalists plant two crude incendiary bombs in an O’Connell Street department store. They fail to go off.

1993
18 September – On the day of the All-Ireland hurling final, Loyalists claim responsibility for planting a small bomb and cutting communication cables near to Store Street Garda station.

1994
5 January – Two members of the Irish Army bomb disposal unit are injured when a parcel bomb sent by the UVF to the Sinn Fein offices in Dublin exploded during examination at Cathal Brugha barracks.
21 May – IRA member Martin ‘Doco’ Doherty (35) was shot dead by UVF gunmen in Widow Scanlon’s pub, Pearse Street after preventing two loyalist bombers entering a Sinn Fein fundraiser. A second doorman, Paddy Burke, was shot in the throat but survived. The gunmen left the scene in a car driven by a third man, leaving behind the holdall which contained an 18 lb bomb. The bomb’s detonator exploded as people attended to Doherty and Burke but the main explosives failed to ignite.
18 August – Prominent Dublin criminal Martin Cahill (45), known as The General, is shot dead in his car by the PIRA at the road junction where Oxford Road meets Charleston Road in Rathmines. The PIRA alleged that Cahill had connections to the UVF and had sold the group stolen paintings.
21 September – The UVF planted a 1.5 kg bomb on the Belfast–Dublin train. It partially exploded as the train neared Dublin Connolly railway station, wounding two people.

Aftermath of the shooting of Martin Cahill, 1994. Credit – Oisin (Broadsheet.ie)

Thomas ‘Tommy’ Wood (1919-1936), aged just seventeen, was the youngest Irish volunteer to fight and die with the International Brigades. A Dubliner from a staunch Republican family, he left for Spain with Frank Ryan on 11th December 1936 and was mortally wounded just eighteen days later at the Battle of Cordoba.

Wood (often misspelt as Woods) joined Na Fianna Eireann at the age of seven and was later active with B Coy, 2nd Battalion, Dublin Brigade IRA. Before leaving, he wrote a letter to his mother:

I am very sorry for not telling you where I was going. I am going to Spain to fight with the International Column. Please forgive me for not letting you know. I got my wages in the Gas. Co. alright. I left a message to be delivered on Sunday. We are going out to fight for the working class. It is not a religious war, that is all propaganda. God Bless you.

He lived with his parents John C. Wood and Sarah Ann Wood (nee Doyle)  at 16 Buckingham Place just off Amiens Street with siblings Sean (who died in a workplace accident in 1938), Patrick, Donald, Seamus, Ellis, Kathleen and Frances.

Wedding photo of Tommy’s parents Sarah Doyle and John Woods, 1915. Credit – ailishm49

During intense fighting at the Battle of Cordoba, which saw eight Irish anti-Fascists killed, Wood was shot in the knee and then in the head. Frank Ryan wrote to his parents:

He was wounded on the Cordoba Front on December 29 last. I was talking to two comrades who brought him to the dressing station. He was hit above the left knee and then as they were bringing him in, he and one of his comrades was hit again. This time the bullet hit Tommy in the head, but the two lads with him thought it was only a graze as he was conscious all the time. He was brought to Andujar Hospital and the first report from there was very favourable, then we could get no more news of him. It is only now that we have found out why.

Ryan went onto say that name of Woods was confused originally with that of Wools, a Dutch comrade who was also in the hospital. His letter continued:

His comrades here wish to be associated in rendering you their sympathy. Tommy was universally liked during the time he was with us here. I want to emphasise that his life was given in a great cause. He did not come looking for adventures nor for reward. He believed in the cause for which the people of Spain, helped by men such as himself, are fighting. He has given his life not only for the freedom of the people of Spain, but of the whole human race and he will be remembered and honoured equally with those who gave their lives for freedom in Ireland.

On 13th January 1937, the Irish Independent reported:

News has reached Dublin that natives of Dublin serving with the Reds at Albacete – T. Woods (aged 17 years), of Buckingham Place, is suffering from shell shock, and C. Gough, of Cabra, is in hospital with a neck wound. Both casualties were sustained in an air raid on Albacete.

Buried in Corboda, Tommy’s name is inscriped on the grave of his parents Sarah and John Wood and brother Sean in Glasnevin Cemetery:

Wood family grave. Credit – ailishm49.

The Irish Press (29 Oct 1941) reported on the death of Sarah Woods (nee Doyle):

Sarah Wood – Irish Press (29 Oct 1941)

Tommy was immortalised in Christy Moore’s ‘Viva La Quinte Brigada’:

Tommy Wood age seventeen died in Cordoba
With Na Fianna he learned to hold his gun
From Dublin to the Villa del Rio
He fought and died beneath the Spanish sun.

Two of Tommy Wood’s uncles were killed during the War of Independence.

Patrick ‘Paddy’ Doyle (29), of 1 St. Mary’s Place, a carpenter married with four children was hanged in Mountjoy Jail on 14th March 1921. Active with ‘F’ Company, 1st Battalion, Dublin Brigade IRA, he was arrested and charged with high treason and levying war against the King for his part in an attempted ambush at Drumcondra on 21st January.

Letter from Patrick Doyle to his sisters a few days before his execution. Credit – ailishm49.

Six weeks after his execution, his brother Seán ‘Jimmy’ Doyle was killed during the IRA’s attack on the Custom House on 25th May 1921. During an attempt to escape, he was cut down by a British Army machine gun and died of his wounds in the Mater Hospital. Doyle had been active with Michael Collin’s squad. Oscar Traynor (BMH WS 340) wrote of his last hours:

As he lay on his deathbed (the nuns) said his one worry was, “Are the boys beaten?”, and that night as the sound of nearby explosions shook the air, Sean’s face, wreathed in smiles, turned to the Nun who was attending him, and he feeble whispered, “Thank God, Sister, the fight goes on”.

If anyone has a photograph or any further information on Tommy Wood, please get in touch.

Front cover of Look Left, Issue 18.

Issue 18 of Look Left is available now for €2 in Easons and other newsagents. I genuinely think this is the best issue in the last while.

Highlights:

The interview with Des O’Hagan, founding member of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and the Workers Party, was fascinating. Involved in politics for over six decades, he talked about his family’s links to James Connolly, his spell in Crumlin Road Jail in the 1950s and the time he was told by the American consultate in Belfast that “No matter how long you live, no matter what changes take place in the United States, you will never get into America. You’re a communist”.

Historian Brian Hanley’s four-page piece on the the politics and commemoration of World War 1 hits the nail on the head on and is a welcome addition to current articles on the topic. Luke Fallon’s distressing illustration of the trenches helps to bring the piece to life.

The fascinating story of English footballer Robin Friday is told to Look Left’s Barry Healy by music journalist Paolo Hewitt. Friday, who only played top flight played professional football for three years, was known for his heavy smoking, drinking, womanising and drug-taking but scored goals for Reading that “are still considered amongst the best in English football”.

Yours truly has another piece looking at music and politics, this issue focuses on Paul Heaton of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South fame.

Folk musician Andy Irvine is interviewed and talks about his time in London in the late 1950s, travels to Eastern Europe in 1968 and his current work with the Musicians Union of Ireland.

[Andy Irvine's ballad about the 'Sydney Twelve' - members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in Australia who were arrested and charged with treason for their active opposition to conscription during the First World War. Jim Larkin's brother Peter and Thomas Glynn from Galway were two of those involved. The group were released after spending four years in jail.]

Last but not least Kevin Brannigan investigates the current threat to Dalymount Park in Phibsboro (“Dublin’s most historic football ground”) and how legislation in England and Wales has helped to save significant football stadiums from the developer’s wrecking ball.

Other pieces include:

Who Watches the Watchmen: The Gardai, drugs and the working class by Francis Devine
A Tribute to RMT leader Bob Crow by Sean Garland
Where is progressive unionism? by Rev. Chris Hudson
Short impressionistic view of a recent trip to Cuba by Vivian Cullen

Issues 2 – 18 of LookLeft. Credit – Sam (CHTM!).

All you punks and all you teds
National Front and Natti dreds
Mods, rockers, hippies and skinheads
Keep on fighting ’till you’re dead

Talking to Come Here To Me!, Garry O’Neill (editor of Dublin street fashion photography book Where Were You?) summed up the violent mood that he felt growing up in Dublin in the mid 1970s:

To me, at that time, Dublin seemed a violent place. It was a social problem that existed before the punk explosion and the skinhead/mod revivals of the late 70s. Growing up in the city centre in the mid 70s there seemed to be a very tribal and territorial element to the violence that occurred. The city’s cold and grey complexion compounded the fear of walking through certain areas where you might be visiting a new girlfriend or friend, meaning that unless you took a bus, you had to safely navigate a way out of said area and through one or two more before finally reaching your home patch, thus avoiding some of the bootboy gangs and odd individuals that seemed to exist purely to take exception to the fact that “You’re not from around here” before meeting out a well placed box or boot to send you on your way.

In regard to its Punk and local live music scene, artist Garret Phelan has signaled out Dublin as being different to other cities in the South of Ireland:

It was bonkers (in Dublin). I would be shitting my pants going to some of these gigs. I was talking to a mate of mine who grew up very much within the music scene in Cork, and he never experienced the fear factor that you would experience in going to gigs here. Going to gigs here, you took your life into your hands.

At Ireland’s first punk festival (25 June 1977) in the canteen on UCD’s Belfield campus, a young fan from Cabra was stabbed twice after a short fracas broke during the gig involving eight or nine people. He later died of his injuries in hospital in the early hours of the morning. Gavin Friday, lead singer with The Virgin Prunes, believes that it could have been ‘the first murder at a rock gig in the British Isles’.

Garry O’Neill, whose eldest brother was at the gig, recalled:

It was the first time I’d heard of violence at a gig. The only other incident I knew about was the Bay City Rollers gig at the Star Cinema in Crumlin in 1974. When into the gig went gangs of girls from all over the city, leaving their gangs of boyfriends outside to run amok amongst themselves.

As the punk scene in Dublin grew in popularity and began to attract fans from all over the city, incidents of faction fighting and recreational violence grew. Some noticeable violence occurred at the following gigs:

- 12 November 1977: The Stranglers (who didn’t show up), The Radio Stars and The Vipers in the Tivoli Theatre, Francis Street.  Original guitarist for The Vipers Ray Ellis recalled:

There was a riot going on when we arrived -  seats being ripped up (and) general mayhem. We got into it and the place went wild. While I was playing, a guy in the crowd pointed at my shoe and my lace was open … I gave him a nod and put my foot over to have him tie my lace. He grabbed my foot (and) started to pull me off the stage. The bouncers at the side curtain saw me disappearing but could not see why and thought … it was part of the act till they saw my face so they grabbed my head. There was a tug of was between them and the crowd. Happily they won and I was kept on stage and finished the set.

Ticket stub for The Stranglers gig who didn’t turn up. Credit – U2earlydayz.com

- 12 October 1978: The Virgin Prunes were bottled off stage while supporting The Clash at the Top Hat, Dun Laoghaire. It was their second gig. Gavin Friday remembers:

We came on (with) Guggi wearing a tiny skirt and I had a plastic suit made out of raincoats, no jocks underneath, and pair of Docs. We’d only played two little gigs before that. Steve Averill from The Radiators From Space played synthesizer with us. The crowd just went apeshit. They thought Guggi was a chick. The adrenaline of all these people pogoing kicked in and I started jumping around, the next thing this plastic suit that me ma had made me split completely. I was standing there totally bollock naked, except for a pair of Doc Martins. I turned around and Guggi’s skirt had come off and you could see that he was a bloke. All hell broke loose, there were bottles flying, they were setting the curtains on fire. We were reefed off the stage by The Clash’s tour manager and fucked out the door. We had no money and had to walk with all out gear, back from Dun Laoghaire to Ballymun.

