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Archive for 2010

A few quick snaps…

Posted in Uncategorized on October 2, 2010| 2 Comments »

The delights a stroll around Dublin can bring you. I’ve always carried my camera around with me, but have only recently started to take it out and not give a shite that I look like a tourist.

A moody shot, if I say so myself

The above shot was taken from the roof of the Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre- it makes you realise how small this city is! The roof gives you an almost 360 degree view of the city… almost.

I could tell you, but its a Secret

Ah… the Secret Book and Record Store. Manys an afternoon has been spent in this place combing the shelves- not as much now since Freebird have usurped the spot once held by Mero’s- my first introduction to punk came from this place, and I hold fond memories of it. Always a great place to pick up a good read for less than a skindiver too.

Woof

These little chaps scare the beejaysus out of me… I could ask if anyone knew where they were but I reckon the act would be futile. And its somewhere we all know and love too- instead of heading downstairs to Pygmalion, have you ever thought of going upstairs to the antique rooms? They’re full of  “treasures” like these and more.

Quack?

Off Liffey Street, there’s a laneway covered with graffiti like “Lithuania Rules,” “I’m against everything” and profanities I wouldn’t care to mention, but amongst them all is this little sticker. I think its deadly anyways.

Last but not least, the below image is of the “Wall of Fame” on the side of the Temple Bar Music Centre… Sorry I mean “Button Factory.” I guess someone thought it wasn’t ghetto enough and added their own two cents…

Ghetto Fame

These pictures, and more, can be found here.

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“How did that gobshite get on the television….”

Posted in Politics, tagged , , on October 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

He’s holding a cup of tea, and I nearly spat one all over the screen when I saw this. Like those horrible selfish gits at the end of Titanic, this man got off a sinking ship just on time. The most cunning of them all, not to mention a football barstooler to boot, Bertie shares his football wisdom with the little people in the News Of The World.

Long before Blair put pen to paper, some of us were moving books……

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A walking tour unlike any other….

Posted in Events, Politics, tagged , on October 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The Irish Times made for some reading today. For example, the 34.7 billion quid going to anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide would be enough to buy Ronaldo from Real Madraid 373 times, or to build 46 childrens hospitals.You can’t help but sit on the bus, look out the window and wonder ‘what in the name of jesus got us to this point?’

Whatever about ‘what’, we’ve a better idea ‘who’. This walking tour should make for an interesting look at some sites which played no small part in the collapse of the economy. It is a tour of the “….houses, secret meeting places and private banks where the 1% are to be found”, which should be equally jaw dropping and eye opening.

There’s more info on the walk over on Facebook (where else?) at this link here. With just under 200 people attending, I don’t envy the tour guides vocal chords.

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Ireland’s Greatest…

Posted in Dublin History, Events, Miscellaneous, Politics, Social History, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 1, 2010| 4 Comments »

With RTÉ currently running a weekly programme geared towards finding Ireland’s greatest ever citizen, its nice to see SIPTU getting in on the act in calling for James Connolly to be voted number one. And who wouldn’t, considering the remaining top five contains none less than, as Donal recently called them, the “Freestate Prick” Michael Collins and the “Northside Dick” Bono. Lucky enough we are I suppose that Stephen Gately and Adi Roche missed the cut (no offense to either of course…)

Do what the ominous big building tells you to

I can say with a good deal of confidence that the other two lads on here would be with me in calling readers to vote Connolly, and never mind the biters who try and say “sure he’s not Irish…” Take half an hour out of your time and watch TG4’s newest “Seachtar na Casca” programme on the man, then try and listen to someone tell you that James Connolly is not Irish…

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Who Fears To Wear The Blood Red Badge?

Posted in Dublin History, Music, Politics, Social History, tagged , , , , , , , on October 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

I’ve never heard this song sung, though it is sung to the same air as ‘Who Fears To Speak Of 98’ and ‘Who Fears To Speak Of Easter Week’. I picked it up from the excellent 1913:Jim Larkin and the Dublin Lockout book (1964), the hard work of the Workers Union of Ireland.

“It is appropriate that the Workers Union of Ireland should sponsor such a book as Jim Larkin was its founder and first general secretary as he had been the founder of and the first general secretary of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union”

If you’re wondering about the air, here is a version sung by Brendan Behan in relation to the 1916 rising that has been uploaded onto YouTube.

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Dublin Google Street View

Posted in Miscellaneous, tagged on October 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

It went live yesterday. What funny sights have you found? The images below were nicked from a Boards.ie thread here.

Ballinteer Drive, Ballinteer. Link - http://tinyurl.com/2vvpgh7

British Embassy. Link - http://tinyurl.com/38gwh4h

Man Waving. The Waterfront, Quays. Link - http://tinyurl.com/34yzyv7

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They Are Us Exhibition Launch.

Posted in Events, tagged , , , , , on September 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Your humanity and your faithful loyalty
Your compassion and your plea for change
Gives me faith in humankind
All the good ones you can find
And all the monsters and the blind……
Damien Dempsey- How Strange.

We’ve been following this one for yonks.

