Posted in Miscellaneous, tagged Ad, An tÓglach, dublin pub, Ghost Sign, Hop House, Parnell Street, pub, The Shakespere on April 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »
An tÓglach, Summer 1971 p.10
Spotted this today. The Shakespere was one of the ghost-signs of Dublin our own jaycarax covered in his piece on the literal ‘signs of the times’. Today, of course, it is known as The Hop House.
“I don’t think I could put my name to any list of good Dublin pubs and leave this one out. While we’ve found some great pubs so far, it can sometimes be the ones you knew already that shine brightest. This one would blind you”
Posted in Miscellaneous, Reviews, Uncategorized, tagged Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Sheridan, dublin, Film, Gangeter, Perrier's Bounty on April 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »
First off, apologies; I’ve been off the beaten track for a while. Hitting Doolin took a bit of planning, I was in no state to type over that weekend, for obvious reasons, and then I got landed with a “bug” when I got back, keeping me occupied until Thursday. Anyways…
Pre- planning things in this city rarely works out, as evidenced by Thursdays trip to the flicks. Having rounded up a gang of five lads to head see Perrier’s Bounty on Thursday evening, it ended up just the two of us, the two Ciaráns. Ah well. Into McNeills on Capel Street for a quick pint first (the business,) up to Cineworld, a ten euro bag of Pick ‘n’ Mix (I shit you not, my belly was in tatters after) and we settled into Screen 6. Deadly.
The Good Guys
But, the film. I don’t like starting a positive review with a negative statement but, well, I’m going to do it anyways. Go see Perrier’s Bounty if you want to hear the worst attempt at an Irish accent you’re ever likely to hear on the big screen. For while Jim Broadbent is not out of his depth in Hollywood blockbusters like Harry Potter, he makes a balls of the Dublin accent, slipping between a thick Liberties accent and a Darby O’Gill- esque spuds and pot of gold twang. It’s actually quite funny in itself. But that’s not the worst thing about the film. It really does seem sluggish in parts; I don’t know how to explain it- you just wish the film could be just all the good scenes and would be an ace film at that. For while there are scenes where you’re thinking… hurry the fuck up, there are also scenes that make you crack your shite laughing.
In a nutshell, the story line is this. (To be honest, it’s not far off Dead Man Running, the low-budget crime caper “starring” the king of naughty himself, Danny Dyer;) Michael McCrea (Cillian Murphy,) is a small time geezer who somehow ends up owing a grand to a big time geezer called Darren Perrier (Gleeson.) Under threat of having two bones of his choice broken (fingers don’t count,) he has twenty four hours to come up with the yoyos. Cue drama with his estranged father Jim (Broadbent) arriving on the scene, the girl next door Brenda (Whittaker) breaking up with her boyfriend and threatening to top herself, a proposal from fellow geezer “the Mutt” and well… as these stories inevitably go, it’s a mish mash of lots of stuff happening that inevitably has something got to do with the story come the end. Perrier (Gleeson) is an unscrupulous gangster who rules Dublin’s streets with an iron fist. And he’s not letting Michael away easy, after what happens when two of his goons show up to break Michael’s legs. I won’t say what, but a trip up to the Dublin Mountains for Michael, Brenda and Jim shortly follows. It’s from here to the end that the film hits form, the showdown with Perrier and the culmination of the plot, with the day being saved by the comrades of Achilles and Apollo (two dogs by the way.)
The Bad Guys
There are some laughs in the film, though I’m sure a lot of them will be lost on international audiences- the best humour is colloquial, the insults local, and the analogies… well… a bit over the top to be honest. Some of the dialogue interspersed between scenes is out of place in this film, like it’s trying to be something it’s not but this didn’t spoil it for me. Well, nothing spoiled the film for me; I quite liked it start to finish.
The best thing about it is the scenes filmed on the streets of Dublin. I spent most of the time trying to think where the scenes were shot; and smiling knowingly when I worked out the routes the characters take are arseways. Nice night-time shots of the quays, O’Connell Street, a beautiful view over the city from the Mountains, and what I think are those flats around the back of St. Patricks Cathedral. It’s always nice to see the city on film.
Anyhow, not much more I can say. If you have a couple of hours to kill, and a tenner burning a hole in your pocket, go see this film. Whilst you might not be blown away, you certainly won’t be disappointed. On to Slatterys for a quick one on the way home and sorted, not a bad evening!
Posted in Uncategorized on April 2, 2010| 1 Comment »
It always seems like I haven’t got a penny,
So I get on the Luas to Dundrum
I rob lots of stuff from all the posh shops
And sell it to me mates in Ballymun
Oh lord. Admitting I live in a bubble, I don’t know if this has done the rounds online. Still, I lol’d. My thanks to my friend Sarah for making my day.
Posted in Dublin History, Miscellaneous, tagged 1982, Christy Moore, College, Danny Morrison, Debate, dublin, L&H, Northern Ireland, Students, UCD, University College Dublin on April 1, 2010| 3 Comments »
I’m about fifteen minutes in the door from my first trip to a Union of Students in Ireland conference. (Maynooth are back in, you see)
Quite an experience, and a productive field trip.
Anyway, a friend of mine was discussing his search for the lyrics to this one-off Christy Moore number about University College Dublin and the L&H there.
I remember raking my brains trying to think of songs which deal with Irish students, and this one was, in truth, the only one that came to mind. Phil Ochs odd tune, “I’m Gonna Say It Now” is the only other song about students that came to mind (cheers Luke) but eh…he mentioned Chairman Mao in that. That and it is a pretty rubbish song.
Here are the words to The Auditor Of The L&H (In the words of Christy “..the launching pad for many an illustrious reactionary career”) which he performed in Theatre L of UCD on the 25th of November, 1982. Next door in Theatre M a debate was raging from which an elected Sinn Féin representative (Danny Morrison) had been excluded.
Justice Thomas Higgins is a man you all should know
Sitting in the Specials he runs a nasty show
Dispering Irish Justice in a way that makes me rage,
And once he was the Auditor of the College L&H
Mr. Patrick Connolly is a man of great renown.
Recently he was the talk of every pub in town.
As attorney general thought it wise to disengage
And once he was the Auditor of the College L&H
Patrick snide smug Cosgrave is Maggie Thatcher’s right-hand man.
In a national University his illusions they began.
To mould her vicious strategy he joined the entourage
And once he was the Auditor of the College L&H
This year’s young incumbant was barely off the train.
Seeking power and prejudice he joined Young Fine Gael.
To be like Higgins, Connolly, Cosgrave, Cormac Lacey craved,
And he is this year’s Auditor of the College L&H
To celebrate elections his first debate he planned.
To feature Conor Cruise O’ Brien, a once respected man.
A Unionist called Millar, and also Liam de Paor
With the Tyrone people’s mandate- Danny Morrison was there.
Cruiser and the Loyalist, they did collaborate.
Free speech for Republicans they could not tolerate.
Morrison was banished, Cormac Lacey sealed his faith
That’s why he is the Auditor of the College L&H
Posted in Events, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized on March 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Exhibition: Blasphemous
Artists:: Richard Bartle , George Bolster, Hannah Breslin, Alan Butler, Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Steve Farley, Una Gildea, Sarah Hardacre, Jacinta Jardine, Mark Lomax, Matthew MacKisack, Justin McKeown, Noël O’Callaghan, RedMeat by Max Cannon, Emer Roberts, Will St. Leger, Kate Walters, Paul Woods.
Venue: Irish Museum Of Contemporary Art
Website: Click Here
As much as it is a direct confrontation of this dangerous law, Blasphemous is a celebration of artistic freedom and intellectual discourse.
Black and Tans at the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery
Exhibition: ‘Black and Tans’
Artist:: Mick O’ Dea
Venue: Kevin Kavanagh Gallery
Website: Click Here
This is no easy subject matter. This is no easy narrative. Every face casts a shadow. Every soldier leaves a darkness. O’Dea has drawn richly on the visual traces of the Irish past to create a radical intervention into how contemporary audiences and future generations encounter and remember war.
The exhibition ends this weekend.
Posted in Dublin History, Social History, tagged 1913, Abbey, City Hall Garrison 1916, Eddie Connolly, George Connolly, history, ICA, Inner City Folk Project, Irish Citizen Army, Irish Republicanism, James Connolly, Joseph Connolly, Katie Connolly, Liberty Hall, Mattie Connolly, Molly O' Reilly, Sean Connolly, Socialism, Trade Unionism, W.B Yeats on March 30, 2010| 6 Comments »
Who was the first man shot that day?
The player Connolly,
Close to the City Hall he died;
Carriage and voice had he;
He lacked those years that go with skill,
But later might have been
A famous, a brilliant figure
Before the painted scene.
From mountain to mountain ride the fierce horsemen.
W.B Yeats.
This Easter Monday sees a new plaque unveiled in Dublin, a plaque to the memory of Sean Connolly and his siblings ( Joe, Mattie, George, Eddie and Katie, who all served with the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising) and young Molly O’ Reilly who raised the green flag over Liberty Hall in April, 1916.
In The History of the Irish Citizen Army, by R.M Fox, he wrote that:
In front of the hall itself the Citizen Army cleared a space and formed up on three sides of the square. Inside this square was the women’s section, the boys scouts’ corps under Captain W. Carpenter, and the Fintan Lalor Pipe Band. Captain C. Poole and a Colour Guard of sixteen men escorted the colour bearer, Miss Molly O’ Reilly of the Women Workers’ Union who was also a member of the Citizen Army.
….. “I noticed” said a member of the Colour Guard, “That some men, old and middle aged,and a great number of women were crying. and I knew then that this was not in vain and that they all realised what was meant by the hoisting of the flag
Sean Connolly famously starred in a play by James Connolly entitled ‘Under Which Flag?’ a week before the insurrection, which went hand in hand with the symbolic raising of the green flag over the hall. He was shot on the roof of City Hall on Easter Monday by a British Sniper who had taken up position in Dublin Castle. His brother, Mattie, was with him as he died. Sean is remembered not only as a captain within the Citizen Army but also as an actor at the Abbey, with Lady Gregory writing a poem in his memory after 1916.
James Connolly himself wrote in an article titled The Irish Flag published on the 8th April 1916 in the Workers Republc newspaper, that
For centuries the green flag of Ireland was a thing accurst and hated by the English garrison in Ireland, as it is still in their inmost hearts. But in India, in Egypt, in Flanders, in Gallipoli, the green flag is used by our rulers to encourage Irish soldiers of England to give up their lives for the power that denies their country the right of nationhood. Green flags wave over recruiting offices in Ireland and England as a bait to lure on poor fools to dishonourable deaths in England’s uniform.
On Easter Monday, April 5th the flag will be raised at Liberty Hall by a relative of Molly O’ Reilly. This flag will be presented by the great grandson of James Connolly. This ceremony will begin at 12 noon. After this, the crowd will move on to Sean McDermott Street where the plaque will be unveiled on 58/59 Sean McDermott Lower, where the home of Sean Connolly once stood.
There will be a photographic exhibition of images from the revolutionary years in the nearby Community Hall at Killarney Court.
This is all being carried out by the North Inner City Folk Project, the people behind fantastic events like the commemoration of the forgotten women of 1916, and promises to be a good one. I look forward to it!
Update: Images and audio from the launch can be found here
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged dublin mod, dublin punk, energy records, hot for you, pat larkin, Paul Cleary, ringsend, The Blades, the reunion on March 29, 2010| 11 Comments »
The Blades’ first single was released on Energy Records in the summer of 1980.
The A side, Hot For You, is a singalong pop punk masterpiece. It was recorded by the original Blades line up (1977 – 81): Paul Cleary on vocals and bass, his brother Lar on Guitar and Pat Larkin on drums. Interestingly, at Ramport Studios in Battersea.
So, come outside baby
now the time is right
with your brand new shades and your jeans so tight,
well the sun is burning and I’m getting hot for you…
(From irishrock.org) Tour magazine. Circa 1980
The B-Side, Reunion, is a simple, fast paced tune with Paul Cleary’s typical lyrical genius.
I talk to her sister whenever I can
trying to make a connection
I used to write letters but threw them away
‘Cause I’m afraid of rejection.
This will be hopefully be the first of a series of pieces on classic Dublin punk and new wave singles.
Buy The Blades boxset here.
Posted in Dublin History, Social History, Uncategorized, tagged Anti Treaty, April, archives, Civil War, Conference, diarmuid ferriter, Fintan O' Toole, Four Courts, history, Irish Republican, London, London Press, Punch, Records, Republicans, Seminar, Trinity College Dublin on March 29, 2010| 1 Comment »
The poster in a recent post on archives and the burning of the Four Courts reminded me to root out this old punch cartoon upstairs.
Taken from the July 12th 1922 edition of Punch, or the London Charivari, it shows the ‘Spirit of the Law’ in discussion with a menacing looking republican figure, with the smouldering remains of the Four Courts in the background.
OUT OF THE ASHES.
Spirit of Law (To Irish Rebel): “You may have destroyed my courts and my records, but you have not destroyed me!”
At least two thirds of Come Here To Me will be at this, feel free to say hello.
Here is that poster one more time, as posted by jaycarax
Posted in Miscellaneous, Uncategorized, tagged galway, irish blog awards, Roisin Dubh on March 28, 2010| 1 Comment »
From the time the bus left Dublin, until the time it came to a halt at Eyre Square, we must have passed a dozen Supermacs. Right on the far side of Eyre Square is a sort of mammoth Supermacs, the big daddy of the Supermacs world, Super-Supermacs even. Walking down Shop Street and we hear one teenager shout at another “I told him I’d meet him at 3 in Supermacs…”
Outside Dublin, it’s the centre of commerce and community.
Mecca
We didn’t leave Dublin for Galway to just look at different branches of Supermacs. That would be a waste. Rather, we took off for the Blog Awards 2010. You may have heard about them. See that thing on the right up top? The badge of honour? Yeah. If you know us in ‘real life’ you might have heard us discuss them too. Might have.
We were up for Best Group Blog, and myself and jaycarax made the trek. hxci was on a stag trip, but two out of three ain’t bad as they say. The Blog Awards surpassed our expectations without doubt, a fancy fancy fancy affair, with plenty of free rum, nice food and friendly faces. The best kind.
Did we win? No. Still, for a blog so new to get so far so quick is encouraging. I’ll leave it to the lads to say whatever they want to below, as I don’t want to speak for others, but we’ve had the support and backing of a great group of people so far, many more familiar with the blogging world than ourselves. We are the newbies of course, but we’re very content and energetic newbies too.
Finally, the Galway thanks.
To all at the Blog Awards, you run a tight ship. An unsinkable one too. To all the other blogs who were competing, and to all the other interested bloggers who just came along, thanks for making the night so memorable. Well done to all the victorious blogs too. The Roisin Dubh pub deserves a mention just for being bloody brilliant. A few vodka blackcurrants, a good dancefloor and drunkenly dancing/singing along to Animal Collective can fix anything.
In short, it was great.
Posted in Miscellaneous on March 26, 2010| 2 Comments »
Spotting these lads around the city lately, this snap is from outside Stephens Green shopping centre. Bless.
Posted in Dublin History, Social History, tagged Cumann na mBan, George Gilmore, Irish Citizen Army, Irish History Workshop, Miriam Daly, Nora Connolly, Republican Congress, Sheila Humphries on March 26, 2010| 2 Comments »
Just a quick post, two fantastic images from an Irish History Workshop/ Saotharlann Staire Éireann workshop report dealing with a Dublin History Workshop at Liberty Hall between the tenth and the twelfth of March, 1978. The workshop report was found hiding in the wrong section at the recent Trinity College Dublin booksale. It includes the text of varied reports given at the conference such as Dr O’ Connor Lysaght’s talk on ‘The Munster Soviet Creameries’ and Margaret Ward’s presentation on ‘The Ladies Land League’
(l-r: Miriam Daly, Matt Merrigan, Nora Connolly O’ Brien, Jack Gannon)
The inside page notes that Miriam Daly was “the victim of a sectarian assasination” between the time of the conference and the time of publication, and that Nora Connolly O’ Brien, daughter of James Connolly, had passed away since the conference.
From the symposium ‘The Relevance of Connolly’
Chair:
Matt Merrigan (Dist. Sec. ATGWU, Socialist Labour Party)
Speakers:
Dr. Noel Browne T.D
Miriam Daly (Queens University and Irish Republican Socialist Party)
Nora Connolly O’ Brien
Michael O’ Riordan (Gen. Sec. Communist Party of Ireland)
An interesting photo this, from page 54 of the report.
4/5.11.1978 Dublin. Dublin History Workshop
(l-r: Michael McInerney, Sheila Humphries (Sighle Bean Ui Dhonnchada), Babs O’ Donoghue, George Gilmore)
Snapped outside Liberty Hall, this is just a great shot.
Sheila Humphries of course was a key member of Cumann na mBán at the time of (and long before) the Republican Congess who, along with Eithne Coyle, had become involved with the new venture before leaving due to unease within CnamB with their involvement.
George Gilmore was a key player in the foundation of the Republican Congress, who resigned from the IRA at the same time as Frank Ryan and Peadar O’ Donnell.
I would welcome information on Michael and Babs, who complete this fantastic shot.
Posted in Reviews, tagged le cirk, Reviews, tripadvisor, yelp, yelp dublin on March 23, 2010| 1 Comment »
I’ve recently started reviewing pubs, restaurants and shops on the Dublin section of Yelp. I can’t remember how I found the website originally but I’m glad I did now.
Yelp is a “social networking, user review and local search” website. In short, people review things. Imagine a more ambitious version of TripAdvisor.
After only a few reviews, I started getting ‘compliments’ from various people. One person sent me the following message, “Your reviews deserve a “hidden gems” list! Seriously, these are some stellar reviews. Can’t wait to read more!”, someone else sent me this, “I am bookmarking your reviews for my summer Dublin trip! Thanks for the crazy cool insider info!!”.
The cynic in me thought that these compliments were from fake, automated profiles run by Yelp to make new users feel important and persuade them to stick around.
It turns out I was wrong.
I’m slowly finding out that Yelp (especially Dublin) has a really healthy, active, friendly online community.
I’ve only written up 10 reviews but have already had friend requests from 8 people, received 12 different compliment messages and 31 ‘review votes’ (when someone lets you know that they’ve found your review Useful [19], Funny [2], and Cool [10]).
The Dublin users of Yelp have already started organising real life events. The first, a meet & greet with the (volunteer) Yelp Dublin manager, is happening this Friday in Le Cirk. Though I won’t be able to make it this time around, I hear there are plans to organise more regular Yelp Dublin events.
Honest reviews of businesses by real people living and working Dublin can only be a good idea. Why not give Yelp a go?
A section of the Dublin Yelp homepage.
 | Niall Lombard on Following in the footsteps of… |
 | Dee Keegan on Another unusual Dublin plaque,… |
 | M Bradshaw on 4. Johnson’s Court |
 | M Beatty on 4. Johnson’s Court |
 | Xxxxx honer on A divided Rathmines |
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Come Here To Me! 