- 20 October 1978: Violence again at The Top Hat with The Jam.

- May 1979:  Black Catholics trouble at a U2 gig (supporting Patrick Fitzgerald) in the Project Arts Centre. The late great Bill Graham of Hot Press wrote at the time:

Last weekend at the Project, U2, who were supporting Patrick Fitzgerald were targets of an unprovoked assault. As our man on the move Ross Fitzsimons reports a group arrived down & began taunting the band but the verbal displeasure escalated to direct and seemingly drunken action as critics jumped on stage, threw cider about & in one instance kicked U2 bassist Adam Clayton. After two numbers, the band quit the stage & the situation became so unruly that two Gardai had to called to escort the disruptors from the premises. That was Friday night but the following evening, the vendetta continued. One troublesome patron was speedily ejected by U2 manager Paul McGuinness but after McGuinness returned to the auditorium, a bruising skirmish ensued in the foyer & outside.

Black Catholics and friends. Advance Records by Stephen’s Green. Credit – Patrick Brockleband via Eamon Delaney’s blog

- 17 November 1979: Trouble at the Squeeze gig in Belfield, UCD.

- 1979: Brawls at a fundraiser gig for the UCD Student Union with DC Nein and The Threat at the Student Bar in Belfield. Maurice Foley, guitarist and lead vocalist of The Threat, remembers:

I remember one time we played with DC Nien in Belfield… and there was a bit of trouble there… Whatever it was, someone from Hot Press came out to ask me about something… we had this old van that kept running out of water and all the lads were waiting to get in the back after the gig and then this car came in really close beside us and it nearly knocked a few of the lads over, they had to jump out of the way… and it pulled up outside the Students Union Bar… then they got out and they were all loud, they’d had a few drinks and the car could have been stolen ‘cos they were driving all over the grass and stuff… so our lads thought they’d go down and have a word with them in the car… so they ended up smashing all the windows in the car… some chains came out and that… so they drove off and went into the students bar and the students all came out with them and they started attacking… there wasn’t a large crowd of us either… so everybody crowded into the back of the van and we started the van to get it going, but it wouldn’t start… they all came close and started firing rocks, and the lads had to get out to chase them off again.

- December 1979: Fighting at The Members gig supported by Stiff Little Fingers in the Olympic Ballroom, Pleasant Street.

- 2 March 1980: 49 people were injured in the crowd trouble at The Boomtown Rats and The Atrix concert at Leixlip Castle.

The Boomtown Rats at Leixlip Castle. Hot Press – March 1980. Credit – Where Were You? Facebook page

- May 1980: Aggro at The Rezillos, The Tourists and The Epidemix gig in Liberty Hall.

- 27 July 1980: Bottle throwing at The Police gig at Leixlip Castle.

- 6 October 1980: A hammer attack at a 4″ Be 2″‘s gig in Trinity College. The band featured John Lydon’s younger brother Jimmy. Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) was arrested that evening for assault after a melee in the Horse & Tram pub in Dublin, he was sentenced to three months in jail for disorderly conduct but was eventually acquitted on appeal.

- 8 October 1980: Four people were stabbed after The Ramones gig at Grand Cinema, Quarry Road, Cabra.

- 15 January 1981: Hectic scenes at The Specials and The Beat concert at The Stardust, Artane. Gang violence between the Edenmore Dragons from Raheny and the Coolock Boot Boys marred the legendary gig.. Edna on Brand New Retro described it as a ‘ bloodbath of a gig’ while Festeron on the TheSpecials2.com forum recalled ‘The gig .. was ruined by fighting between 2 rival Dublin gangs … They used the dance floor as a battleground that night despite Terrys best efforts to make peace. “‘

- 1981: The Outcasts gig in McGonagles saw the bar being raided by punters and fighting occurring inside and outside the gig.

As Post-Punk, Two-Tone, Mod Revival, Oi!, Hardcore and other styles continued to broaden the musical landscape in the early 1980s, violence was still a factor at concerts. Reggae gigs, synonymous with slow, heavy bass and dope smoking, was not free from trouble either. Garry O’Neill of Where Were You? told us that:

There was trouble at some reggae gigs I attended, although not on the scale as the above mentioned ones, it happened none the less. I recall seeing fighting inside and outside the TV Club around 1983/84 at gigs by Steel Pulse, Aswad, and Dennis Bovell & the Dub Band, plus a particularly violent attack outside a UB40 concert at the National Stadium around 1982, when a large vodka bottle floored a guy trying to protect his girlfriend from some bloke’s unwanted attention.

The TV Club was also the scene of an infamous violent gig on 11 August 1984 from English hardcore punk band Anti Nowhere League, supported by surf rockers The Barracudas and local acts The Golden Horde and The Commotion at The TV Club. Punx and skins from Cabra stormed the stage during the headliner’s set and ran off with stolen equipment.

Anti-Nowhere League, TV Club. Hot Press – August 1984.  Credit – Where Were You? Facebook page

Artist Garret Phelan remembered that night:

The Golden Horde did their set, which was wonderful, and they got off unscathed. Then The Barracudas came on and they were just showered in spit. They actually stopped the gig. The manager came out and said, ‘Look, we’d love to continue.’ All the skinheads from Cabra were there and were saying, ‘It’s cool, we won’t do it again.’ They came back on again, and they spat all over them. This happened about three times, so it was getting out of hand. When the Anti-Nowhere League came out — this is really interesting — hardcore punk bands at that time never got the massive media coverage that you get today, so you didn’t know what these guys looked like. They walked out on stage, you know, ‘The Russians are coming’, really hardcore stuff, and the lead singer looked like he was out of Twisted Sister. He had this huge blonde perm right down to his arse. Every skinhead in the place jumped up and beat the shit out of the band and they stole all the equipment, and went running down Harcourt Street with it. The irony of that is that the TV Club was sited beside the Harcourt Street Police Station, and the police just locked their doors and let them get on with it.

John Sutton, who worked as manager of the SFX Theatre from 1982 to 1987, was witness to a particularly chaotic St. Patrick’s Day gig in 1985 which saw two police motorbikes set on fire.

It was the maddest of all the nights. The College of Marketing and Design in Cathal Brugha street held a Saint Patrick Day multi-media event in 1985 maybe. It was fancy dress, there was everything on the programme, screening movies, rock bands, theatre pieces, poetry readings – over 20 acts.  The day before they had sold only 50 tickets. This was a venue that held 1,500 people; it was going to be a disaster (financially) so we took some steps to save on costs. We reduced the amount of security form 30 to 6. On the night however 1,400 people turned up. We were completely overwhelmed by the crowd.

Two-third of them in fancy dress including a group of 10 in full Nazi uniform, one man painted completely black and white, great outfits. But there was bedlam at the door. People were quite frustrated because we were slow getting them in off the street, so there wasn’t what you would call an orderly queue. Two passing guards on motorbikes saw what was going on, got off and waded into the crowd to try and restore order. Just as they got to the front door someone set fire to one of their bikes which blew up, than the second one blew up and fell against a car that went on fire. Luckily it belonged to my father who was working for me on the night. There were still about 500 people trying to get in and with the bikes on fire in a matter of 5 minutes we had 40 policemen around the SFX. Order was restored in minutes. After the event ended at 2.30am we set about cleaning the street. Our goal was to make sure that the first mass goers at 7am would see nothing amiss.  We succeeded in that and although the Jesuits had heard the music all right they had no sense of the fire and the drama so we got away with that one. My job was saved.

By the second half of the 1980s, fighting at gigs became more sporadic. Garry O’Neill remembers:

… fights at gigs by the Blades and visiting US ska/mod band the Untouchables in the TV Club around 1985. Plus post gig fighting after a Housemartins’ gig in the Olympic Ballroom in Oct 1987, sparked by a bit of psychobilly slagging. Open air gigs had their fair amount of scraps and disruptions too, such as the U2 gig in Phoenix Park in 1983 and later gigs like the Lark in the Park in Blackrock, and a gig in Stephen’s Green around 1987 which I think featured Thompson Twins/Those Handsome Devils. The last major ruckus I saw was at a Bad Manners gig in McGonagles in Nov 1988, if the cold and wet night wasn’t depressing enough, some serious skinhead fighting during the gig made it a night to forget.

The next generation of music fans, coming of age in the late 1980s and early 1990s, embraced acid house and the loved-up rave scene. Some of the city’s slightly older punks, skins, mods and rockers also got involved in the last great youth cultural explosion.

Garry O’Neill summed up these times when gigs were generally safer:

Out went alcohol fueled nights at gigs with the proverbial rival punch up or random unprovoked attack, to be replaced by an E’d up night on the dancefloor of Sides, the Olympic Ballroom or the Columbia Mills.  The rave scene wasn’t totally devoid of violence, an incident involving the slashing of a few punters at a dance gig in the Point Depot in the mid 90s comes to mind and the occasional rival drug gang melee, but for the most part it was fine.

What are your memories from any of the gigs mentioned? Have we missed out any other infamous violent concerts?

(Special thanks to Garry O’Neill for quotes, dates and general help for this piece)

Friday 2nd May (The Black Sheep, 8pm – 1am. €10 entry)

The Stoneybatter & Smithfield People’s History Project are hosting a night downstairs in The Black Sheep (61 Capel Street) to raise funds for their ambitious and exciting ‘Street Stories’ history and cultural festival happening in Dublin 7 this August.

Expect a wild night of 60s Soul, Beat, Garage, Soul and Reggae. DJs include yours truly, Stew Reddin, Barry Gruff and Darren Hawthorn.

More details see Facebook event here.

Street Stories Festival – A Celebration of Dublin Life! Coming to Stoneybatter and Smithfield in late August.

Saturday 3rd May (Seomra Spraoi, 10pm – 3am. €10/€5 entry. BYOB)

The city’s favourite underground magazine Rabble is putting on their first fundraiser ruckus in over two years. With issue number 8 just been sent to the printers, come down to Seomra Spraoi to celebrate with the usual dancetastic tunage from Rabble selectors and comrades.

More details see Facebook event here.

Rabble Ruckus event poster.

A mural dedicated to South African anti-Apartheid activist Marius Schoon, who lived in Dublin for several years, was unveiled last week in the new offices of Comhlámh at 12 Parliament Street. It was painted by by street artist Katrina Rupert (aka KIN MX). Comhlámh, founded in 1975, is the Irish Association of Development Workers and is committed to “social justice, human rights and global development issues”.

“Kathrina Rupit with her fantastic mural celebrating the life of Marius Schoon, anti-apartheid activist.” Credit – Comhlámh FB page

Marius Schoon (1937 – 1999) was a long-term political prisoner and exile of Afrikaner dissident. He served 12 years in prison for a futile effort to blow up a radio transmitter at a police station in Johannesburg in 1964. On his release in 1976, he joined the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party in exile.

