This is an unusual snap of a long demolished structure on O’Connell Street.
The photo was described, when uploaded onto Facebook, as showing a taxi shelter but I’m not so sure. If you look carefully, you can see the words ‘Coffee Booth’ on the window. Judging that it dates from the early half of the 20th century, I’m surprised that both coffee and coffee kiosks were in operation that far back.
Update: I think we were both right. The structure is a “coffee booth” used by the taximen whose rank was beside it. In his Dublin Diary, Stanisluas Joyce, James’ brother, describes on page 61 that he ‘like(s) the City at night, wide O’Connell Street (I have O’Connell blood in me and an O’Connell face. … nimbling quietly along, the horse walking, without noise but for an occasional shout of laughter from the cabman’s coffee booth”
If there was any doubt that this wasn’t Dublin, those bollards on the left can be seen as certain proof.
Bewleys coffee shops were going from the 1840’s so presumably coffee kiosks were possible. The writing on the side of the booth doesn’t look like an advertisement.
There looks to be a very distinct lamp post in the middle lower right side of the photo. The one in the photo (if it’s the same one) was part of a set powered from the Fleet street generating station. The filament used was carbon-arc which was changed in 1938 so the photo was most likely taken after 1892 and before 1938.
It looks like this lamp post (second from left in the link)
It might be also be worth a trip up to the Castle to try dating the uniform of the copper in the photo.
The Garda Museum & Archives
The Records Tower, Dublin Castle, Dublin
016 669998
Coffee was popular in Dublin well before then and coffee houses were an integral part of the Dublin print and publishing scenes.
Check out the Askaboutireland page here: http://bit.ly/fw91Av Written by Maire Kennedy, Dublin City Archivist, it gives a decent potted history of the connecions.
Mary Paul Pollard, late but well remembered and regarded Rare Books librarian and historian compiled a “A dictionary of members of the Dublin book trade, 1550-1800”. You can see an entry for printer and coffee house keeper John Roe here: http://bit.ly/ie3l4M
You’ll be pleased to know that seditious ideas and literature were also discussed, probably because coffee houses gave people free access to newspapers from home and abroad.
Maire Kennedy also has a piece published in the Dublin Historical Record which states that “Coffee houses acted as centres …. to discuss politics and more seditious matters.” . You can see the Jstor entry for the article here (http://www.jstor.org/pss/30101540), it is also available in the Central Library and the Gilbert Library (upstairs in Pearse St. Library)
Finally Andrew Flod has written about the 1798 Rebellion and quotes the Police Chief of Athlone in the years preceeding the Rebellion lamenting that “The government reacted to mass literacy and the printing of ‘dangerous ideas’ by attempting to tax litreature out of the hands of ordinary people. Although this had an effect on circulation it also meant that people would gather in pubs and coffee shops to read a copy of the paper there and that it would be passed from hand to hand. It is estimated that between 20 and 50 people read each copy of the Northern Star.” More fitting for this blog Flood adds a comment from a Loyalist writer in 1794 who wrote that “In the coffee houses of Dublin there is that kind of conversation which in London would produce serious consequences”. see here for the 1798 piece: http://struggle.ws/andrew/1798.html
Excellent contribution Stacks. Much obliged.
Another ‘Coffee Room’ on O’Connell St, top left of photo (taken between 1890-1910)
http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/CLAR_002
And that photo is definitely of Dublin’s O’Connell Street, that is the Gresham Hotel in the background. You can see the Gresham more clearly in this photo, taken ca. 1900
http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000228775
Thanks for that Niamh!
No problem, love the blog 🙂
The photo of the woman walking on O’Connell street is taken at the junction with Parnell street. The building in the background is the bank (now closed) on the corner of Parnell Square and Parnell street not the Gresham hotel. The numbers on O’Connell street are still the same.
http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/CLAR_002
Niamh there is no street that runs at a right angle to the Gresham but there might be if the economy recovers. There might even be a park in the sky.
It’s the Gresham in the second photo I linked to, not the first with the woman & the coffee room sign.
I was just comparing the facade of it and the building next to it with the ones in the original photo in the post to make sure it was, in fact, O’Connell Street. Aside from the bollards, like 🙂
Quote: Another ‘Coffee Room’ on O’Connell St, top left of photo (taken between 1890-1910)
http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/CLAR_002
And that photo is definitely of Dublin’s O’Connell Street, that is the Gresham Hotel in the background.”
You can see the Gresham more clearly in this photo, taken ca. 1900
http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000228775”
You can’t see the Gresham “more clearly” in the second photo than the first because it’s not in the first one.
The Gresham has nothing to do with the first photo which was taken on the next block up in Sackville Street street which, in the photo is between Gregg Lane and Parnell Street.
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Some useful dating for this shot has come up in comments over on the nli flickr stream here:
The tall straight electric lights were replace sometime after 1903. The trams were electrified in 1899. The Gresham got a big GRESHAM sign at roof level before the lights were changed.
I’d guess this is before 1899-1903 somewhere.