Posted in Events on September 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »
This is the first Hedge School since the ‘Leccy Piccy’ in Laois so pop up to Phibsboro and get involved. Our own Sam has picked a fine setlist of music too, and the photo exhibition presents a chance to spot an embarrassing snap of a relative. Well done to the organisers of the festival on a fine and varied list of events.
Posted in Miscellaneous on September 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Know the old Baileys sign at the bottom of O’ Connell Street? Of course you do, it’s been there as long as I can remember anyway. This one.
Well, look what I spotted on the way to work today:
Hmm. We’ll wait and see.
Posted in Dublin History, Miscellaneous on September 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »
You have to go abroad to find the gems. In a second hand bookshop in Edinburgh, a copy of Dublin:A Travellers’ Companion showed up, which features many excerpts from classic Dublin books and accounts.
This Dublin ballad by Dermot O’ Byrne, which was taken from An Anthology of 1916 by Edna Fitzhenry, is one I had not come across before and deemed worthy of sharing here.
Posted in Miscellaneous, tagged Viral on September 8, 2010| 1 Comment »
Posted in Pubs, Uncategorized on September 8, 2010| 6 Comments »
The Church on Mary Street; a building I’ve walked past twice a day for the last year or so and never managed to set foot in. I’ve always got a feeling that the place would be too hoi- polloi for me, the kind of person who doesn’t mind a shabby interior or lack of dress code once his pint and choice of company are acceptable. While I got the great company and a good pint, I still felt a little out of place, my bad, not the pubs.
The Beautiful interior- from europealacarte.co.uk
Vying with Davy Byrnes for the title of Dublin’s most beautiful interior, the Church, which you’ll be suprised to learn used to be, wait for it… a church, still retains many of it’s old features. While it’s not the kind of place you’d go to to watch a game, or for a casual pint after work- this place is a no runners affair, and with pints at €5.50 (rising to €5.75 after eleven for some reason) you can guess the kind of crowd they’re aiming for. As I said, the place is absolutely stunning both inside and out- even the toilets look fantastic. A large enclosed smoking area with gazebos dotted around for shelter, patio heaters, shrubbery and candles finished off the decor.
I’m trying not to be hard on the place, for while it wasn’t my cup of tea, we had a great night there- two great friends of CHTM were celebrating their wedding vows (uh oh… does that mean we’re getting older?) and they did so in style. The place is well spread out, and though I’ve heard it gets a little hectic on the ground floor on Friday nights, a mezzanine/ balcony rings the exterior wall of the building, a great place to retreat to if the crowd gets too much below. There’s also a club below, we didn’t venture that far, having found a nice spot outside, we settled ourselves there.
To summarise, it’s a beautiful bar, with a large selection of beers which, while expensive, are thankfully good. It has a great smoking garden, I’d argue and say the best in Dublin for its location. We had a great night in there, (major congrats to J & K) but I’m not sure if I’ll be back. The three trips to the ATM that night put paid to that!
Posted in Uncategorized on September 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »
God, this looks like the highlight of the Absolut Fringe in the city this year.
“Sat 11th September at 12 midnight. Arrive early to guarantee entry. €5 entry to Festival Club. Tickets available on the door only. Doors at 9.30pm.”
The gig is taking place in The Grand Social. Don’t know where that is? It’s Pravda. Or it was Pravda, apparently it looks a gem now. What can one say about the Bandits? Well, they are without doubt the best novelty act to come out of this country since Ding Dong Denny himself. They wear Tesco bags over their heads, and they’ve got a mate who DJs wearing a Willie O’ Dea mask. Along with Crystal Swing, they rocked the Little Big Tent in a great way last Friday at Electric Picnic.
“Stall the ball, Pope John Paul, Lets all go and egg the Dail….”
Posted in Dublin History, tagged Cliodhna Cussen, john kirk, Sir Philip Crampton, the cauiflower, the crampton memorial, The Long Stone, the water babe, Viking Dublin on September 7, 2010| 9 Comments »
For nearly 1,200 years there has been a continuous sculpture at the junction of College St. with Pearse St. and D’Olier St. The following is a rough description:
~ 837 – 1720 = The Long Stone, otherwise known as The Steyn(e) or Stein.
~ 1862 – 1959 = The Crampton Memorial.
~ 1986 – Present = The Long Stone replica.
The old Viking ‘Long Stone’ was first constructed by Norsemen in 837 AD to symbolise their possession of the surrounding lands. The historic stone itself “escaped all the vicissitudes of time, the invasions of the Danes, the wars of Celts and Saxons, the struggles of Royalists and Republicans” (Ireland and the Celtic church, (1907) p. 281) but was eventually stolen in 1794. Does anyone know where it is now?
The Crampton Memorial, known colloquially as ‘The Water Baby’ and ‘The Cauliflower’, took its place and was situated at the junction of College St. with Pearse St. and D’Olier St. for nearly one hundred years. It was designed by John Kirk (son of Thomas Kirk (1781 – 1845)) and is named after Sir Philip Crampton (1777–1858), an eminent surgeon and anatomist. The memorial, which was made up of a stone base with three drinking fountains, slowly fell apart and was finally removed in 1959.
The Crampton Memorial (1900)
The Crampton Memorial (1930s/1940s?)
Sketch of The Crampton Memorial
In 1986, a replica of the Long Stone (designed by Cliodhna Cussen, mother of Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Rossa, Rónán, and Colm of Kíla) was erected. The 11 foot granite sculpture has the head of Ivar, the first Norse king of Dublin and who is believed to have erected the original Stein, on the base of one side and a head of a nun, from All Hallows monastery, which is thought to have been situated on the site in the Middle Ages, on the other.
The present day Long Stone replica sculpture (Erected, 1986)
Posted in Uncategorized on September 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »
I got a strange notion into my head last week, went on a bit of a blitz and picked up as much Christy Moore stuff as I could get my hands on… Now the following track might not be new to a lot of people on here, but I thought it a powerful rendition so I thought I’d share it with anyone who hasn’t heard it. Anyways; from the evergreen Christy Moore, I give you “James Larkin.”
"A labour man with a union tongue."
Just press play…
Posted in Uncategorized on September 4, 2010| 1 Comment »
Just behind Temple Bar, I walked into this by surprise. Some excellent work.
‘Lennon’, keep going!
Posted in Miscellaneous on September 2, 2010| 10 Comments »
I hadn’t!
A tip of the hat to CHTM regular commenter Oisin, who presumed I’d seen it somewhere down the line. How bizarre. If you didn’t cop straight away, this is beside The Auld Dubliner and Oliver St.John Gogarty pubs.
Posted in Dublin History, Music, tagged dancehall, dublin, king steet south, mary street, mothers, osibisa, ragga, reggae on September 1, 2010| 11 Comments »
I’m hoping to write a piece on the history of reggae in Dublin, similar to what I’ve done so far on the Mod scene in Dublin and the Rockabilly scene.
From anecdotal evidence, I’ve heard the first places to play reggae in Dublin was Mothers nightclub on Mary Street and the Osibisa on King Street South both in the early to mid 1970s. (The Cimarons playing Cork in c. 1978/9 was the gig that really put reggae on the map in Ireland. Probably similar enough to what it did for punk in the city when The Clash played the exam hall in TCD in 1978.)
There was of course Zebra, Ireland’s first reggae band, and their 1979 single Repression.
Does anyone have any more information on these clubs, the DJs, the people who went or anything else on the history of reggae in the city? Please email me directly at matchgrams(at)gmail.com
Mothers poster (C.Fisher, personal collection)
Posted in Events on September 1, 2010| 8 Comments »
A new documentary on everyone’s favourite Hibernian F.C supporter….
Connolly and I spoke again in 1907 at an Italian Socialist meeting early one Sunday morning….I asked Connolly “Who will speak in Italian?” He smiled his rare smile and replied “We’ll see. Someone,surely.” After we had both spoken they called a recess and gave us coffee and cake behind the scenes, a novel but welcome experience for us. Stale water was the most we got elsewhere! Then, we returned to the platform and Connolly arose. He spoke beautifully in Italian to my amazement and the delight of the audience who viva’d loudly.
-Taken from The Rebel Girl by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. First published 1955.
Spotted this in Look Left magazine, a new documentary on the life, times and legacy of James Connolly is to get its world premiere screening on September 12th in Liberty Hall.
It comes from Brian O’ Flaherty, and the list of contributors includes everyone from Colm Meaney to Fintan O’ Toole. Of particular note is this following line. The film includes original music contributions from Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Adrian Dunbar, Paul Cleary and Jimmy Kelly.
Tickets can be picked up from Liberty Hall, apparently. Expect a full house.
This new documentary on the life and work of James Connolly, made by Brian O’Flaherty, will have its world premiere in Liberty Hall on 12 September and will then be shown every day for the following week. Admission €10.
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Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 