The annual Match Programme Fair is coming up again, at St Andrews Parish Centre on Pearse Street.
It takes place on Sunday, May 30th
I only recently uncovered a box of copies of the SuperSaint programme from 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 under the bed, absolute gems. Every programme from 1999-2000 in particular opens with a 1,000 word essay from Pat Dolan on whatever was getting on his nerves that week.
For example,in Issue 13 of the campaign, Galway United at home, Dolan noted that
It is certainly not satisfactory for our youth to believe that supporting their team is about sitting in front of the TV. It is something bordering almost on fraud for RTE’s over exposed Premiership to rely on opinions of people not qualified to comment. As someone who has analysed games for TV and radio, both live in the stadium and ‘live’ in the studio in front of the telly, I can tell you that you can only truly appreciate the pattern of the game and the wider picture if you actually attend the match! How gullible as a nation have we become that we accept people pontificating about the merits of English soccer and decrying the merits of Irish soccer, who attend neither.
Indeed.
As well as a trip to Pearse Street, you could do worse than to make a trip out to the Phoenix Park for a free month long exhibition there on the history of football in the park.
“The exhibition was launched to mark the FAI taking over the lease for the football facilities in the Phoenix Park, which are known as ‘the Fifteen Acres’. The exhibition contains photographs documenting the history of football in the Fifteen Acres, beginning with the foundation of Bohemian Football Club at the Gate Lodge of the Phoenix Park on September 6th 1890 and including photographs of football clubs from the late 19th century right through to the present day”
Do both on the same day and then go home, stick the scarf on, play some Subbuteo and give Jack’s Heroes a spin.
On Wednesday, May 26 a number of traditional Italian chippers in Dublin (and the rest of the country) will be offering half price fish and chips to celebrate ‘National Fish & Chips’ day. Click here for the list of participating outlets.
That’s dinner sorted so.
There was a very interesting feature in last week’s Sunday Tribune on the history on Dublin Chippers focusing on the Toni’s in Inchicore, Rimini’s in Whitehall, Salveta’s in Blanchardstown and Borza’s in Dalkey. Also worth checking out is this piece by our mate JamesR who wrote an excellent article on Dublin’s chippers a couple of years back.
This article aims to provide a brief overview of the Pearse Street Fire of 1936. It is by no means a complete overview of events and I recommend anyone seeking more information on the incident consult ‘A Triple Tragedy in Dublin, The Pearse Street Fire, 1936’, by A.P Behan. That paper was published in the Dublin Historical Record (ISSN 0012-6861, Spring 1997). I have relied on it, and newspapers of the period, for much of the information below.
Men fight the blaze, image taken from Independent. This image was taken moments before an explosion in the premises.
Writing in the Irish Independent in the immediate aftermath of the event , Anthony Flynn wrote of the risks men in the Dublin Fire Brigade faced in the line of work.
The fireman himself thinks only of duty. That duty is clear and defined. And our Dublin firemen do not hesitate. In Pearse Street, as on countless other occasions, these men faced death. Three of them died, displaying a courage equal, if indeed, it does not transcend, that of the battlefield.
The premises of Exide Batteries, at 164 Pearse Street, had been the site of a horrific blaze on the night of Monday October 5th. Due to the proximity of Tara Street Fire Station, it took less than two minutes for the men to arrive on scene. The fire had been detected by the tenants above Exide Batteries at 10.50 p.m. In the definitive history of the Dublin Fire Brigade (The Dublin Fire Brigade: A History of the Brigade, the Fires and the Emergencies, by Trevor Whitehead and Tom Geraghty)they note that
Number 163 housed a barber’s shop at ground level and a private hotel occupying the upper floors. Number 164 had a retail shop belonging to Exide Batteries Ltd. on the front ground floor, vacant offices on the first floor and a family of seven living on the top floor. The basements, although not connected,were the location of a factory in which Exide batteries were assembled….
The fire was fought in terrible conditions. The water supply in the area was nowhere near adequate, for example. A.P Behan stated in his paper ‘A Triple Tragedy in Dublin, The Pearse Street Fire, 1936’ that
There was practically no volume of water and no pressure. Onlookers were incensed at the firemen having to fight such fire in these conditions, and the absence of adequate water supply had the result that the firemen had to get so close to the fire that their uniforms were scorched
Two explosions ripped the premises apart. Initially, two firemen were thought missing in the premises, but quickly it became apparent a third was missing. It was not until about 10 in the morning the next day that the third body was found. The three Dublin firefighters killed in the line of duty were:
Fireman Robert Malone– a veteran of the 1916 Rising who had served as a Lieutenant with “D” Company 3rd Battalion at Bolands Mills Garrison, under Eamon de Valera. He left a wife and child behind.