In 1984, his second wife Jeannette Curtis, and their 6-year-old daughter, Katryn, were killed by a letter bomb intended for Schoon. The pair were blown up in front of Fritz, their 3-year-old son, in the kitchen of their house in exile in Angola.

Jeanette and Katryn both held Irish passports due to the fact that one of Jeanette’s grandparents was Irish. After the horrific incident, Schoon and his son moved to Dublin where they were granted an Irish passport by the Fine Gael-Labour government. Fritz later spoke about their relocation to Ireland:

Marius and I arrived in Ireland on the back of what was a very traumatic experience for us both. The Irish government was kind enough to grant us both citizenship on compassionate grounds. Over and above this gesture, Marius and I received compassion and generosity in many forms from Ireland and its people. As testament to this Marius, speaking of his time in Ireland, reported – in the Rift, by Hilda Bernstein – that ‘I really feel that for the last two or three years, for the first time in my life, literally, I’ve got a stability and a security that I’ve never had. I am actually enjoying the security that we have at the moment.”

Living at 22 Shamrock Street in Phibsboro, Schoon became active with the Irish Anti-Aparthied Movement, the new Ranelagh Multi-Denominational school and was co-ordinator of Comhlámh between 1988-1991.

Letter titled ‘A School Where All Welcome’ to Irish Independent (27 June 1988)

In January 1988, the Media Association of Ireland hosted a lecture on ‘The Media and South Africa* by Marius Schoon at Newman House, St. Stephen’s Green. In May 1990, RTE Radio 1 produced a 30 minute documentary on Schoon’s life.

During this period, he met and later married Dublin-born anti-Aparthied activist Sherry McClean. From 1985 through 1987, she worked as a volunteer at Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College (SOMAFCO), a school for refugees established by the African National Congress (ANC) in Mazimbu, Tanzania, where she counseled and developed social support for children and adults. An interview was recorded with Sherry in 2004 as part of the African Archivist Archive.

Schoon (centre with glasses) joins in a clenched fist salute for the released ANC leader in Merrion Square, Dublin, organised by the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement in February 1990. Photograph : Frank Miller

Schoon, son Fritz and new wife Sherry returned to South Africa in late 1991 where he began work in the Development Bank, overseeing projects to help rural black communities.

In August 1995, he launched a lawsuit against Craig Williamson, spy for the security forces and former family friend, who was responsible for sending the parcel bomb that killed his second wife and daughter. (Williamson also admitted responsibility for the bombing of the ANC headquarters in London and sending the package which killed left-wing Jewish anti-Apartheid activist Ruth First in Mozambique in 1982). In 1998 Williamson and Jerry Raven, his accomplice, applied for amnesty with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

In 1999, Schoon died in hospital after a long battle with lung cancer. A year later the TRC granted both Williamson and Raven amnesty. (In 2008, Williambsurg was declared bankrupt by the Johannesburg High Court which will probably be the only form of legal justice he will probably ever face”).

Nelson Mandela described Schoon after his death as:

an enduring example of the fight for non-racialism and democracy. He destroyed the myth that all Afrikaners were racists and oppressors. He therefore will be greatly missed, not only by his colleagues in the fight against apartheid, but by the entire South African nation.

The event last Thursday was attended by Marius’ widow Sherry, independent social researcher Brian Harvey and Cathryn O’Reilly, one of the Dunnes Stores workers who went on strike  in 1984 over the handling of South African produce. Schoon and his young son frequently joined the picket lines during the two and half-year strike. Cathryn recalled the period:

We were all invited to the AGM of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement. They had this man Marius Schoon who got up and thanked us for going on strike. He was a white South African who lost his wife and his six-year-old daughter to a letter bomb because they were opposed to the apartheid system. He had a very profound effect on everyone in that we had nothing to lose only our jobs. He had lost his wife and his daughter for what he believed in. That made us more determined to continue doing picket duty and to speak out about it. Arthur Scargill (president of the National Union of Mineworkers) came down to the picket line. He had a placard and walked up and down with us.

Edmond Lukusa, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, has made history by becoming Dublin’s first elected Black Politician.

Representing Sinn Féin in the Mulhuddart ward of Fingal County Council, Councillor Lukusa received 353 first preference votes and was (greatly) helped across the finishing line by his running mate Paul Donnelly who topped the poll.

Lukusa moved to Ireland with his wife and family in 2001, became an Irish citizen in 2007 and joined Sinn Féin shortly afterwards. In his home country, he was active with the Centre-Left party ‘Union for Democracy and Social Progress’.

Edmond Lukusa’s election poster (Credit: Sinn Féin)

He was not the first and certainly won’t be the last migrant to achieve electoral success in his adopted country.

Dr. Moosajee Bhamjee was described brilliantly by Patsy McGarry in the Irish Times as the “first ethnic Indian Muslim socialist psychiatrist” to be elected to the Dail. He represented the Labour Party in Clare from 1992 to 1997.

Born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa to parents who had emigrated from Bombay at the turn of the century, Bhamjee moved to Dublin in 1965 to study medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons. During his time here, he met an Irish woman Claire Kenny at a student party in Rathmines. After several years of a romance that criss-crossed between Ireland and South Africa, Bhamjee returned to Ireland in 1975 where he went onto marry Claire and have three children.

Moosajee Bhamjee, Ireland’s first Muslim and first Indian TD. Credit – liamblakephotographer.com

Training as a psychiatrist in Cork, Bhamjee started a permanent post at Our Lady’s Hospital in Ennis in 1984. He got involved in local politics, founding the Kilmoran Residents Association and becoming active with the Clare Divorce Action Group. In 1991, he joined the Labour Party and took the political establishment by surprise when he won a seat in the General Election of 1992 with 5,113 first preference votes. He was affectionately nicknamed “the Indian among the cowboys” by the Press.

Talking to the Irish Times in 2010, Bhamjee described his early “disillusionment” with Dail politics. He found himself dealing with “trivial things” like lighting and potholes when he wanted to engage in national issues like health and education. He retired from politics at the following General Election.

A liberal Muslim – “something like a lapsed Catholic” he once quipped – Bhamjee drank alcohol and told a newspaper that the person he admired most in the world was Vietnamese communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh.

Rotimi Adebari made history in 2007 by becoming Ireland’s first Black Mayor. He was elected as mayor of Portlaoise Town Council with support from Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and an Independent councillor.

Rotimi Adebari, Ireland’s first Black Mayor. Credit – theJournal.ie

Settling in Laois in 2000, the Nigerian-born Christian convert from Islam was elected first as an Independent Councillor in the 2004 Local Elections. Adebari told an Irish Times journalist in the run up to the election:

I don’t see myself as a immigrant’s candidate. I am a black man who is representing issues which cut across black and white people. I will be looking for better services for the elderly and for activities that will challenge and engage young people like a sports arena and a skateboard park

He retained his seat in 2009 but lost it this year.

In 2004, Nigerian Born Dr. Taiwo Matthew was elected to Ennis Urban District Council as an Independent Councillor. He has not ran since.

Do you know of any other people of colour who have successfully contested an election in Ireland?

It may not be widely known that London’s first Black Mayor was half-Irish.

John Archer (1863 – 1932), whose father Richard Archer was from Barbados and mother Mary Theresa Burns from Ireland, was born in Liverpool. He became one of the first people of African descent to be elected to public office in Britain as a councillor in Battersea, and in 1913, the first black mayor in London. Archer was active with Labour Party and the African Progress Union and became election agent for Irish socialist and suffragette Charlotte Despard in 1918 her bid for parliamentary candidate in North Battersea.

John Archer, London’s first Black mayor. c. 1913. Credit – http://medievalpoc.tumblr.com

Another fascinating mixed-race character is Len Johnson (1902 – 1969) from Manchester. A legendary professional middle/light heavyweight boxer of the 1920s and ’30s, Johnson was also a life-long Socialist and ran for the Communist Party in his local Moss Side in six different elections. The son of a merchant seaman from Sierra Leone and an Irish Mancunian mother, he is considered one of the best boxers of his generation. Johnson went onto raise a family with an Irish woman.

His story has recently been picked up on by the Telegraph and a play about his life is due to feature as part of the Manchester Fringe festival in Paul Heaton’s The Kings Arms in Salford from 15-18 July.

Len Johnson, legendary Manchester boxer and Communist activist. Credit – telegraph.co.uk.

A few snaps with my trusty camera phone while having a mooch around Temple Bar yesterday.

Prince’s Lane is the first lane on the right as you head down Fleet Street into Temple Bar from Westmoreland Street. Close to the quays, I spotted this little old door with a sign above saying ‘bar’.

Old bar entrance. Prices Lane off Fleet Street, Temple Bar. Credit – Sam.

On closer inspection, an original tiled floor sign at the entrance displays the name O’Mara’s Lounge. I have not been able to find any reference to this bar/lounge anywhere online or in the newspaper archives.

Anyone have any information?

O’Mara’s Lounge. Prices Lane off Fleet Street, Temple Bar. Credit – Sam

One of the most lovely housing complexes in the city, Asdill’s Row is receiving a much needed facelift.

Built in 1891 by the Dublin Artisans’ Dwelling Company, there are 54 flats, 27 each across the first and second floor levels. For more information, check out the great Built Dublin’s post on the buildings.

This is a glimpse into the building site.

Glimpse into Asdill’s Row as refurbishment continues. Credit – Sam

A new barbershop, Finnegan’s Green Rooster, has taken over the building which housed the Amnesty International cafe on Fleet Street.

Barbershop takes over Amnesty Cafe. Credit – Sam

While their Facebook page says the business opened in ‘May 2014′, they’ve bizarrely claimed that the barbershop has been going since 1959.

What’s the point? Who are they trying to kid?

It’s a bit like ‘The Snug‘ bar, attached to Bad Bob’s, which is the self-proclaimed ‘Temple Bar’s Oldest Pub’.

Estd. 1959, eh? Credit – Sam.

Brogan’s pub beside the Olympia Theatre looks temporarily naked as contractors work on a new sign. 75 Dame Street used to be a gay bar called The Viking while Crampton Court (the lane down to the side entrance to the Olympia Theatre) is one of my favourite shortcuts in the city.

Brogans on Dame Street gets a paint job. Credit – Sam

While on my travels, I bumped into actor and City Councillor Mannix Flynn. Thankfully, he was able to inform me that the Thomas Reads sign was taken down for safety reasons and is currently being kept safe in the building itself.

Signless Thomas Reads. Credit – Sam.

A cutlers operating from 1670 to 1997, the dusty and fading Thomas Reads building is an iconic piece of old Dublin. Let’s make sure we keep it.

Thomas Reads on Parliament Street. Credit – Sam

Lody in Naval uniform. Credit – pinterest.com

It was reported today in the Daily Mail (sorry for the link but they’re the only news service covering the story) that a letter written by Carl Hans Lody (1877–1914) has been unearthed, nearly 100 years after his execution.

Lody was the most famous German spy of World War One and the first out of eleven to be executed. He was shot by firing squad on November 6, 1914 in the Tower of London becoming the first person to be executed there for 167 years.

Carl Lody’s Final Letter, 5 November 1914. Credit – dailymail.co.uk

On the day before the execution, he wrote to the guard’s commanding officer:

I feel it my duty as a German officer to express my sincere thanks and appreciation towards the staff officers and men who were in charge of my person during my confinement.

