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Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

The Coombe Lying-in (Maternity) Hospital

Posted in Dublin History, Photography, Social History on January 7, 2013| 7 Comments »

In the depths of the Coombe in Dublin’s Liberties lies the memorial below. Dedicated to the memory of the many women who gave birth in the Coombe Lying-In Hospital, it has to be amongst the most impressive monuments in the city. The plaque at it’s base reads as follows:

“Towards the end of the 1825, two women in a vain attempt to reach the Rotunda hospital perished, together with their new born in the snow. When this became known, a number of benevolent and well disposed people founded the Coombe Lying-in Hospital in the year 1826 for the relief of poor women. Leading the charitable Committee was a Mrs. Margaret Boyle of Upper Street, Dublin.

The portico surrounding this plaque formed the entrance until the year 1967, when the hospital moved to a new location in Dolphin’s Barn. The old portico having been retained and restored by Dublin Corporation as a memorial to the many of mothers who gave birth to future citizens of Ireland in the Coombe Lying-in Hospital and also to the generosity of the staff and friends of the hospital.”

The Portico of the first Coombe Lying-in (Maternity) Hospital

The Portico of the first Coombe Lying-in (Maternity) Hospital

There had been a hospital on this site for close to 200 years, with the foundation stone for the “Meath Hospital and County Dublin Infirmary” being laid in 1770. This hospital operated in this guise for over fifty years until it was closed in 1823.  In 1826 Mrs. Margaret Boyle founded the Coombe Lying-In Hospital on the site, with the Guinness family as one of the hospital’s benefactors. It was Dublin’s second maternity hospital, the first being the Rotunda.

The old Coombe hospital closed and relocated to a newly built premises in 1967. The building was demolished in order to make way for Dublin Corporation housing. Interestingly, the steps at the back of the monument are a memorial to Dublin’s characters of old. Bang Bang and Johnny Forty Coats feature, along with a host of others.

006If you’re interested in taking a look for yourself, the monument can be found near the corner of the Coombe and Brabazon Street. 

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A December stroll through town.

Posted in Photography on December 20, 2012| 9 Comments »

For a few weeks now I’ve been living in Dublin 7, about a ten minute stroll from the centre of town. I’ve made the most of it, and try to carry a camera. I’m by no means a photographer, far from it, but I enjoy taking the occasional photo in Dublin.

Last Monday, with crazy season well under way and people shopping until they drop, we went for a wander around town. We planned to have lunch in the Paris Bakery on Moore Street. On the way, we passed this gem in the window of a shop on the corner of Moore Street and Henry Street. I think I’ll pass on it.

A bargain. On the corner of Moore Street and Henry Street.

A bargain. On the corner of Moore Street and Henry Street.

The Paris Bakery continues to grow, and brings a real bit of life to Moore Street. It’s never empty, and the food is highly spoken of by most Dubs. Walking in the door, you can’t help but notice this bit of Moore Street history. On the menu, you can try the ‘James Connolly’. Unlike today’s Labour movement, there’s no smoked salmon involved.

The reds and the greens.

The reds and the greens.

We went up to the old Irish House of Lords on College Green for a look inside, and there’ll be more on that in time on the site. Outside, I noticed something I’d not seen before. I stop and talk inside and outside this building weekly with my dayjob as a tour guide of Dublin, but the camera in the lights has always escaped me. Big Brother indeed.

Spot the camera

Spot the camera

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Some images from the Anti-Austerity demonstration (November 24th)

Posted in Photography on November 25, 2012| 5 Comments »

Image: Wally Cassidy

We’re big fans of Wally Cassidy’s photography, and have shared some of his brilliant shots from the 1980s both here and on our Facebook page. From youth subcultures to great moments of protest and rage, Wally captured some real gems in black and white. There is something about the medium of black and white with photography, it remains timeless. Yesterday, Wally took a series of brilliant photographs at the Anti-Austerity demonstration, and has allowed me to share a few here.