Fireman Thomas Nugent– who was engaged to be married.
Fireman Peter McArdle– who left a wife and seven children (His funeral mass card is shown below)
Apparently there’s 40,000+ books up for grabs at this two day book sale in aid of a number of good causes including Age Action Ireland, Care Local and the Docklands Seniors Provider Forum. I’d love to check it out but I have exams today (one in a few hours!) and tomorrow.
The nice people at YBIG (Or You Boys In Green)have uploaded their new online magazine, which you can check out here. When you’re flicking through it, be aware that the Star ads open fancy pop up video footage. Nothing like having headphones in, the volume up, and hearing Mr. Betfair Dunphy talking away to himself (while sitting on a swively chair in Tallaght Stadium)
An example of content.
Along with plenty of League of Ireland coverage, it’s got plenty on the national team, a nice historical piece on an encounter between West Germany and the Republic and some great video content. It’s the future. There’s even a video of that cheating French bastard (language, Timothy) doing cocaine. You’ll get it when you click it.
Hopefully this isn’t the end of the lovely bus-friendly regular YBIG magazine.
The text below is taken from the Bureau of Military History Witness Statement provided by Miss Rose Hackett, a member of the Irish Citizen Army. Rosie had been involved in the Jacob’s biscuit factory strike which took place near the end of August in 1910, ending in success for the workers. She was also involved in a later strike at Jacob’s when in September 1913 three workers were sacked for refusing to remove their trade union badges. During the Rising Rosie was positioned at Stephen’s Green under Commandant Michael Mallin.
Document No. W.S 546
“On the occasion of the first anniversary of Connolly’s death, the Transport people decided that he would be honoured. A big poster was put up on the Hall, with the words: “James Connolly Murdered, May 12th, 1916”.
It was no length of time up on the Hall, when it was taken down by the police, including Johnny Barton and Dunne. We were very vexed over it, as we thought it should have been defended. It was barely an hour or so up, and we wanted everybody to know it was Connolly’s anniversary. Miss Molony called us together- Jinny Shanahan, Brigid Davis and myself. Miss Molony printed another script. Getting up on the roof, she put it high up, across the top parapet. We were on top of the roof for the rest of the time it was there. We barricaded the windows. I remember there was a ton of coal in one place, and it was shoved against the door in cause they would get in. Nails were put in.
Police were mobilised from everywhere, and more than four hundred of them marched across from the Store Street direction and made a square outside Liberty Hall. Thousands of people were watching from the Quay on the far side of the river. It took the police a good hour or more before they got in, and the script was there until six in the evening, before they got it down.
I always felt that it was worth it, to see all the trouble the police had in getting it down. No one was arrested.
Of course, if it took four hundred policemen to take four women, what would the newspapers say? We enjoyed it at the time- all the trouble they were put to. They just took the script away and we never heard any more. It was Miss Molony’s doings.
Historically, Liberty Hall is the most important building that we have in the city. Yet, it is not thought of at all by most people. More things happened there, in connection with the Rising, than in any other place. It really started from there.
My brother is now the king of the car boot sales. He comes back with some top class stuff. Like this timely tune.
Last Sunday, he arrives home from Harold’s Cross with a bag of records. Loads of the things. Spanish folk to ‘novelty’ records and everything in between. A Crashed Records 7″ from 1983 caught my eye, if only for the title.
‘Cause I’m On The Dole – Don’t Mean I Can’t Rock N’ Roll was a 1983 number from the band Jukebox. The B Side is ‘I Washed My Jeans’(No point really if you’re on the Dole, who is going to see them?) The single was released on Crashed Records, based in the Donaghmede Centre of Dublin 13. Google has heard very little about the tune it seems, tragic as at the minute it’s National Anthem material. It’s not half bad either.
So turn up the speakers there (If you haven’t sold them yet) and give this one a play.
A cartoon from The Irish Times,July 9th 1983. Not much Rock N' Roll there.
Much more than that actually. *That* save against Pele will go down in football history, in fact in 2002 he remarked to FourFourTwo magazine that “It’s something that people will always remember me for. They won’t remember me for winning the World Cup, it’ll be for that save. That’s how a big a thing it is. People just want to talk about that save.” In another interview, with The Observer Sport Monthly, he commented that “As I got to my feet I tried to look as nonchalant as possible, as if to say that I make that sort of save all the time.”
Gordon Banks defended more nets than just the English national one however. A quick glance at his C.V shows Stoke City, Leicester City , Chesterfield , The Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Cleveland Stokers and, believe it or not, Saint Patrick’s Athletic.