Their kind and considered treatment has called my highest esteem and admiration as regards good fellowship even towards the enemy and if I may be permitted, I would thank you for making this known to them.

The letter had been stored at the Guards Museum at Wellington Barracks, but has now been uncovered as part of an exhibition at the museum on the First World War, and the role of the Foot Guards during the conflict.

Born in Berlin, Lody joined the German Navy in 1900 – serving for a year before he was transferred into the First Naval Reserve. He then went on to enter the merchant navy, where he served on English, Norwegian and American ships. After a period of working as a tourist guide on the American-Hamburg line, Lody (who spoke fluent English with an American accent) traveled to Britain as a spy at the outbreak of war in order to observe and report back on the country’s naval fleet.

From Edinburgh, posing as a tourist and using an American passport under the name of “Charles A. Inglis”, he sent telegrams and letters to an address in Stockholm which was used as a cover for German intelligence. His first coded message read:

Must cancel. Johnson very ill. Lost four days, Shall leave shortly, Charles.

He was reporting that there were four ships being repaired at the Firth of Forth dock, and that several others were about to head out to sea. The Germans dispatched an U-21 submarine which attacked the HMS Pathfinder becoming the first ship ever to be sunk by a torpedo fired from a submarine.

After this first success, Lody’s lack of training started to show, and he began to make mistakes – putting his address on his letters and writing them in German. Most significantly and unbeknownst to Lody, M15 were intercepting all of his correspondence.

In September 1914, he traveled to Dublin via Liverpool. From the Gresham Hotel, he wrote a detailed letter in German describing the military ships in Dublin Bay and useful conversations that he had overheard in the city. MI5 decided to act and ordered his arrest.

Enroute to Cork (Queenstown),which was then the largest British naval station in Ireland, Lody stopped off in Killarney, Co. Kerry. On October 2nd, he was arrested by Inspector Cheeseman of the Royal Irish Constabulary while staying at the Great Southern Hotel.

Lody after his arrest. Credit – .josefjakobs.info

The police discovered Lody’s true identity when they found a tailor’s ticket in his jacket bearing his real name and an address in Berlin. He was taken to London and detained at Wellington Barracks, before being convicted of espionage following a court martial, and sentenced to death.
On the morning of his execution, he was reported to have said to the officer who escorted him from his cell: “I suppose that you will not care to shake hands with a German spy”. “No,” the officer replied; “but I will shake hands with a brave man.”

He was executed  at the Tower by an eight man firing squad made up of members of the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards. Lody was first buried in the Tower of London and later disinterred and transferred to the East London Cemetery in Plaistow then finally to Highgate Cemetery, north London.

In May 1934, the Nazis unveiled a memorial to Lody in his northern German city of Luebeck.

Lody memorial pictured in 1938. Credit – Wikipedia.

A part of the memorial, embedded in the medieval Burgtor town gate, can still be seen today:

Lody memorial today. Credit – Wikipedia.

An intriguing tale of espionage in which Dublin played an important part.

For more information on Lody, check out these articles published on the BBC, M15 and the Independent.

Front view of the Ballsbridge IRA memorial. Credit – Sam (CHTM!)

A stones throw away from a US Embassy is an odd location for a memorial to a revolutionary guerrilla army.

But this is the case for the plaque and celtic cross at the corner of Herbert Park and Clyde Road in Ballsbridge dedicated to the memory of the officers and men of the IRA’s Third Battalion Dublin Brigade.

Significance and context

On the 13th of May 1973, in one of his last public appearances in office, President Eamon De Valera unveiled the IRA memorial in front of a crowd of several hundred. A little over a month later, and at the grand age of 90, De Valera retired from political office.. Commandment of the Third Battalion in the lead up to and during Easter Week 1916, De Valera died in the Linden Convalescent Home, Blackrock on 29 August 1975 aged 92.

During the 1916 Rising, the Battalion saw action at nearby Boland’s Bakery on Grand Canal Street, Haddington Road Railway Bridge, Clanwilliam House on the north side of Mount Street Bridge, St. Stephen’s School and the Parochial Hall on the south side of bridge and No. 25 Northumberland Road. After their surrender, De Valera and his men (infamously he allowed no members of Cumann na mBan to serve with him) were held in horse-boxes in the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) just a few minutes from the present day memorial.

The main focus of the Third Battalion during the post-Rising revolutionary period was the area around Northumberland Road, Mount Street Bridge,  Pearse Street, Bolands Mills, Dame Street and the district known as the Dardanelles, including Aungier Street and Wexford Street.

IRA veterans march in formation to the memorial unveiling. Credit – Irish Independent (14 May 1973)

The timing of the unveiling is obviously significant. It took place during the height of the conflict in the Six Counties – in the shadow of 1972, the bloodiest year of the ‘Troubles’ in which nearly 500 people lost their lives.

A memorial to the IRA, unveiled by the President of Ireland, during the summer of 1973 has serious implications. On the day of the ceremony, two members of a British Army foot patrol were killed when a remote controlled bomb hidden in a disused factory was detonated by the IRA on the Donegall Road, West Belfast. While in The Diamond, near Coagh, County Tyrone,an IRA member was shot dead as he drove through an Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) check point.

Broe Family

The memorial was fashioned by sculptor Dermot Broe. A second generation sculptor, his father Leo Broe (1899–1966) was an IRA veteran who saw active service in the Camden Street area with C Company, 3rd Battalion I.R.A during the Tan War. A well-known monumental sculptor and artist, he was responsible for many IRA monuments including the sixteen foot Phibsborogh Volunteer opposite the Library on the North Circular Road unveiled in 1939.

Another sculptor son Desmond, who died suddenly in 1968, was responsible for the commemorative plaque over the birthplace of Patrick and Willie Pearse at 27 Pearse Street (known as Great Brunswick Street until 1924) and the Kevin Barry memorial in Rathvilly, Carlow (unveiled in 1958).

Plaque outside 27 Pearse Street fashioned by Desmond Broe. Credit – michael7000.files.wordpress.com

Daughter Irene (1923 – 1992), another sculptor, produced busts to Donogh O’Malley and the Masalsyian prime minister Abdul Rahman.

Memorial and unveiling

On 13 May 1974 De Valera, in heavy rain, first inspected the guard of honour which was drawn from the Second Battalion, Cathal Brugha Barracks and the Eastern Command Training Depot under commander Captain Peter Archibald.

Accompanied by Colonel Sean Brennan. his senior aide-decamp, he was then escorted to seats beside the memorial, which was set in a railed area off the pavement and surrounded by tulips and other flowers in the adjoining private gardens.

Liam Kavanagh, who served as a volunteer in Bolands Mill in 1916, gave a brief address to the crowd. He paid tribute to the “courage, endurance and devotion to duty of deceased members, some of whom died in action, others from imprisonment, and other hardships and some on the scaffold.”

The Army Number One Band then played the Last Post as a small group of veterans of his the Brigade saluted their dead comrades. Later De Valera inspected the memorial with Mr. Kavanagh and Mr. Leo Kelly, secretary and treasurer of the Old Dublin Brigade. Finally, the cross was blessed by the chaplain of the Old Dublin Brigade, Fr. Tom Walsh, O.P.

Eamon De Valera inspects the memorial. Credit – Irish Press (14 May 1973)

The memorial has been diligently described by Michael Pegum as a:

“Stone Celtic cross on oblong plinth. Plinth width 69cms, depth 48cms. Total height approx 240cms. A black marble panel on the base of the cross records the unveiling. Behind the cross are three black marble slabs with inscriptions in Irish and English. Height 99cms, width of each side panel 95cms.”

Interestingly it is dedicated to men of the 3rd Battalion who ‘died for Ireland in 1916 and since’. This is interesting wording as it encompasses members of the battalion who fought and died in the Tan War, Civil War and possibly in later military action.

The text of the Ballsbridge IRA memorial. Credit – Sam (CHTM!)

The Embassy of the United States in Dublin (to give it its full title) was constructed between 1962 and 1964 on a triangular site at the intersection between Elgin Road and Pembroke Road.

So at the time of the IRA memorial unveiling, they had been there for a decade while the nearby British embassy was opened just six months afterwards.

The British Embassy has been based at 29 Merrion Road, Ballsbridge since December 1974. They were forced to relocate after their previous premises, 39 Merrion Square, was besieged for three days and attacked for 24 hours by thousands of people in response to the Bloody Sunday murders in Derry on 30 January 1972.

Article on ‘Grille’ from Trinity News (31 October 1968)

On the 27th of August 1968, a group of left-wing Christians were attacked and harassed by local parishioners in St. Andrew’s Church, Westland Row after they attempted to hold a public prayer meeting.

The meeting, organised by the Irish Christian Socialist magazine ‘Grille’, was attended by around forty-five people including my uncle Michael and my granny. The first issue of this magazine was launched the previous month and had sold 1,000 copies. It was produced by a nine member editorial board made up of John Feeney (Secretary), John Byrne (Co-Ordinator), William Ledwich, Aoife Kearney, Erwin Struntz and four others.

A parishioner questions activists from ‘Grille’ while they read from the Bible. Credit – Irish Independent, 26 August 1968

The meeting was held to draw attention to the fact that ‘much publicity’ had been given ‘to the advice of right-wing Catholics on the birth control issue.’ The Christian Socialists hoped to add their voice to the debate and help correct ‘the imbalance of this situation.’

They were not granted permission to use the church nor did they ask for it as they felt all practising Catholics were already part owners of all churches.

After gathering in a side alcove, a member of the group opened the proceeding with The Lords Prayer and then read from the Gospel According to St. Matthew. At this point, a man jostled him and knocked the bible out of his hand. A woman, who later transpired to be the aggressors wife, tried to calm the situation telling her husband ‘You’re making a show of yourself. Let them go on with it. It’ll all fizzle out’.

Two middle-aged parishioners look menacingly at one Bible-reading ‘Grille’ radical. Credit – The Irish Times, 26 August 1968

Meanwhile a group of ten men, moved in on the ‘Grille’ group pushing them about, throwing punches and pulling women’s headscarves off their heads. Activist John Byrne was punched in the mouth as he was singing a hymn.

The mob bombarded the young Christian radicals with questions: ‘Are you Irish? Are you Catholic? Are you from this parish? Are you a communist?’

A certain Francis Mayer from Ringsend told an Irish Times journalist:

If this happened in our parish, we’d get them by the scruff of the neck and throw them out. Look at their faces; they’re not Irishmen at all. They’re a pack of foreigners

Scuffles break out at the ‘Grille’ pray-in. Credit – The Irish Independent, 26 August 1968

For reasons of safety, the group moved the meeting to the University Church, Stephens Green where it passed off without further incident.

John Feeney told the crowd and waiting journalists: ‘We have been demonstrating against the misuse of authority by the Pope; in his encyclical on birth control; and the misuse of authority by the Russians with their tanks and guns in Czechoslovakia. The people who attacked us earlier in Westland Row showed violent disrespect for authority and the church; exactly the failing they attribute to us.’.

John Feeney of ‘Grille’ talking to press and supporters (Indo, 26 Aug 1968) 2

The Irish Christian socialists of ‘Grille’ magazine continued its activity in the late 1960s.

