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Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category

Meanwhile, in the other 31 counties…

Posted in Miscellaneous on January 22, 2011| 3 Comments »

…people are preparing for the weekly carvery, washed down with a few minerals. What are they like?

Seriously though, there is nothing more Irish than the Sunday carvery dinner. That’s actually The Foxhunter in Lucan, which does a lovely carvery.

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Joe Higgins Bingo.

Posted in Miscellaneous on January 20, 2011| 5 Comments »

There’s an election on the way. You might have heard that.

Expecting to see plenty of Joe Higgins on the television, a friend from the
Red Writers blog has created Joe Higgins Bingo, or a potentially very dangerous drinking game for those on the left.

Here are some Higgins catch phrases you should listen out for. Get a kebab in (he’s up against a Lenihan, by chance….), a few bottles of red lemonade and enjoy.

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100 exciting things…

Posted in Miscellaneous on January 18, 2011| 4 Comments »

… you didn’t know about the city centre!

Thanks to Eif C for sharing.

Lots of familiar places: Hop House, Mary Abbey, Freemasons Hall and Sunlight Chambers.

Lots of new ones: Wittgenstein plaque, Old Burton Building and Blessington Basin.

Great idea. View it better here. Props to Designing Dublin

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The Theatre Royal Hippodrome

Posted in Dublin History, Miscellaneous, Social History, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on January 18, 2011| 3 Comments »

While historically, and perhaps understandably, The Abbey Theatre takes centre stage in this city, mainly because of it’s connections with Synge, Yeats and O’Casey and their associations with the 1916 Rebellion, its sometimes easy to forget that there are, and were a plethora of other theatres, not only The Gaiety, The Olympia, The Gate, but a long list of many more.
I came across the picture below, of a building on the corner of Poolbeg Street and Hawkins’ Street with a stone columned pallisade and cast iron and glass canopy while flicking through the excellent dublin.ie forum recently. It started me thinking about the recent publishing by the Dublin City Council of images of Dublin’s vanishing and forgotten features (see JayCarax’s piece on that here ) and about actually how much of this city has been erased. Streets, buildings and sites of archaeological significance were destroyed; eradicated in the name of progress without thought of their value, socially and historically, to future generations.

The Theatre Royal Hippodrome, Credit to Cosmo on dublin.ie for the picture

One such building is the Theatre Royale Hippodrome/ Winter Gardens on Hawkins’ Street. The only reason I know of its existence is because of a flash of interest when I first saw the picture above, did a quick search and found the poster below. Dating from 1919, these were turbulent times in Dublin. The Declaration of Independence was declared at the 21st January assembly of Dáil Eireann, and hostilities in the War of Independence began on the same day with Dan Breen and Seán Treacy’s attack on two RIC constables who were escorting explosives in Soloheadbeag, Co. Tipperary.

The Evening Telegraph front page, from the morning of January 22nd, 1919

There is not too much information on the Theatre Royal Hippodrome available. It is known that there were four in existence; the first was on the site of the still running “Smock Alley” theatre, the second on Hawkins Street, (the site of the image above,) where it ran until it burned to the ground in 1880. This theatre re-opened in 1897 with a capacity of 2, 300 (compare this to the Olympia, which nowadays holds 1, 100) and ran until 1934 when it was demolished and replaced by the fourth theatre which opened in 1935 and ran until 1962. The picture is estimated to be from around 1906/ 07, which suggests it is from the third incarnation of the Theatre.

Poster for the Theatre Royal Hippodrome for 16th June 1919, credit to Matthew from http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk for permission to reproduce here.

Two events stood out for me in reading about the theatre. The first was Charlie Chaplin’s appearance here as a young man in 1906 as part of an act called The Eight Lancashire Lads (1.) The second was the attempted assassination of British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith here on July 19th 1912, not by Irish Revolutionaries but by militant English Suffragettes (2.) Their first attempt involved a hatchet thrown at him by one woman as his carriage passed the GPO on O’Connell Street. While it missed him, she did succeed in striking John Redmond, the nationalist leader. The second involved three women who attempted to set fire to the Theatre as Asquith was about to speak.

The Irish Times report stated:

Sergeant Cooper, accompanied by his wife and Colour-Sergeant and Mrs Shea, was sitting in the dress circle of the theatre. About a quarter to nine, when the performance had concluded and the people were going out, he saw a flame in the back seat, just in front of the cinematograph box.