Banks played one game for the Saints, a home match against Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers. Barry Bridges was managing the Saints at the time, as player manager. The year previously, in 1976, Pats had gained some attention by picking up Neil Martin, a former Hibernan F.C, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest striker, among other clubs. In fact, English player manager Bridges had an impresive record himself, including but not limited to spells at Chelsea, Milwall and QPR.
Barry Bridges
The Irish Times of October 1st 1977 noted that Barry Bridges stated there was a “fifty fifty” chance Banks would line out the next night in Richmond Park. Picked up from Fort Lauderdale, it all depended on clearance from the American F.A. The paper noted that
“The signing, which is likely to extract a sharp response from St. Patrick’s first choice goalkeeper, Mick O’ Brien, represents the Dubliners’ most entreprising move since Neil Martin joined the club last seaon”
Amazingly, Gordon Banks had returned to goalkeeping despite losing sight in one eye following a car crash. It was common enough at the time for English players to semi-retire in the U.S game, and Banks signing to Pats was a surprise to many. In the end, he was given clearance to perform and maintained a clean seat, in a one nil home victory over Rovers. He would never grace the pitch at Richmond Park again, and returned to the United States.
Barry Bridges remained at Pats until February 1978, moving on to become player manager of Sligo Rovers. Banks remains just one former English international to briefly play in the Irish league. Geoff Hurst, Terry Venables (another Saint), Carlton Palmer and Bobby Charlton are just a small selection of others who have done the same.
Gordon played alongside future Waterford United player Bobby Charlton in 1966.
May 24th marks the end of the National Library of Ireland’s wonderful W.D Hogan photo exhibition at the National Photographic Archive. Below are two samples from the NLI Facebook page to promote the exhibition, and I’ve also included a wonderful W.D Hogan snap of Liam Mellows delivering the oration at Bodenstown cemetery during a Wolfe Tone commemoration.
Opening times are below the images, seize the day and get into this one before it’s too late. Due to the nature of W.D Hogan’s work (He was in the company of the Free State Army during much of the civil war) there is, of course, a greater amount of images from one side of the civil war conflict than the other, but it is the shots of civilian life that make this exhibition what it is.
“Man examining remains after the fire at the Custom House, 26 May 1921”
“National Army troops shell the occupied Four Courts”
Liam Mellows addresses rally at Bodenstown, County Kildare.
National Photographic Archive, Temple Bar.
Mon – Fri: 10am – 5pm
Saturday: 10am – 2.00pm
I’ve never really liked Whelans as a pub. It’s about as well lit as the Arigna Mines (Ever step out on the streets after being in there during the day?), a pretty pricey pub at the best of times, and the music at night never does it for me. It’s good music, but it never moves out of that The Smiths/The Cure/Joy Division safe territory, and feels a bit like the haunt of the older siblings of the Doyles crowd. Maybe it’s just that the stretch Whelans is located on is home to so many good pubs too. It’s a great spot for live music and performances (I saw Andy Irvine here not too long back, and have seen a number of comedy gigs here too), but not a quiet pint.
Whelans, from spaciousplanet.com
So, being early for Ted Leo And The Pharmacists, we pop over to Anseo, a great spot. I really like Anseo, and as we walk in we notice the pub is in silence and I comment that it’s unusual to hear it as such. Then, all is cured. The cause of the silence? He was turning the record. I love that little vinyl booth right beside the bar, and the music is at the perfect noise level to allow for conversation. Pretty chilled out music, mainly instrumental tracks and even some jazz to pass the time. Myself and Gar, the only other Ted Leo fan I could think of in the phonebook at first, are pretty damn excited.
Like myself, Gar has a love for that record, Living With The Living. Inside out and backwards, it’s a damn good record. Ted Leo an co. are on tour to promote the bands latest effort, The Brutalist Bricks. I commented recently to a friend that I found Ted Leo and his band near impossible to categorise (the way us music nerds do), and then I spotted Threadless describe it all somewhere along the way as containing “A dash of Elvis Costello’s vocal prowess, a heaping spoonful of The Clash’s politically-fueled punk, and a pint or two of The Pogues traditional bittersweet love poetry” That’ll do nicely.
I’m a firm believer in going along to see opening acts however. Some of my favourite bands today (Au Revoir Simone for example) first came to my attention when opening for others. So, we pop into Whelans to see Windings.
A very good opening band for Ted Leo, I noticed on their webpage they list Dinosaur Jr, Pavement and Wilco among influences. In my own opinion you could chuck the Pixies in there too, and have an idea what to expect. Both myself and Gar were very impressed by their set, in particular the single Brain Fluid which remained in my head long after their set and that of Leo and co. Another fine example of why you should go along for the opening band, always. I’d actually go see Windings again, on the back of that live performance. They sell tapes too. Actual tapes. Remember them?