It organised a picket and fasting outside the Garda Club on Harrington Street in September 1968 during a visit of Chicago Irish-American police officers. This was in the immediate wake of the police brutality against demonstrators outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago.

In April 1969, they were part of the forty strong picket which clashed with Gardai outside RTE’s studios in Donnybrook during an appearance of bigoted Conservative MP Enoch Powell who was a guest on The Late Late Show.

The last reference to the group is from May 1970 when it co-organised a picket at the US embassy, attended by 600 people, after the American invasion of Cambodia.

Postscript:

John Feeney (1948 – 1984), a leading student radical leader in UCD, went to work with the Irish Press and and later resigned from his role as researcher on the ’7 days’ RTE programme. He was dismissed as editor of the Catholic Standard but later became a leading columnist with the Evening Herald. He died tragically in the November 1984 Beaujolais Air Crash which killed nine people. The private airplane was traveling to France for the annual ‘race’ to bring the first bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau to Ireland when it crashed near Bournemouth, overladen with luggage.

The other eight passengers were Nial Hanley, editor of the Evening Herald; Kevin Marrow, former editor of the Dublin Sunday World and then a columnist for the Sunday World and Evening Herald;  Tony Hennigan, diary editor of the Irish Independent; Pat Gibbons, owner of the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock, Co Dublin; Francois Schelbaum, manager of the Sands Hotel; Cormack Cassidy, a wine merchant; Arrigo Chichi, Italian restaurant owner of Kikis, Sandymount, Dublin and Jack Walsh, the pilot.

Aoife Kearney, later to become wife of the John Feeney and mother of his five children, published a celebrated ‘savagely satirical and sexually explicit novel about modern Irish society’ called The Rule of War in 2011.

One of their sons, Chekov, has written an enjoyable account of his childhood and political journey towards Anarchist politics.

Erwin Struntz (1903 – 1995), a left-leaning Austrian-born journalist, escaped to Ireland from Vienna with his Jewish wife in 1938. Their getaway was planned and executed by Herbert Butler from Kilkenny who was active with the Society of Friends (Quarkers). Struntz, later became a Quarker convert, and managed the famous Unicorn Restaurant on Westland Row.

William Ledwich, son of a Church of Ireland rector, was ordained an Anglican priest but resigned in 1984 in protest against the consecration of Professor David Jenkins as the Bishop of Durham.

In 1987, RTÉ broadcast three half-an-hour specials of the music show ‘Visual Eyes’.

Slotted between a behind-the-scenes look at U2 playing Modena, Italy and an extended one-on-one interview with David Bowie in London, there was an RTÉ prime time special on the career and songwriting talents of Dublin legend Paul Cleary.

Paul Cleary, 1980s. Uploaded by Mark Sherlock.

With only a few weeks until The Blades much anticipated gig at the sold out Electric Picnic festival, it’s perfect timing that this 30mins Paul Cleary special has been uploaded onto YouTube.

Presented by Dave Fanning and produced/directed by Billy Magra (aka McGrath), this is the first time the programme has been available in 27 years.

Intertwined with interviews of Paul Cleary at locations on Sandymount Strand and RTE, the show contains footage of:

- ‘The Reunion’ on Anything Goes (1980)
– ‘Ghost of a Chance’ on The Late Late Show (1981)
– ‘The Bride Wore White’ on Anything Goes (1981)
– ‘Revelations of Heartbreak’ on Non Stop Pop (1982)
– ‘Downmarket’ music video (1983)
– Footage from the 1983 Hot Press Music Awards
– ‘Those Were The Days’ on TV GA GA (1985)
– Recording of the Concern charity record written by Paul Cleary (1985)
– ‘Too Late’ by Paul Cleary with Ray Lynam on TV GA GA (1987)
– ‘Badlands’ (198?)
– ‘Some People Smile’ by Paul Cleary on The Late Late Show (1983)

The show’s graphic designer Billy Morley (ex-guitarist with Revolver / The Radiators / The Defenders) sadly passed away earlier this year. Producer Billy recalled on The Blades Facebook fan group:

Normally quiet & unassuming, he passed me in the RTE corridor after the 3 specials (U2, Paul and Bowie) aired and without breaking stride threw an aside as he passed – ‘the Cleary fella wrote the better songs’. Indeed.

Previous blog piece on the The Blades:

A conversation with Paul Cleary
Lyrics from the two Blades LPS
Still sounding sharp, looking back at The Blades
Revelations (Of 45s)
The Blades Are Sharp
Building A Wasteland
os Blades?
The Blades singles
Emm Gryner’s version of Downmarket

In San Francisco in 1973, gay activist Harvey Milk successfully petitioned gay bars in the Castro District to stop selling Coors beer. This was in response to an appeal from the Teamsters union who called for a boycott of Coors as the company refused to sign a Union contract. The gay community were themselves hostile to the company as Coors implemented a strict employment discrimination policy and refused to hire gay workers. With the help of a coalition of Arab and Chinese grocers the Teamsters had also recruited, the boycott was successful. In return, the Union hired more gay men to drive Teamsters beer trucks. It was a splendid example of solidarity.

A year later in Dublin, a very minor but compelling event brought together trade unionists and gay activists. Even if was just for fifteen minutes!

On Saturday 27th June 1974, ten lesbians and gay men protested in Dublin in what was the first ever public demonstration of LGBT Pride on the island of Ireland. The group included Northern Irish gay political activist Jeff Dudgeon and the then Trinity Lecturer David Norris.

Gay activist outside the Department of Justice, 27 June 1974. Photo – Gareth Miller. Credit – Irish Queer Archive (Facebook)

The protestors first picketed the British Embassy in Ballsbridge where one of the group organisers, the Sexual Liberation Movement (SLM) handed in a letter to the British Embassy in protest against the existing anti-gay legislation in Northern Ireland.

The group then marched to the Department of Justice on St. Stephen’s Green holding signs such as ‘Homosexuals are Revolting’ and ‘Lesbian Pride’. The small group of brave men and women literally stopped traffic as bus drivers and bicycle messengers slowed down or came to a screeching halt while trying to get a better look.

Gay activist outside the Department of Justice, 27 June 1974. Credit – Irish Queer Archive (Facebook). David Norris Collection.

David Norris, in his autobiography, recalls an incredible incident when a lorry pulled up outside the Department during the picket:

A large roll of carpet was flung out the back of the lorry and a burly man descended. He took one look at us and shouted back to his colleague in the driving seat, ‘Jesus, Mick, they’re fuckin’ queers!’

A head appeared at the window and took in the situation. Then a deep bass voice shouted back, ‘Whorrabowra sure I don’t give a bollicks, a picket’s a fucking picket mate’ and with that an even larger and more muscular lorry driver jumped out of the cab and joined our picket for a quarter of an hour, leaving the minister’s carpet stranded on the pavement.

A splendid example of worker solidarity.

For more photographs and memories, check out the Irish Queer Archive on Facebook.

The Four Corners of Hell was the colloquial name given to the junction where New Street, Patrick’s Street, Kevin’s Street and Dean Street met in The Liberties, Dublin 8.

In the shadow of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, this crossroads was infamous for having a public house on each corner and the immediate area after closing time was legendary for its rowdy crowds and punch ups. Revelers from rival neighborhoods or families would pour out onto the streets when the pubs shut and would settle old scores and new disputes with their fists. Famed local cop Lugs Brannigan and his men based out of nearby Kevin Street Garda station would often have their work cut for them. Its heyday was from the 1950s to the early 1980s.

Illustration of The Four Corners of Hell. Credit – Sam (CHTM!)

The cross-roads is almost unrecognisable today now due to the demolition and road widening that occurred in the 1980s.

The shaded buildings were demolished by the council. Credit – Irish Times (13 May 1985)

The four pubs were as follows:

1. Kenny’s
2. Quinn’s
3. O’Beirne’s
4. Lowe’s

Arial shot of the Four Corners of Hell, nd. Credit – ‘Growing up in the Liberties’s’ FB page

1. Liam Kenny’s on the corner of 49 Patrick Street and 9 Dean Street. Status – Building demolished and currently the site of a 99c store.

In the 1920s, the pub was run by a F. Martin and was known as Martin’s Corner. In February 1921, he was robbed at gunpoint by a man who made off with £10.

Publican Joseph Cody took over the premises around 1950. He had previously ran a pub at 21 Braithwaite Street in the nearby inner city area of Pimlico.

The Irish Times (12 January 1949) reported that two local men late one night the previous August had produced a pistol, forced themselves into the bar, asked for a dozen stout and whiskey and then shot and broke a bottle of wine and a mirror. Christopher Dunne (32) and Laurence Tierney (26), both of New Street, were found guilty of being in a possession of a firearm without a certificate. Dunne was sentenced to six months hard labour while Tierney was given a suspended sentence of nine months and bound to keep the peace for three years. The duo were found not guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, conspiracy and armed robbery.

[The aforementioned Christopher Dunne was father of career criminal Christy 'Bronco' Dunne Jr. who along with his brothers were chiefly responsible for flooding the city with heroin in the late 1970s and 1980s].

On 5 October 1949, landlord Cody was fined £12 for having opened his pub during prohibited hours on April 10th (Good Friday) last. Twelve men were found on the premises by police. On 3 January 1951, now based in Dean Street in the Four Corners of Hell, Cody was again fined (£1) for allowing two women to drink in his bar after closing time.

On 21 November 1953, William Jackson (24) of Dowker’s Lane off Lower Clanbrassil Street was sentenced to nine months imprisonment for having stolen £7 from a cash box in Cody’s pub. Two others, Patrick Dandy (24) of Oliver Bond House and Thomas Claffey of Cashel Avenue, Crumlin were sentenced to 12 month’s imprisonment each.

On 14 September 1954, Kilkenny-born John Kelly (40) with an address on Cork Street was sentenced for four months imprisonment for assaulting Joseph Cody. The publican was shoved down the stairs, kicked repeatedly and received two black eyes in the attack.

On 9 August 1955 it was reported in The Irish Times that Mrs. Breda Cody, landlord Joseph’s wife, was brought before the District Court to “answer a complaint that she had taken a widow’s pension order book in exchange … for intoxicating liquor … and had failed to return it”. She was bound to be of good behaviour for two years. His husband was fined 10- for opening his premises on Good Friday on which the incident involving the pension book occurred. The family were going through a difficult patch. Mr. Cody admitted that:

… they were unable to make ends meet … (and) unable to pay a mortgage on the premises … They had not even a home now and were allowed by the purchaser of the premises to leave their furniture temporarily in them.

As far as I can tell, Liam Kenny took over the premises in 1963 and it was known as Kenny’s thereafter.

Liam Kenny’s, 1970. Credit – Dublin City Photographic Collection.

In the mid 1980s, a large area of Patrick Street and Dean Street was taken over and demolished by the Council using compulsory order. Patrick Street was to be widened and lands to the west of Patrick Street to be used for housing and development purposes. After years of stalled building work and planning objections, the seven-story apartment block ‘Dean Court’, comprised of 200 apartments in eight separate blocks, was put on the market in 1994.

The shop front where Kenny’s once stood was a Chartbusters video rental shop and is currently a 99c discount newsagent.

Where Kenny’s once stood. Corner of Dean Street and Patrick Street. Credit – myhome.ie

2. Quinn’s on the corner of 50 Patrick Street and 31/31A Upper Kevin Street. Status – Demolished, replaced by pub (now closed) and apartments.