With the presence of mind that one should expect in a soldier, he rushed to the place, and found that the carpet was saturated with oil and ablaze. He and Colour-Sergeant Shea beat the fire out with their mackintoshes. Just as they had succeeded in this, under the seat there was an explosion, which filled the dress circle with smoke.

At this moment Sergeant Cooper saw a young woman standing near. She was lighting matches. Opening the door of the cinematograph box, she threw in a lighted match, and then tried to escape. But she was caught by Sergeant Cooper and held by him. She is stated to have then said: “There will be a few more explosions in the second house. This is only the start of it.”

From the Irish Times archive.

From the posters, I get the feeling that the Theatre was the anti- thesis of the Abbey which stood a mere 100 yards away as the crow flies, albeit the other side of the River Liffey. An advertisement which I have been unable to reproduce (but can be seen here on the arthurlloyd.co.uk website) has the adage “God Save the King”  amid advertisements for “Hammam Turkish Baths, Sackville Street” and open daily “Winter Gardens” serving “Teas, coffees and light refreshments,” delights the majority of Dubliners at that time could only dream about.

As far as I know, nothing remains of the Theatre Royal Hippodrome today. From the photograph above (and from deductions that the construction work in the background was the construction of he Sheehan Memorial on Burgh Quay,) its been worked out that the National Aviation Authority  stands on the site formerly occupied by it. There is now a housing scheme off Pearse Street named after the Winter Gardens, but searches for more information have thrown up little more than (apart from advertisements for apartments for sale and to let,) the poster above, the picture of the Hippodrome, the Irish Times article and a brief history of the theatre in a book called “Dear, Dirty Dublin: A City in Distress.” Published in 1982, this book has a great paragraph on the Gaelic Leagues denunciation of the demise of Irish culture as a product of the hegemony of imported English popular culture. While in the early twentieth century, the Abbey Theatre put paid to the notion that Irish culture was condemned to obsucurity, the book also has a great quote from Padraig Pearse as he proclaimed the Dublin of his day held:

Nothing but Guinness porter. Her contribution to the world’s civilisation (3.)

Due in part to some of the works that have made their debuts in The Abbey Theatre, Dublin has proven itself to have contributed more than just Guinness porter to the world. Who knows how much more we could have contributed if sites of historical and cultural relevence such as the Theatre Royal and the Viking Settlement at Wood Quay not half a mile down the same side of the river weren’t trampled on and replaced by drab, dour, and most importantly “conventional” buildings.

Footnotes:

(1.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_Royal,_Dublin

(2.) http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0719/1224275016332.html

(3.) Dear, Dirty Dublin: A City in Distress by Joseph V. O’Brien, Page 23. Can be read here.

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Toy Soldiers.

Posted in Miscellaneous on January 17, 2011| 3 Comments »

I always loved these, in fact they’re undoubtedly my favourite Christmas present ever received. Put somewhere too safe, one would always be missing. Now they’ve pride of place on the mantlepiece. The detail in the Starry Plough flag is incredible. I used to love being taken to model shops where alongside the endless trains and cars, you’d always find the British regiments of the Crimean war or the 6th Airborne Division complete with a miniature Pegasus Bridge, but never see Irish history in miniature and painted form!

Anyone have anything similar? I often wonder just what would have been produced in 1966 for example. Got anything to share?

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Kennedy’s (George’s Quay) closed?

Posted in Miscellaneous, Pubs on January 17, 2011| 12 Comments »

Rumours abound on Boards.ie that Kennedy’s, a fantastic little pub, on George’s Quay has closed down.

Another victim of the recession? Can anyone shed any light?

Update: J. Kennedy’s Facebook page states that the bar is only closed for repairs.

Pictured in 2009. Credit - JeffHanway

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New tourist trail for Dublin

Posted in Miscellaneous on January 17, 2011| 1 Comment »

A TOURISM trail which will stretch from the gates of Trinity College to Kilmainham Jail and has been called the “golden mile” is being developed by Fáilte Ireland.

The trail will take in some of Dublin’s best known landmarks, including Dublin Castle, Christchurch Cathedral and the Guinness Storehouse creating an east-west trail which it is hoped will be a major attraction for visitors to the capital.

The trail is being developed in conjunction with Dublin City Council, the Office of Public Works and the Dublin Civic Trust and plans are due to go to the Fáilte Ireland board for approval imminently.

