The Villages Of Dublin (1987)

This charming book by Jimmy Wren was published to coincide with the general PR stunt that was the Dublin Millennium celebrations of 1988. By all accounts Dublin is significantly older than its so called 988 genesis but that year was proposed in 1986 because why the hell not that's why. Readers old enough will probably remember lots of stuff about vikings and of course the Millennium 50p coin. These coins were, according to those in the know in playgrounds during the 1990s, worth £50. The book contains a potted history of most of the villages that comprise Dublin. There are a few places notable by their absence but it does a fine job covering Abbotstown & Ashtown, Artane, Balbriggan, Baldoyle, Ballyfermot, Ballybough & Clonliffe, Ballymun, Blackrock, Blanchardstown, Cabra, Castleknock, Chapelizod, Clontarf, Clondalkin, Coolock, Crumlin, Dalkey, Donnybrook, Donnycarney, Drumcondra, Dun Laoghaire, Finglas, Glasnevin, Howth, Inchicore & Kilmainham, Killester, Lucan, Marino, Malahide, Monkstown, Portmarnock, Raheny, Ranelagh, Rathfarnham, Rathgar, Rathmines, Ringsend & Irishtown, Rush, Santry, Sandymount, Stoneybatter, Swords, and Tallaght. What makes this book really shine to my mind are the wonderful Ripley's Believe It Or Not-esque illustrated histories of the towns and villages. I don't own a scanner so I took photos of a few pages, excuse the quality. If you'd like to purchase a copy of the book you can get it here.

St. Patrick's Day Parade, New York City (1874)

St. Patrick's Day Parade, New York City (1874)

Postcards of Ireland (1890s - 1960s)

Here's another selection of vintage postcards I found, mainly on ebay, of various parts of Ireland from around the turn of 20th century up until the late 1960s. I don't have an exact year for most of them unfortunately. Some of them do a good job of selling the places they depict. Others, not so much.

 High Street, Belfast, 1908.

 Carndonagh, Co. Donegal, 1960s.

 Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim looking rivetting in the 1960s.

 Dominic Street, Mullingar in what looks like the 1950s.

 Knock, Co. Mayo, 1960s.

 Larne, Co. Antrim, looking as beautiful as ever, early 1900s.

Puck Fair, Kilorglin, Co. Kerry, 1960s.

 Queen's Bridge, Belfast, late 19th C. or early 1900s.

 St. Patrick's Bridge, Cork, late 19th C. or early 1900s.

 Ballybunion, Co. Kerry, looking like an essential place to visit, 1960s.

 Black Cave Tunnel, Co. Antrim, 1890s. Here it is in another era.

 Dublin's Four Courts, 1960s.

 Gap Of Dunloe, Co. Kerry, 1960s.

 Killybegs, Co Donegal, 1960s.

 Strawberry Beds, Co. Dublin, c.1910.

Westmoreland Street, Dublin, late 19th C. or early 1900s.

Views of Dublin (1753-1859)

Since everyone seems to be digging the images of Dublin I've unearthed (to continue a pun) I've decided to post some more. This time it's different in that these images predate photography for the most part. Only one of the depictions of Dublin below was painted in the era of the photograph.

A view of College Green, Dublin (1807) by James Roberts. The NLI has a brighter version of this image.

Southside of the Liffey facing the Fourt Courts (1807) by Thomas Roberts. Note the ruined bridge. This image may be based upon an older painting.

View of the City of Dublin. The Bay, Mountains & The Royal Canal and Foster Aqueduct (1813) by JC Oben. This is the one that had me scratching my head a bit. You may know the area depicted as Constitution Hill. The famous Hendrons building would be somewhere just behind the cottages to the left. The Foster Aqueduct that brought the Royal Canal all the way to Broadstone was only removed sometime in the mid-20th Century.

College Green Dublin by Joseph Tudor (c.1753).Here's a bit of an oddity for modern eyes to feast upon.  This is the oldest image in this post. This seems to be a coloured more modern reproduction of Tudor's original. Can someone tell me this, is this an accurate depiction of the area at the time or is the grass a fanciful latterday affectation?

Donnybrook Fair (1859) by Erkine Nichol is the newest rendition of Dublin in the post and the only one that actually dates from the era of the photograph. Nichol, a Scottish painter, created many depictions of the Irish peasantry at the time. I may do a dedicated post on Nichol another time as he's an interesting artist.

 Dublin from Phoenix Park, I think, 1790. I can't find an artist for this one.

 Dublin Bay, from somewhere around Clontarf I imagine (1796) by John Laporte.

 A View In The Bay Of Dublin (1785) by Francis Wheatley.

Dublin Bay, from Stillorgan Road (1799) by Francis Jukes. Prominently displaying Howth and Ireland's Eye in the background to the left.

Bohemian Bar, Phibsboro (1906)

Here's a rather elegant looking advertisement for The Bohemian Bar in Dublin from the year 1906. It was printed in The Lepracaun Cartoon Monthly. Situated a short stroll from the Bohemians' then relatively new home ground of Dalymount Park, I can only assume it took its name to cash in on the Bohs supporters regularly congregating in the area. The moustachioed footballer depicted in the advertisement backs up that assumption.

Here is the same pub in more recent times, barely changed in over one hundred years, now however bearing the name McGeough instead of Doyle. To visit it in these times, I'm sad to say, you can no longer take a tram. However, there are regular buses. To this day the crossroads is known as Doyle's Corner but there's another bar on the opposite side of the street that to this day is named John Doyle's. I always assumed the corner was named for the latter bar but now I'm not so sure.