Our first post on the maser/Damien Dempsey collaboration was back in March (March! Jesus this blog is ancient now) which was long before people were ringing into radio stations wondering what all the graffiti meant. Each bit was a surprise in itself, as you’d stumble across them in the most unusual spots. The laneway behind Brogans pub being an example. It has done wonders for the city at the minute. I loved each and every bit of it, and if I was lucky enough to be giving a tour or guiding people around I would frequently stop at one of the pieces.

For the most part, it seemed Dubliners agreed with me. With the exception of the gobshite below, who we posted up back in May, we all seemed happy enough to stroll past and look. A gentle reminder to ‘do something to be proud of’ , to ‘dare to be different’ or to ‘love yourself today’ , as the less common stickers proclaimed.

The highlights were no doubt the bits most of us will never see, the messages inside the walls of prisons.

If one thinks the laneways of town are ‘boring’, imagine what the colour of these pieces did to such surroundings.

It’s come a long way. Now, it’s time to make a few quid for charity. All proceeds from the sale of the works will go to the Dublin Simon Community. Coming into the winter, in a year like this one, charities will find themselves stuck for money. Sadly, in time gobshites like the above mentioned one will take to more of these great pieces around the city, and they’ll be lost. A reminder of one is something I intend to pick up for the house, being lucky enough to have one to hang it up in.

Best of luck to the lads.

They are us exhibition launches
Friday, October 15, 2010 at 6:00pm
Block T, 1 – 6 Haymarket, Smithfield Sq (above Chinese market)

http://www.theyareus.ie
http://www.damiendempsey.com

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You’d have to laugh.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Politics on September 30, 2010| 1 Comment »

While Dublin comes to terms with truckgate today, I got a laugh out of this excellent image doing the rounds from the ICTU protest yesterday at the Dail. Nice one lads, nice one.

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You learn something every day.

Posted in Miscellaneous on September 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

These are everywhere in town. I had to explain to two American tourists at the traffic lights by Poolbeg Street that not alone was the tap water fine, but I’d filled up the bottle I was carrying at home that morning.

This one comes from the bathroom of one of my local pubs. Sticking to the Ballygowan now?

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Enemy at the gates.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Politics on September 29, 2010| 1 Comment »

This is excellent, TDs discuss truckgate at the Dail this morning.

If you’re not from this parish and confused about the subject at hand, I suggest you read this typically over the top Evening Herald report. Only in the Evenin’ Hedild can a truck parked outside the Dail become a doomsday device rammed through the front gates.

Interesting microphone too. No prizes.

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Saving History: Moore Street.

Posted in Dublin History, Events, Social History on September 28, 2010| 1 Comment »

“The National Graves Association and the Save 16 Moore Street Committee cordially invite you to an information meeting on Thursday 14th October 8pm at Wynns Hotel, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin. It is essential that as many people as possible attend this event. TDs, special guests and relatives of the 1916 leaders will be present.”

August 2005: The roof of 16 Moore Street.

Anyone who attended the recent free Heritage Week walking tours around the Moore Street area detailing the fighting there during the 1916 Rising would have come to the conclusion that it is not alone ‘the building’ of 16 Moore Street that is historically important, but the area itself. The buildings the Volunteer and Citizen Army men and women broke their way through, the laneway where they came under intense fire from the Rotunda hospital and the alleyways where some died are as historically important as the building with the plaque.

Growing up in Dublin, I was always fascinated by Moore Street. Even without the historical connection to 1916, the street is worth saving purely for its character today. It is a melting pot of the old and the new, and among the last markets of its kind. I love passing through it.

Under threat from a major planned development, the campaign to save the Moore Street sites continues. Did we learn nothing at Wood Quay? Nothing so clearly shows how a tokenistic historical feature can be dwarfed by an unsuited development. Come along.

“The plan of the property developers, Chartered Land, encompasses around 5.5 acres bordered by Upper O’Connell Street (including the Carlton building, a cinema in previous years), Henry Street and Parnell Street, right back to Moore Street. The objections centre around Moore Street itself and the perceived effect of the development on no.s 14-17, officially designated a National Monument, but also on the effect on Moore Lane. While the objectors agree with the need for development they hope to see one which will preserve the character of the terrace. Some objectors have also stressed their wish to keep the street market character of Moore Street in any development.”
-From a 2009 Indymedia report, located here.

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This Machine Kills Fascists.

Posted in Events, Music, Politics on September 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I’d seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?

Woody Guthrie, one of the greatest folk singers of all time, died a horrible death at the hands of Huntingtons Disease. At the age of 55, he passed on, and it would take others like Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to see to it the next generation would hear his words. His life, short as it was, was an exciting one. His influence is acknowledged by a wide variety of artists today, with Billy Bragg and Wilco putting some of his unsung lyrics to music, while Damien Dempsey mentions his “rebel heart” in his excellent ‘Teachers’, a song which lists his childhood musical influences.

Love Music Hate Racism and Sunday Roast have come together to stage a tribute night to Woody, as a fundraiser for the Huntingtons Disease Association of Ireland. It kicks off with a documentary screening (‘This Machine Kills Fascists’) at 6pm, which is a freebie. At 9pm, there will be a gig kicking off with a wide variety of acts. The doortax is a mere five euro, and it all takes place this Sunday at The Mercantile .

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