P. Kenna, Tea Wine & Spirit Merchant 50 Patrick Street Dublin. c. 1900. Credit – @OldDublinTown

This pub was previously known as P. Kenna’s (see above), Kiernan’s (c. mid 1900s – 1920s), Cahill’s (1930s), Brannigan’s (mid 1940s) and Hamilton’s (late 1940s).

An advertisement for the sale of Cahill’s. Credit – Irish Independent – 28 April 1945.

It was taken over by John Quinn and his brother James around 1950.

Quinns, c. 1970s. Credit – Noel Moran (‘Growing up in the Liberties’ FB page)

In December 1952, Thomas Lane (21) from Oliver Bond House was charged with breaking into the pub, stealing liquor and then assaulting a Garda. He was sentenced to two months in jail.

In the late 1950s, the Unemployed Protest Committee used 50 Patrick Street as the contact address for their organisation.

It was reported in the Irish Press on 9 November 1960 that four young men were charged with assaulting publican John Quinn and his brother James on the night of 23 September. They also smashed a plate glass window. The four individuals, all from Crumlin, were William Travers (21), 306 Cashel Road; William Doran (22), 38 Durrow Road; William Kinselle (22), 39 Durrow Road and Henry Hickey (18), 27 Windmill Park. The trouble started when the men tried to bring their bottles and glasses downstairs from the lounge. When Quinn tried to stop them, he was set upon by the group.

Quinns, 1976. Credit – Dublin City Photographic Collection.

John Quinn passed away in April 1965.

Quinns, c. early 1980s. Credit – @OldDublinTown.

The pub was later known as TPs before finally being taken over by Patrick Nash.

At some stage, the building was knocked down and a one-story Nash’s replaced it. I’ve heard from two reliable, separate sources that in ‘Dublin wit’ you could finish a relationship by telling your boy/girlfriend that “you’d meet them upstairs at Nash’s”. As the story goes, the jilted lover would turn up to the one-story pub and realise the game was up.

The premises was demolished and replaced by a modern bar (retaining the name Nash’s) with apartments upstairs.

Pat Stacey reviewing the pub in the Irish Independent (10 July 2001) described its decor as “simple and comforting  – a mixture of stone walls and wood furniture”. The clientele was made up of “a bedrock of locals, drawn from the four corners of the junction … (and) a light sprinkling of passers-by and tourists”.

This current reincarnation of Nash’s closed down a couple of years ago and the premises is still empty.

Nash’s, 2010. Credit – morrisseys.ie.

3. O’Beirne’s on the corner of 30 Upper Kevin Street and 1 New Street. Status – Demolished to make way for road widening.

At the turn of the 20th century, the pub was owned by Alderman John Davin. From 1905 to 1935, it was known as the The Premier House and ran by Daniel Lynch. Following a brief period when it was under the direction of Christopher Casey, the pub was managed by Francis Moran from the late 1930s until 1947.

Morans pub. Credit – Irish Independent, 8 March 1947.

In 1947, Desmond ‘Dessie’ O’Beirne from Sandymount, Dublin 4 bought the premises for £8,000.

O’Beirnes, c. 1970s. Credit – Dublin City Photographic Collection

The pub was demolished circa 1980 along with many parts of Upper Kevin Street/New Street to make way for road widening and the new cross-roads.

O’Beirnes. Screengrab from ‘Dublin: a Personal View’ (RTE, 1979).

4. Lowe’s at the corner of 7 Dean Street and 57-72 (?) New Street. Status – Demolished and replaced by apartments.

Lowe’s, 1968. Credit – Dublin City Photographic Collection.

Previous owners of this pub included James Vaughan (1897 – 1917), James Madigan (1917-1923) and Joseph Dunne (1924 – 1955).

It was taken over by William Lowe in the mid 1950s.

Lowes, 1976. Credit – Dublin City Photographic Collection.

The pub closed in 1989.

Lowe’s. Screengrab from ‘Dublin: a Personal View’ (RTE, 1979).

Other houses on Dean Street, one of the city’s smallest streets, remain standing. The view today:

Corner of New Street and Dean Street, 2014. Credit – Sam (CHTM!)

Conclusion:

Journalist Frank McDonald lamenting the destruction in the area wrote in The Irish Times (13 November 1979):

Patrick Street will soon become a major highway as soon as all the buildings opposite St. Patrick’s Cathedral are knocked down. The corner of Patrick Street, Kevin Street and New Street will be transformed into a major traffic interchange, although the gents’ toilets, surround by oak trees, is to be preserved because of it’s “outstanding civic design character”. But there’s doubts that it will look somewhat incongruous in its new surrounding.

Architect Robert McCauley’s drawings for the cross-roads after Dublin Corporation’s major development plans. Credit – Irish Times (5 June 1986).

He further noted in the same newspaper (13 May 1985) that the corporation’s work in the mid 1980s had completely devastated Patrick Street:

…with the street left pock-marked for years by derelict sites, scrapyards and half-demolished buildings. But for the Iveagh Trust flats, St. Patrick’s Park and the cathedral, Patrick Street would have been lost. Three local pubs which have long served as neighbourhood centres will go, never to be replaced. New Street and Clanbrassil Street will lose a total of five pubs.

While the Liberties is still a thriving, bustling and exciting neighborhood, the development of this particular cross-roads and the related destruction obviously had a huge negative impact on the area’s community spirit. With four pubs demolished and a dual-carriageway cutting through one heart of the Liberties, the destruction turned a community intersection of pubs, shops and life into a soulless traffic junction.

[Thanks to John Fisher, Seán Carabin and Brendan Martin for additional information].

The New Versions: Bibby, Moylett, Kiang & Byrne in 1978. Credit – Irishrock.org

Thirty-three years after its release, a rare and essential Dublin New Wave single has finally made it online. The New Version’s ‘Like Gordon of Khartoum’ was released by Mulligan Records in 1981. It has somehow evaded a digital airing until now. Thanks to the uploader.

Personnel

The New Versions (1978-82) were:

- Ingmar Kiang (aka Iggy Kiang) on Vocals and Guitar
– Johnny Byrne (1956-97) on Bass
– Regine Moylett on Keyboards
– Paul Bibby on Drums

Ingmar Kiang, son of Chinese-born Irish astronomer Professor Tao Kiang, was a Trinity College student when he co-launched “Dublin’s first mobile Punk Rock disco” in early 1978 with his pal Mark Ryan who worked in a “Grafton Street hamburger restaurant”. Presumably the recently enough opened McDonalds or Captain Americas?

Ryan & Kiang. Credit – The Sunday Independent (8 January 1978)

Fed up with 70s disco music, the pair launched a DJ night called Snots in TCD’s New Library offering Punk/New Wave and 1950s Rock n Roll. They told the Sunday Independent (8 January 1978):

We’re in it for the fun, we don’t charge in … We toyed first with calling our disco Scabies until a girl friend of mine came up with Snots. [Our posters say] ‘Snots will be appearing under your nose’.

Regine Moylett with her sister Susan launched their ‘New Romance’ punk/new wave clothing store in the Dandelion Market in July 1978. Their brother John (aka Johnny Fingers) found fame as keyboard player with The Boomtown Rats while another brother Pat was the original drummer with Berlin and later became their manager.

Band

Originally a trio called Sordid Details, playing their first gig supporting U2 and Revolver on 17th March 1978 in the Project Arts Centre, the band added Moylett on keyboards and changed their name to the New Versions in the summer of ’78.

During their four year careers, the band played all the main live music venues in Dublin, supported a number of touring bands and were part of one of the first New Wave tours of Ireland with fellow Dublin band Berlin.

They appeared on the definitive Irish Punk/New Wave sampler ‘Just For Kicks‘ released in 1979 with ‘Tango of Nerves’.

Hot Press journalist Shane McElhatton, now an editor with RTE’s Morning Ireland, reviewed the band’s headlining gig in The Magnet in April 1979:

I came to the gig ready to slag the Versions right off the stage. A so so track on the “Kicks” LP, and a godawful “Our Times” video were my only previous experiences of the band. However, I left all my preconceptions and prejudices (“No Romance” and Boomtown Bigtime connections etc.) in a plastic bag outside. Objectivity prevailed … Imagine a big, fat fairground organ sound tacked on to a melodic ’77 thrash, and you’ve got the New Versions.

Regine Moylett looks like a cross between the wicked witch and a music teacher. She sits at the keyboards, pumps out the colours, the textures that flesh out the rest of the sound. Guitarist Iggy Kiang (somebody read this man the 2nd commandment) pale, gangling, with a self inflicted haircut, wraps himself round his guitar looking incredibly like George Harrison circa 1960. He strikes the right poses, plays the right guitar (Fender telecaster original!!) from which he gets the right sound – raw, dirty, and very loud. Bassist Ivor – plays bass, and looks grim. Drummer Bibby – plays drums, and adds effective backing vocals. Covers include Glen Miller’s “In The Mood” and Talking Heads’ “ Psycho Killer”, which they play without sounding like Talking Heads.

The Versions are by no means a great band, and probably never will be. They do make, however, an entertaining rock ‘n’ roll noise. The songs start to run into each other as the set progresses, the result of a lamentable lack of pace and variation. The need; (a) a lead singer (Kiang cannot sing). (b) a lot more texture on guitar. Moylett’s keyboards do too much of the work in that area. (c) Some manners.

Declan Lynch, Sunday Independent columnist  and author of several books, reviewed the band for Hot Press supporting Salford punk poet John Cooper Clarke in the Project Arts Centre in March 1979:

That the majority of today’s Irish bands are outstandingingly mediocre – much worse than boring – is one of the more disquieting features of a trip downtown on a Monday morning. That the “New Versions” are certainly an exception (the exception?) was made plain by their support set Bob Dylan – Cooper – the first time I’d seen them. A certain Ms. Moylett, of a well known musical, political family, plays the most simplistically charming, and endearingly poppy keyboards I have ever witnessed – such a change from the “musicians” with an abundance of facial hair, who should have turned in their piano lessons at grade 3 instead of trying for that Royal Irish Academy scholarship. Vocally they are weak, and percussively, (?) they need a new one, but, without being effusively laudatory, they cut it better than 92% (to quote Berlin – average age 58) of other Irish bands. They deserve your immediate and undivided attention.

New Versions, The Threat and others in the Dandelion Market – December 1979. Credit – u2theearlydayz.com

The late great Bill Graham wrote the following in Hot Press in May 1979 after the band supported The Blades in the Baggot Inn:

For the New Versions, it wasn’t such a happy Sunday afternoon. Granted that their supporters claimed they could do better and a claque of antagonistic Blades fans obviously disturbed and distracted them so the set may have suffered from lack of conviction, but the New Versions’s design could still do with some revision. Overly Stranglerish in their construction, the New Versions’ problems come down to the lack of colour and versatility in their arrangements. Johnny Byrne’s pulsating bass is the backbone of the band but alongside him both Regine Moylett and Paul Bibby could contribute more.

Certainly Ig sounds to have the capacity to add more than just well scrubbed rhythm guitar while as a neophyte keyboards player (no shame that), Regine Moylett might opt more for sound and effect. With a name like theirs, more novelty is expected form the New Versions than was on offer here.