Ted Leo And The Pharmacists take to the stage with force, and no indication of the lack of sleep Leo later tells the crowd of. A couple (literally) of hours sleep between Plymouth and Dublin, the band are apparently wrecked. They don’t look or sound it. Opening with The Mighty Sparrow off the latest LP,The Brutalist Bricks, the set includes a number of new tracks, with my personal favourite Bottled In Cork appearing towards the end.
It’s a well balanced set however, with the majority of tracks coming from earlier and acclaimed efforts. Me and Mia, Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?, Where Was My Brain? and others get an airing. Early on in the gig Ted solves an arguable divide between stage and floor by insisting the audience move in, that big space won’t eat you up. From there, things take off. The crowd is a curious mix, reflecting the diversity of the appeal of the band.
The moment of the gig was undoubtedly a solo performance of Fisherman’s Blues from Ted Leo, with every WOAH-HOO-HOOOO! coming from the crowd.
After the gig we were lucky enough to get chatting briefly to Ted, often said to be one of the nicest blokes in the industry. I’d be well inclined to believe it, if he was half as tired as claimed, it didn’t show. I’ve great time for any band that donates time and energy to good causes, as The Pharmacists did with the Rapid Response E.P, a fundraiser for both Food Not Bombs and Democracy Now. While no doubt a ‘political band’, there is nothing preachy about Ted Leo or his band, at any stage, live or otherwise.
The influence of everyone from Gorilla Biscuits to The Specials shines through in the band and their music, and after a quality gig, nice chat and the purchasing of a football scarf (Note to bands: more bands should do football scarves, my Ted Leo scarf joins a Pogues one on the wall) we’re off home, and Ted Leo And The Pharmacists are off to Belfast.
Death comes in quantity from solved
Problems on maps, well-ordered dispositions,
Angles of elevation and direction;
Comes innocent from tools children might
Love, retaining under pillows
Innocently impales on any flesh.
And with flesh falls apart the mind
That trails thought from the mind that cuts
Thought clearly for a waiting purpose.
Progress of poison in the nerves and
Discipline’s collapse is halted.
Body awaits the tolerance of crows.
Charlie Donnelly b. 10 July 1914, d. 27 Feb 1937
I’m not cheating here; I know Charlie Donnelly wasn’t a Dub, but he lived here for many years, and studied at UCD as JayCarax covered here in his Hidden History Blog. He was a complex character; a college drop-out, political activist and member of the national executive of the Republican Congress. And a poet. A very good poet.
And for while we have a history of revolutionary poets in this country, most of them fought in the years 1916 to 1922. Charlie wasn’t born in time for that revolution but travelled to London in 1936 where he joined the International Brigades. On the 23rd December of that year headed to Spain where he fought on the republican side against Franco’s Counter Revolution.
On the 27th February, 1937, in the rank of Field Commander, he was sent with his unit to launch a frontal assault on the Nationalist positions on a hill named Pingarron. They were pinned down and Donnelly was hit by three Nationalist bullets- One to his right arm, one to his right side and an explosive bullet to the head that killed him. He uttered his oft repeated words “even the olives are bleeding” during that assault. His body lay prone for four days before it could be recovered by Irish brigadier Peter O’Connor. His body was buried in an unmarked grave. He was only 23 years of age.
His story, along with the stories of so many others who fought and died in that war never cease to move me; Absolute selflessness from people united against Fascism. While Spain is a stones throw across the water now with it easier (and probably cheaper) to get a flight there than a taxi home from Dame Street on a Saturday night, back then it meant getting a boat to England, and then another one from there to France and then the long trek down by train, bus and foot. Yet you wonder would people do it these days.
Absolute Legends. Picture by Asile, from Indymedia
Right. The reason for the article. On the 27th February this year, family and friends of Charlie Donnelly unveiled a beautiful memorial to him in a park in Rivas. The story of how the memorial came to be is one could not do justice to, but you can read about it here. The memorial consists of a stone from the 32 counties of Ireland and was paid for by donations not only from Ireland but from across Spain also. Next Friday, in the Teachers Club on Parnell Square, sees the launch of a DVD that tells the story of the project and promises to be a night to remember. Titled “Stones to Remember: Charlie Donnelly and the XV Brigade” there will be music, song, poetry and I’m sure, plenty of tears. Admission is €5 and it kicks off at 8.30. I hope to be in attendance to pay homage to the man himself.
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 