Below are some photos taken on a stroll through the city, little things that caught my eye and seemed perfect for Come Here To Me.
Back in November 2010, a Union of Students in Ireland demo saw students occupy the Department of Finance on Merrion Row, with the building getting pelted with eggs in the process. Passing it yesterday, I noticed that it looks almost like it happened yesterday.
I like little nods to the history of Dublin, like this one on Harcourt Street, advertising a market in the location where in 1900 The Wicklow, which was carrying cattle, ended up suspended over Hatch Street having smashed through the outer train station wall.
The Irish Times reported at the time:
All went well with the train until it was approaching Harcourt Street Station, at half-past four o’clock, when Hyland, it is believed , found he could not get his brakes to act, owing to the slippery nature of the wheels and rails combined with the fact that the train was very heavy. Speed could not be slackened, and the engine with its heavy load dashed through the station to the great alarm of the people on the platform, who saw that an accident of a serious nature must result, nor were they mistaken.
The tents are gone, but I’m starting to think the ‘Tree of Gold’ might be slightly more embarrassing if the worlds media descend on Dame Street. Like the spire symbolising Ireland’s rise to economic prosperity, the Tree of Gold hasn’t aged well.
Dublin is still sticker city in my eyes, and for the most part it seems the Council are happy enough to leave them be. This strange Irish Union Jack sticker has me baffled.
Earlier in the month, when I heard Bang Cafe had caught fire, I was terrified this Conor Harrington piece would be no more. This piece still grabs my attenton every time I pass it.
The postbox at Dublin Castle, opposite the Olympia. You don’t see this information on every Dublin postbox do you?
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 
Great pics! Particularly The Ghost of An Egging. A slightly more benign echo of the bullet-holes in the GPO.
I think I can clear up the mystery of that sticker; those, in fact, are the colours of Legia Warszawa, founded in 1916. The Union Flag design is often appropriated by Eastern European ultras and hoolies as an icon of 80s terrace culture.
Is it only me or did there used to be a radio ad for Tonge & Taggart in the 1980s which had the tagline “not just bollards for Libya”? If this is a figment of my imagination it must be the bizarrest yet. Can anyone confirm?
Regarding the Irish Union Jack; it’s a sticker for Polish football club Legia Warszawa. The reference to 1916 relates to the year the club was founded rather than any reference to the Easter Rising in Ireland (incidentally, former Legia and Glasgow Celtic player Artur Boruc managed to inadvertantly impress some fans of both clubs by posing with the number 19 and 16 jerseys together). The Union Jack design seems to be a standard across Eastern European football hooligans (of which Legia has it’s share, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/04/polish-government-rioting-legia-warsaw); I believe they have a particular fascination/affinity for the 1980’s British ‘casuals’ culture.
Apologies; didn’t see DublinDilettante’s response – at least we’re agreed!
ref andrew mc quillan Yes while working in t@t we exported Bean type marine bollards to amongst other places . Libya At the time we ran a short slightly humerous ad campaighn on RTE radio the theme of which was “Bollards to libya “.This would have been in the late 70s early 80s.And I would lay money that the bollards are still going strong——Paul Folan