Ferdia MacAnna (aka Rocky DeValera) was much more favourable in Hot Press June 1979 after seeing the band in McGonagle’s with Free Booze:

It’s a strange thing these days to see a young band as politically aware and as musically capable as they are. However they’re at a very early stage of their development and a lot more work needs to be done before their true potential is realised – but they’re heading in the right direction, that’s for sure.
On Monday night in McGonagle’s they managed to overcome some bad sound problems to play a tight, well organized set. At first they sound like a really fine new wave danceband but when you stand back and listen to them, there’s more to it than that. They’re not content to write songs which appeal just to the feet, (though that’s important): the attitude which comes across in original songs like “Orrors From Above”, “Tango Of Nerve” and “Brenda Spencer” is that there’s more to the whole thing than just bland acceptance – even bland acceptance of the new wave. It’s a stance which could easily backfire on them – and at times it nearly does – but, in the end, they win through despite the odds.
If they have a real problem, it’s with their sound. Regine Moylett’s keyboards playing is subtle and delightful – when she can be heard. On Monday she came through only at the end, which was a pity – because when she does she adds a whole dimension to the textures of the music. Her playing is very individual as is Iggy Kiang’s guitar work these two together giving the Versions songs a particularly melodic flavour. Johnny Byrne on bass (and excellent lead vocals) and Paul Bibby on drums, make up a fine rolling rhythm section. If the New Versions stay together, sort out their sound problems and continue to develop along the lines they’ve already charted, they could well become the most important band in the country within the next year.

In 1982, the band appeared on the RTE language show ‘SBB ina Shuí’ miming ‘Around The Corner’ (video below) and ‘The Only Cure’.

They split soon afterwards.

Single

‘Like Gordon of Khartoum’ was the band’s first and only single. It was released by Mulligan Records who had been the home of other great contemporary Dublin New Wave acts like The Boomtown Rats, The Vipers, The Radiators and The Atrix. The single was produced by record label founder Donal Lunny.

7″ inch single cover. Credit – bigtom (45cat.com)

The unusual title ‘Gordon of Khartoum’ refers to Charles George Gordon, a British Army officer killed in 1885 in Khartoum, Sudan. After a ten month siege of the city, the British were defeated by the forces of Muslim religious leader Muhammad Ahmad.

Henry McGlade in the Connaught Telegraph (17 June 1981) wrote that the single “features a blend rarely found on Irish releases – lively sound, good production and an intelligent lyrics”.

While Con Downing in the Southern Star (20 June 1981) was less enthusiastic:

this record comes in an eye-catching colour sleeve and a copy of the hand-written lyrics … but the attractive packaging is not enough to compensate for the lack of drive and edge which this record could have.

I think it’s catchy enough and stands up well when comparing the record to what their peers were releasing in the same period.

7″ single back cover. Credit – bigtom (45cat.com)

Postscript:

After the New Versions broke up in 1982, Ingmar Kiang and Johnny Byrne collaborated with Mannix Flynn in The Corporation and later formed Max with Marian Woods and Conor Kelly. Working for Island Records and others in the 1980s and 1990s, Kiang produced work for U2, Ronny Jordan, Aswad, Courtney Pine and also re-mixed a series of Bob Marley songs. An early manager of Damien Dempsey, he produced his albums ‘They Don’t Teach This Shit in School’ (2000) and the single ‘Hold Me’ (2005). Today, Kiang is a freelance journalist for The Sunday Times, Aer Lingus’ Cara magazine and a host of other publications.

From dabbling with the sound desk while playing with The New Versions, Johnny Byrne discovered his true calling and soon put down his bass to take over chores behind the mixing console. He worked at the Keystone and Windmill Lane studios in Dublin with artists like U2, the Chieftains, Christy Moore, the Boomtown Rats, Thin Lizzy, Paul Brady, the Radiators from Space and Rory Gallagher. He  moved to New York City in 1985, where he worked as a live sound engineer while producing and recording acts that included Black 47, Eileen Ivers, Pat Kilbride, Rogue’s March and the Rascals.

In August 1997, Byrne fell from the fire escape of his East Village apartment. He was rushed to hospital with two broken legs and serious head injuries. After laying on life support for three weeks, he passed away in the Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. He was 39. Larry Kirwan of Black 47 called him the ‘the kindest, gentlest and most generous member of the Black 47 family’. Philip Chevron echoed others by saying: Even at a distance, Johnny was the most supportive and closest of friends He really taught me a lot about friendship, miles never seemed to matter.’

Regine Moylett moved to London after the band’s break up. She started writing gig reviews for NME before joining Island Records’ press office and working with Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Since 1985, she has been U2’s press agent and publicity director.

Drummer Paul Bibby later played with Some Kind Of Wonderful and the Soulmates. Based in England, he is currently works as a Sales Director in the Media industry.

For a full and updated list of Dublin Punk & New Wave singles released from 1977 to 1983, check out our previous post here.

An application has been submitted to Dublin City Council to build a 400-bed student residence on an empty 2.5 acre site in Mill Street (formerly Tanner’s Alley) in the historic South Inner city area of The Liberties, Dublin 8.

The €41m scheme will provide new retail, restaurant and office space for local businesses, an extensive landscaping to Mill Street and Warrenmount Lane and the opening up of a section of the mainly underground Poddle stream for public access.

Map of area. Credit – Irish Independent (03/10/2014)

Historians, conservators and Dubliners alike will be pleased to hear that the planned project will also see the complete refurbishment of a dilapidated 18th century townhouse at no. 10 Mill Street.

Shaffrey Architects in a 2005 report titled ‘St. Luke’s Conservation Plan‘ for Dublin City Council (DCC) described no. 10 as “perhaps the sole survivor in the area of the gable-fronted house type” while the DCC noted in a 2009 report that it “appears to be the last extant double gabled Dutch Billy” in the city.

The same report pulled no punches:

Number 10 Mill Street is extremely important to the entire city both architecturally and historically and it is a failure on the part of the City’s PSR system and on the part of the public authority who owned the building for so many years that it has been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent.

The location and entrance to the house is marked by the letter ‘A’ in ‘QUAY’ in this late 19th century map.

Map of the area in the 1890s.

Area history

Following Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in the mid-sixteenth century, the area’s lands were acquired by William Brabazon, ancestor of the Earls of Meath, and became known as the ‘Meath Liberties’. French Huguenots, fleeing religious persecution,  settled in the Newmarket and Weavers’ Square area from the late seventeenth century, where they contributed substantially to the development of the textile industry. Around 1700 there were seven Hugenot families living in Mill Street including one called Disney, ancestors of the American cartoonist Walt Disney.

The immediate area known as the Blackpitts, the name of which probably derives from the large black vats used for curing hides by the tanners and skinners, became the hub of the tannery and leather trade in the city. Tanning, for those who don’t know, was the act of converting animal skin into leather by soaking in a liquid containing tannic acid.

No. 10, sometimes referred to as Mill Street House, was built in the 1720s by the Brabazon family, Earls of Meath.

An etching of 10 Mill Street published in The Irish Builder (1871). Credit – Clanbrassil Street 2, Sean Lynch.

Christine Casey, senior lecturer in architectural history in Trinity College, has described the house as:

Tall and relatively narrow, of 5 bays and 3 rendered storeys over basement, with a gabled brick porch and brick top floor with a gabled centrepiece. Originally it had a pair of curvilinear  [curved line] gables, flush sash windows and an attenuated [thin] Corinthian doorcase crowned by a vigorous swan-necked pediment … The rooms were wainscoted [lined with wooden paneling] and the stair had three fluted and twisted balusters [decorative pillar] per thread, Corinthian newels [central supporting pillar of a spiral staircase] and a richly carved apron to the landing.

An old image of no. 10 Mill Street. Credit – Archiseek

After nearly a hundred years in the possession of the Earls of Meath, the house was procured by the Christian Brothers who opened a school there catering for 500 boys in 1818. This was the second school that the Brothers opened.

In the 1850s, the building began a new life as the Mill Street Ragged School which was founded by Daniel Molloy. Ragged Schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children.

10 Mill St, nd. Credit – Patrick Healy Collection (South Dublin Libraries)

At the end of the 19th century, it was remodeled by architect GP Beater as a Methodist Mission and school. The roof and gables were removed and replaced by a hipped roof and the house was given a Gothic-Revival-type makeover.

Old drawing of 10 Mill Street. Uploaded onto Archiseek by Anonymous.

In the 1901 census, a cabinet maker John Gibson and his wife Lilla lived in the house along with five elderly female Protestants who were unmarried or widowed. Their occupations were all listed as ‘Widows House –  No Business’.

At the front of the house, ‘A & J 1913′, is carved on a blank wall in ornate fashion. Historian Maurice Curtis suggests that this might refer to A & J Clothing.

No. 10 Mill Street was used as a residential house in the 1960s and 1970s. Jean Kelly Carberry wrote on great ‘Growing up in the Liberties’ Facebook page:

I lived in Mill St (No. 10) from ’68 till ’71. It was a fine house. Grand entrance. Fab staircases. The main room on first floor was like a church with a pulpit. There was a very big garden in the rear. And if you climbed the wall you were in the Blackpitts. Where the convent is. It had a beautiful front hall door which I have seen in many books about Dublin. Bang Bang lived across from us on the left facing up to Newmarket.

In the 1970s, it was used used as a storage facility by the Leyland and Birmingham Rubber Company  which manufactured golf balls, Wellington boots and other rubber products.

The Department of Posts and Telegraphs bought the building in 1981 as part of a parcel of property adjoining a telex exchange. They had no plans for the building and neglect led to the house being broken into and vandalised several times in 1982. Windows were broken, the fireplace and lead flashing from the roof stolen and the bannisters from the staircase stripped.

An undated image of the interior staircase of no. 10 Mill Street before it was vandalised. Credit – Clanbrassil Street 2, Sean Lynch

Amidst much protest, the Department bricked up the windows and door of the house in April 1983. Many felt that this was a short-term solution to a long-term problem and the Liberties Association made repeated demands that the historic house should be restored and turned into a community centre or museum.

Here is an image of the house showing it already in a state of disrepair. Note the graffiti on the left hand side, suggesting this photograph was taken sometime in the early or middle part of the 20th century.

10 Mill Street. Uploaded onto Facebook by Willie King.

The house pictured last year with blocked up windows and door. An ugly sight and a wasted opportunity.

10 Mill Street in 2013. Credit – ‘pegasus’ (Dublinforums)

But the good news is that the house will finally be restored. Scaffolding has been erected and work has already begun.

Side view of the house. Picture taken 3 November 2014. Credit – Sam (CHTM!)

A planning permission notice on the site details the significant refurbishment work which will take place.

Part of the planning permission notice. Credit – Sam (2014)

Let’s hope the ambitious project, particularly the refurbishment of Number 10 Mill Street, is a success and coalesces well with the local established community. I’ll keep people up to date with developments.

The view of the top of 10 Mill Street coming from the direction of Oscar’s Square. Credit – Sam (CHTM!)

With Christmas just around the corner, we look at some of the best Irish and Dublin history books published this year.  Apologises about the short reviews but I wanted to ensure this list was out before Christmas. I plan to expand on these descriptions over the holiday period when I’m off work and have more time on my hands.

Top picks:

Captain Jack White: Imperialism, Anarchism, and the Irish Citizen Army – Leo Keohane (Irish Academic Press, 2014)
288 pages. €20 RRP.

The first proper biography of a fascinating Irish historical figure – Boer war hero, protestant Home Ruler, socialist convert, first Commandant of the Irish Citizen Army, Republican Congress activist in the early 1930s (during which he was physically attacked by both the IRA and the fascist Blueshirts) and finally, an anti-Fascist medic in Republican Spain during the Civil War.

Described accurately as “one of the few notable figures in Ireland to declare himself an anarchist”, author Leo Keohane introduces the reader to the theory of Anarchism in a honest and impartial manner. A rare feat.

Reviews from the Irish Story and An Phoblacht.

Captain Jack White: Imperialism, Anarchism, and the Irish Citizen Army – Leo Keohane

Modern Dublin, Urban Change and the Irish Past, 1957-1973 – Erika Hanna (Oxford University Press, 2013)
240 pages. €75 RRP.

The price (due to its limited print run and academic audience) will unfortunately be a barrier to most but this is a fantastic book which will be of interest to anyone with an interest in modern Dublin history.

Most importantly the book analysises the political and social differences and similarities between the work of the middle-class Irish Georgian Society, dedicated to saving Dublin’s Anglo-Irish architecture from destruction, and the activist-led Dublin Housing Action Committee (DHAC) whose short but explosive existence saw an inspirational campaign of squatting and an attempt to build links with the civil rights struggle in the North.

Reviews from the Irish Arts Review and the Dublin Review of Books.

Modern Dublin, Urban Change and the Irish Past, 1957-1973 – Erika Hanna

Secret Dublin : An Unusual Guide – Pól Ó Conghaile (Jonglez Publishing, 2013)
256 pages. €18 RRP.

A perfect guide for both local and visitor. Well-produced and accessible. Personal highlights Blessington Street Basin, the Hungry Tree in Kings Inn, the chapter house in St. Mary’s Abbey, bullet holes in the Daniel O’Connell monument, the City Hall murals, St. Kevin’s Park, Freemason’s Hall, animal carvings on the old Kildare Street Club, Challoner’s Corner cemetery in Trinity College, the Coombe Monument and the Jewish Cemetery.

Secret Dublin : An Unusual Guide – Pól Ó Conghaile

The Legendary ‘Lugs Branigan’ – Ireland’s Most Famed Garda: How One Man became Dublin’s Tough Justice Legend – Kevin C. Kearns (Gill & Macmillan, 2014)
384 pages. €25 RRP.

One of the most interesting history books that I’ve read for sometime. I finished it in a couple of sittings. A policeman on the beat in South Inner City from 1931 to 1973, boxing champion Lugs went head to head against the Animal Gangs (1930s/40s), Teddy Boys (1950s), skinheads and football hooligans (1960s/1970s) and any innocents unlucky enough to get in his way. A fantastic social history of the capital.

Review from the Irish Independent.

The Legendary ‘Lugs Branigan’ – Ireland’s Most Famed Garda: How One Man became Dublin’s Tough Justice Legend – Kevin C. Kearns

The Pillar: The Life and Afterlife of the Nelson Pillar – Donal Fallon (New Island, 2014)
154 pages. €15 RRP.

The most comprehensive account published on Dublin’s most iconic piece of street architecture. A real gem of a book. Written by Donal of this parish.

Review from the Dublin Review of Books.

The Pillar: The Life and Afterlife of the Nelson Pillar – Donal Fallon

Plus:

D’you Remember Yer Man?: A Portrait of Dublin’s Famous Characters – Bobby Aherne (New Island, 2014)
160 pages. €8 RRP.

A nice stocking-filler featuring all of Dublin’s most famous street characters (Bang Bang, Billy in the Bowl, Hairy Lemon, Zozimus etc.) as well as some living legends (Aidan Kavanagh, Pat Ingoldsby etc.) and some memorable 20th century personalities  (The Diceman, Hector Gray, Joe Edelstein, Matt the Japp and Ubi Dwyer). A book to dip in and out of.

D’you Remember Yer Man?: A Portrait of Dublin’s Famous Characters – Bobby Aherne

Dublin: The Making of a Capital City – Dr. David Dickson (Profile Books, 2014)
720 pages. €38 RRP.

A heavy-weight scholarly volume on the history of Dublin city. A present for the scholar or serious enthusiast. Still haven’t got around to starting it yet.
Reviews from the Telegraph and the Dublin Review of Books.

Dublin: The Making of a Capital City – Dr. David Dickson

Ghost Signs of Dublin – Antonia Hart (History Press, 2014)
144 pages. €18 RRP.

A wonderfully produced photo-book focusing on Dublin’s old advertising signage. Editor Antonia Hart has chosen an eclectic mix of well-known businesses (Bewley’s coffee, Elvery’s sports shop, Jacob’s biscuits), pubs (The Bailey, Bowe’s, Hartigan’s, The Stags Head, The Parnell Mooney) and smaller, nearly-forgotten firms. It’s encouraging to read that the signs for Finn’s Hotel and Lennox Chemicals on South Leinster Street beside Trinity College are being preserved by the building’s owners.

Ghost Signs of Dublin – Antonia Hart

From Clery’s Clock to Wanderly Wagon: Irish History You Weren’t Taught at School – Damien Corless (Collins Press, 2014)
224 pages. €13 RRP.

The perfect present trivia and quiz loving member of your your family. A collection of 101 objects – not least the Jack Charlton Mug, the Pioneer Pin, the MGM lion and Mister Tayto – offering a surreal insight into Ireland’s history.

From Clery’s Clock to Wanderly Wagon: Irish History You Weren’t Taught at School – Damien Corless

Hidden City: Adventures and Explorations in Dublin – Karl Whitney (Penguin, 2014)
272 pages. €20 RRP.

A delightful journey around Dublin, taking in its sewers, underground rivers, ghost estates, odd bus routes and sprawling suburb estates. The chapter on the suburb of Tyrrelstown, 13 km northwest of the city of Dublin, and the 2010 murder of Nigerian teenager Toyosi Shittabey was particularly poignant.

Review from the Guardian and the Irish Times.

Hidden City : Adventures and Explorations in Dublin – Karl Whitney

Irish Citizen Army – Ann Matthews (Mercier Press, 2014)
256 pages. €15 RRP.

A comprehensive but relatively brief insight into the history of the Irish Citizen Army. Ann Matthews analyses its origins in the 1913 lockout, its role in the run up to the Rising, the main event, re-organisation in the 1917-18 period, the part the army played in the Civil War, its demise in the 1930s and attempts by the Old ICA Comrades’ Association to keep the organisation’s memory alive until the mid 1940s.

Irish Citizen Army – Ann Matthews

Stones of Dublin: A History of Dublin in Ten Buildings – Lisa Marie Griffith (Collins Press, 2014)
192 pages. €18 RRP.

A well-written and important contribution to the history of the city. Historian and walking tour guide Lisa Maria Griffith looks at the ten of Dublin’s most historic buildings – Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Trinity College Dublin, the Old Parliament House (Bank of Ireland), City Hall, Kilmainham Gaol, St James’ Gate Brewery, the GPO, the Abbey and Croke Park.

Stones of Dublin: A History of Dublin in Ten Buildings – Lisa Marie Griffith

Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland, 1890-1923 – R. F. Foster (Penguin, 2014)
496 pages. €25 RRP.

I’ve only just started this book but so far it’s been brilliant. A “multilayered account of that turbulent time”, Foster explores the worlds of Irish republican students, actors, writers and civil servants “often from comfortable backgrounds and often spending part of their lives working in Britain”.

Reviews from the Irish Times and the Guardian.

Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland, 1890-1923 – R. F. Foster

Vera Breslin (née Shortall), a great-grandmother and sixth generation street seller of fish in Dun Laoghaire, has passed away. Her death marks the end of an era leaving few, if any, old-style Dublin street hawkers left in the coastal town. Hundreds of people have taken to Facebook to share their memory of Vera, who died in her early 80s in Blackrock Hospice.

Vera at her stall. Photo credit : Michael Merrigan/Andrew Gerard Ball.

A family steeped in fishing and martime history, the 1901 census shows her fisherman father Richard and mother Ellen Shortall living at 15.3 Lower George’s Street with their three sons and three daughters. Ten years later, the family had moved to nearby 5.5 Clarence Street with son Henry joining in his father’s footsteps. Richard and Ellen raised a total of five sons and nine daughters.

Born at 11 Clarence Street in circa 1931, Vera began her working life at the age of seven helping her father cast nets for herring and accompanying her mother selling fish door-to-door.

Tragedy struck the family in December 1934 when her two older brothers, Richard (20) and Henry (19), drowned in Dublin Bay with their bodies washing up in at Sandymount Strand. A friend John Hughes (20) of 8 Bentley Villas also died in the accident. They were described in a 1988 article as “hobblers, nuggety men who went out to sea in all kinds of weather in skiffs to be the first to get their hook on arriving ships and get paid for tying them up in Dublin.”

A similar catastrophe occurred in 1916 when two local men, Harry Shortall (an uncle of Vera’s) and his friend “Rover” Ward, were lost at sea while hobbling.

For well over seventy years, Vera sold fresh fish on the streets of Dun Laoghaire. She started on Upper George’s Street but after the trams were discontinued she moved to Convent Road where she was based from the 1940s until very recently.

Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning, Vera pushed her pram from her home in Bentley Villas to her pitch on Convent Road. It was said that you could set your watch by her and locals valued her as the best source for local news and gossip.

Throughout the 1980s, a weekly Friday customer was the Italian Ambassador to Ireland who would pull up in a chauffer driver car to purchase fresh fish for his traditional fish-on-Friday meal.

A 2000 Irish Times piece described Vera’s typical working day:

6am … Vera’s husband Paddy, a retired dock worker, cooks breakfast for the pair. Vera’s nephew then drives her to the fish auction at the Dublin Corporation wholesale market while Paddy and their sons assemble the market stall … Vera assembles her post by 9.45am. Selections vary according to market availability, but there are often less-glamorous but delicious-tasting fish such as red gurnet, mullet and ling sharing space with delicate plaice, sole, fresh and smoked ray wings and hake …

During lulls, Vera sips tea from her thermos, or sits on an overturned milk crate on the sidewalk, smoking a cigarette. Paddy brings her a hot dinner at noon. The stall closes at 6pm at which time Paddy carts away the disassembled stall to a nearby storage area, using the old pram.

Last Summer, a photo of Vera was posted on a Facebook group for current and former Dun Laogahire residents attracting hundreds of comments. As Vera was not an active Social Media user, all the comments were printed off and presented to her.

Vera with printed out Facebook comments. Picture credit – Don Mc Manus.

While her four grown up children chosen different career paths, Vera’s nephew George Rogerson of George’s Fish Shop in Dun Laoghaire is continuing the family’s proud fishmonger tradition which dates back to the 1800s.

Vera’s removal will take place on Saturday to St. Michael’s Church, Dún Laoghaire, arriving at 9.45am for 10am. Funeral Mass followed by burial will take place in Dean’s Grange Cemetery.

Sources:
Pram Women of Dublin, Ireland of the Welcomes (Jan-Feb 1988).
Elizebeth Field, Alive Alive-O: A day in the life of a fish trader, a modern-day Molly Malone, The Irish Times (17 June 2000).