On the march itself, to me it felt a bit like going through the motions. The hostility towards the overpaid union top-brass was totally unsurprising, and Jack O’Connor’s absence from the speakers list notable. I don’t blame him!

You can see some of Wally’s classic images, and some more recent shots, over here on his Facebook page.

Image credit: Wally Cassidy

Image credit: Wally Cassidy

Image: Wally Cassidy

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The writings on the wall… Part III

Posted in Dublin History, Photography, Street Art, tagged , , , , , on November 22, 2012| 8 Comments »

It took longer than I imagined it might to get down to Windmill Lane for this, the third in a series of posts looking at some of Dublin’s lesser known street art spots. I’ve been to Richmond Villas and Liberty Lane in the first two posts, and am on the look out for other gems. Strange though it may seem, given Windmill Lane’s historical connection to U2, that amongst the thousands of tags that cover the street, I couldn’t find one “Bono is a pox.”

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The writings on the wall… Part II

Posted in Dublin History, Photography, Street Art, tagged , , , , on November 7, 2012| 4 Comments »

My apologies to Poxbottle, who asked that any posts referring to Irish graffiti not be called “The writings on the wall…” Its only for this short series, I swear! Anyways, last week I put up some images of the street art behind the Bernard Shaw and said I was going to follow it up, so here it is… The lane behind Whelan’s/ The Village. I’m hoping to get another couple of these posts up in the next week or so, there’s a some more hidden spots around Dublin city where our street artists show off their talents that are worth documenting…

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The writings on the wall…

Posted in Dublin History, Photography, Social History, Street Art, tagged , , , , , , , on November 1, 2012| 10 Comments »

“The delights a stroll around Dublin can bring you. I’ve always carried my camera around with me, but have only recently started to take it out and not give a shite that I look like a tourist.”

If you like graffiti, and well, taking pictures of graffiti like us, there are some hidden gems around Dublin. The Tivoli Carpark is one that we generally return to, as the annual Jam there always provides… Below is another, the lane behind the Bernard Shaw, Richmond Street. I’ve only put up nine snaps, I could have taken a hell of a lot more but this post would have been very long if I did… I’ll have another photo piece in a couple of days from another spot just around the corner that’s worth checking out. Click “continue reading” to see the full post…

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Colourised Slides of Dublin (University of California)

Posted in Dublin History, Photography on October 31, 2012| 6 Comments »

Thanks to Sarah Rose Parsons for bringing our attention to these beautiful colourised slides of Dublin City from the Special Collections at University of California, Santa Cruz. The photographer is unknown but we are told they were taken between 1932 and 1935.

Our old friend Henry Grattan is looking well here. The two benches and the telephone boxes are long gone today but the two gas lamp standards, decorated with carved Hippocampus (Sea Horses) still remain. There used to be four but the other two disappeared sometime in the 20th century. For more historic pictures of the statue, check out an old post of ours from January 2010.

Henry Grattan (1932 – 1935). Credit – University of California, Santa Cruz

O’Meara’s public house, known as The Irish House, which sat on the corner of Winetavern Street and Wood Quay from 1870 to 1968 is seen here with a group of relatively well dressed children outside. For more on this pub, have a look at one of our posts from May.

The Irish House pub (1932 – 1935). Credit – University of California, Santa Cruz

This looks like a drayman taking a break from work. My g-grand uncle was a drayman with Murphys Brewery in Cork in the early 1900s. I read in the book A Bottle of Guinness Please that the arrival of motor transport in the 1930s quickly killed off this occupation. The author David Hughes said that Guinness closed their stables in 1932 apparently. So it’s interesting to see that this chap was still working in the middle years of that decade, possibly with another brewery? Or is he employed in another occupation altogether?

A worn drayman with top hat and grey mustache in Dublin (1932-1935). Credit – University of California, Santa Cruz

View the other 23 slides here at the Retronaut website.

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As An Talamh needs you!

Posted in Miscellaneous, