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Archive for 2011

31/1/2011

Posted in Uncategorized on February 1, 2011| 1 Comment »

I’ve always prefered them full.

Big sale in our favourite holy shop, the one next to the Savoy.

Seashell Chipper. Once home to the battered Mars Bar. Now, dead and gone.

(more…)

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On Twitter, the kids call it #ge11.

Posted in Uncategorized on February 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Confused? Click here.

If you think the political system is banjaxed, at least offer to go on the Average Industrial Wage 😉

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Q:How annoying are the Union of Students in Ireland?

Posted in Politics on January 31, 2011| 1 Comment »

A: Very.

You’d almost forget all about this….

USI President Gary Redmond to the right there (literally) telling you to ‘Vote Fianna Fail for Jobs’. Their Vice President recently decided students are so important that he could walk away from his job representing them to go after a career in the Labour Party.

What a country…

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4. Classic Dublin music videos: Rod Stewart – Sailing (1975)

Posted in Music on January 31, 2011| 3 Comments »

Dublin captured by BBC’s Nationwide when Rod Stewart visited in the mid 1970s. They used the footage to publicise his single Sailing and broadcast it on Top Of The Tops in September 1975. Scenes of Moore Street can be seen from about 2:33 minutes in.

The actual music video for the song was filmed in New York harbour.

(Thanks to John F. for telling me about the video)

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Is this the best nightclub promotion poster ever?

Posted in Uncategorized on January 30, 2011| 2 Comments »

Cheers Rory, spotted on Facebook.

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Graffiti Ghosts

Posted in Miscellaneous on January 30, 2011| 6 Comments »

If you look closely you can still find reminders of Grift’s legacy in Dublin. Grift, who was involved with the ICN (InCogNito) and RCS (RadiCalS) crews, was one arguably one of the most famous and influential graffiti artists in the city’s history.

I spotted this in carving on a side of a table in The Globe Bar just before Christmas.

Some of Grift’s pieces:

credit - Crucial333

credit - matthew byrne

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Nothing stops production at The Irish Times…

Posted in Dublin History, Social History, tagged , on January 28, 2011| 2 Comments »

On September 18, 1951 The Irish Times of the day was a most unusual one. It was only four pages of content, owing to a fire which destroyed about a third of the companies premises on Westmoreland Street. Below is the front page of the paper which I picked up recently. Note the side column entitled ‘They all offered to help’ detailing the manner in which other Dublin based publications offered assistance to get the paper out on the 18th. It was an incredible display of the work ethic and attitude of the paper that on September 18 1951, one could still purchase The Irish Times from their local vender.

Click on the image to enlarge it. The paper was quite fragile so I didn’t wish to scan it.


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The man with no shame.

Posted in Uncategorized on January 28, 2011| 6 Comments »

I was incredibly angry to hear B€rti€ Ah€rn proclaim to RTE that his biggest regret from his time in the Dail was not securing a proper football stadium for the capital. Is the man for real? While he may fly to Old Trafford to watch kickabouts, a lot more people are flying out of this country everyday seeking paychecks and a future. It was a disgraceful lack of respect to the Irish public.

When I heard the remarks, I’d just given a walking tour through the historic liberties and the centre of Dublin to the men from Kilkenny who have bravely walked to Dublin in opposition to the likes of Ahern and the economic mess created by the unaccountable behind those Kildare Street gates. At Dublin Castle, it had to be said that while historically we associate it with British rule in Ireland, people of my generation will always remember it as the place Bertie Ahern went to speak before a tribunal.

I hope, when he stands for the presidency, that comment yesterday comes back to haunt him. He really is a shameless individual.

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Right on target.

Posted in Dublin History, Social History on January 28, 2011| 1 Comment »

These were discovered hiding in the attic recently, coming from the Watts Gunsmiths which used to be based at 18 Ormond Quay. I’m fascinated by the history of gunsmiths in Dublin, does anyone have a photograph of Watts they can share? Previously, I uploaded this company logo from the ‘compliments’ card of the shop.

Today, Watts is the adifferentkettleoffishaltogether art space at 18 Ormond Quay. We love to document the live of Dublin buildings, so a snap of Watts as it once appeared would be most welcome.

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Deep down in the depths of Toners

Posted in Dublin History on January 27, 2011| 1 Comment »

Toners is an unique pub. It has was a haunt of Kavanagh and his ilk in the 1940s and 1950s, it was an important venue for punk and rockabilly in the 1970s and 1980s and now in 2010-2011 it holds irregular electronic/bass gigs.

While helping to help set up sound equipment at the Munchi gig last November, I was able to have a brief poke around in the back underground rooms/passages.

If only the walls could talk…

credit - jaycarax

 

credit - jaycarax

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The King Blues announce Dublin date

Posted in Music on January 27, 2011| 2 Comments »

Just found out that that London ska/punk  band The King Blues are playing in Dublin (The Academy) on Saturday, March 26. Nice one. Have been into this band for a while now. Their first two albums Under The Fog (2006) and Save The World, Get The Girl (2008) represent some of the best pop-tastic reggae/punk with a sprinkling of politics to come out of the English capital for some years.

Tickets are priced €16.00 inclusive of booking fee and are available at Ticketmaster.

The King Blues – My Boulder from Ascension Productions on Vimeo.

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“The Brain of Every Riot and Disturbance”

Posted in Miscellaneous, Politics, Social History, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on January 27, 2011| 1 Comment »

“For many years past, Liberty Hall has been a thorn in the side of the Dublin Police and the Irish Government. It was the centre of social anarchy, the brain of every riot and disturbance.” The Irish Times. (pg 191, Easter 1916, Townshend)

Neither Kenny nor Gilmore.

Reading through Charles Townshend’s excellent book “Easter 1916,” I picked out the above quote about Liberty Hall and thought to myself, how times really have changed. While DFallon’s recent post on Hawkin’s House challenged the myth, some still call it Dublin’s ugliest building, while others hold it in reverence. Although in this climate, the plans to see it torn down are unlikely, SIPTU have been talking about redeveloping as recently as last August. Personally I’d hate to see it removed, not because of it’s architectural significance or visually appealing exterior (or lack thereof,) but because of the historical relevance of the site and the significant difference it would make to Dublin’s skyline if it was replaced.

"And the banner read..." Originally posted here by DFallon

With the next government looking likely to be made up of a collaboration between Labour and Fine Gael, the current occupants of Liberty Hall, (SIPTU, who to be honest have been about as Anarchic as Tory Boy,) look fully set to have one foot in Leinster House. Not discounting the fact that due to Social Partnership, they have been bedfellows with the Government for over a decade, for the next four years or so, the party they have official ties with are to share power with a party whose roots are seeped in the fascist tradition. Dark days indeed.

"Vote Labour," Reclaim the Streets, 2002

I dread to think that in the next couple of weeks, a new banner will appear on the side of Liberty Hall, calling on the people of Ireland to vote Labour. Lets just hope it isn’t accompanied with an image of Joan “Joe Higgins eats babies” Burton. “The brain of every riot and disturbance” indeed.

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