It is envisaged that the trail will employ full-time guides and amateur performers depicting historical scenes from events such as the hanging of Robert Emmet in Thomas Street, the site of which is another landmark on the proposed trail. – The Irish Times

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€4,000,000

Posted in Miscellaneous on January 16, 2011| 3 Comments »

Recently, I was giving a tour of the city to visitors who were as horrified/distraught/confused by the Spire as we all were in 2003. It dominates the street, and it’s frankly impossible to discuss Daniel O’ Connell, the legacy of the 1913 lockout or anything else until you address it.

The questions begin.


“What’s it supposed to represent?”

I explained its official title is An Túr Solas, or Monument of Light, and it is supposed to represent our rise to prosperity, and capture the spirit of modern Ireland.

“Hmmm, I suppose Neil Young should swing by” she noted.

Confused, I asked why.

“Perhaps a performance of the Needle and the Damage Done?”

Genius. You have to love people….

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“I am a Jew and I’m quite happy to live in that country”

Posted in Miscellaneous on January 12, 2011| 4 Comments »

How wonderfully bizarre.

Robert Briscoe (1894 –1969), former IRA member, Fianna Fail politician and first Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin, stars as  the special guest on the U.S. game show What’s My Line? in March 1958.

There’s a pretty interesting discussion on the Dublin Theatre Festival towards the end.

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Martyr Of The Month

Posted in Miscellaneous on January 6, 2011| 3 Comments »

The Irish Times is the only paper we buy in this house. It may be often dismissed as the best of a bad bunch, but I think it genuinely is a good read, and I’ve great time for some of the contributers. Emmet Malone for example in the sport section is top class for League of Ireland coverage, and there’s a guy you might have heard of called VINCENT BROWNE who writes for the paper on occasion too.

The Gloss is a fashion magazine that comes with the paper monthly. It’s everything you’d expect from a magazine that was apparently €4.50 a month before merging with the newspaper. This months The Gloss includes a guide to saving money from some faces from the world of style and fashion, and it makes for a great read. So much so, that I have decided to give Arnotts CEO Nigel Blow the illustrious (and eh….brand new) Come Here To Me Martyr Of The Month award.

“I’ve joined a Working Man’s Club in my local village in England so I can get a pint for £2.45! And I’ve downgraded from the €7 shoe shine to the €5 option in Dublin Airport.”

Nigel, we salute you.

Hard Times.

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Cineworld Unlimited Card – 3 month review

Posted in Miscellaneous, tagged , , on January 4, 2011| 8 Comments »

I’ve always loved the cinema. I enjoy nothing more than escaping from life for a couple of hours and watching a decent film.

The only thing that has stopped me going regularly is the price. I can’t afford to pay €9 (Savoy, 15 and over) €8.60 (Cineworld, student after 5pm) or even €6.50 (Screen, student) nearly every week to see a film.

After considerable debate and cost analysis, I decided in October to sign up to Cineworld’s Unlimited Card which costs €19.99 a month. For that price, I can go to as many films as I want per month at their cinema on Parnell Street. I’m really glad I did it. I’ve saved a considerable amount of money, saw films which I wouldn’t have seen in the first place and have used the card to my advantage on many cold or wet winter days.

Since October 16, I’ve gone to 13 films in Cineworld. I’ve kept a little movie diary to keep account of my savings:

Oct 16 – The Social Network (€8.60)
Oct 25 – Red (€7.10)
Oct 27 – Easy-A (€8.60)

OCT: €24.30 – €19.99 = €4.31

Nov 11 – Jackass 3D (€8.60)
Nov 15 – Another Year (€7.10)
Nov 19 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (€8.60)
Nov 24 – Chico and Rico (€8.60)
Nov 30 –  London Boulevard (€8.60)

NOV: €41.50 – €19.99 = €21.51

Dec 3 – The American (€8.60)
Dec 10 – Unstoppable (€7.10)
Dec 15 – The Tourist (€7.10)
Dec 20 – Monsters (€7.10)
Dec 22 – Meet the Parents: Little Fockers (€7.10)

DEC €37.00 – €19.99 = €17.01

Total Costs: €102.80 – 59.97 = €42.83

If i had paid each time to see every film above, it would have cost me just over €100. With the Unlimited Card, it cost me just under €60.

 

(c) Cian Ginty

I’ve done my best to give a critical and honest look at the advantages and disadvantages of the card.

(more…)

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“Born in Dublin and aged 21”

Posted in Miscellaneous on December 31, 2010| 9 Comments »

I absolutely love this cover image, from Sing (‘Britain’s Folk Song Magazine’) No.55, June 1966.

It’s just one of the lovely things which arrived in the post today, along with heaps of newspapers, pamphlets and magazines from the 1960s. I will scan them all up in a post exam world.

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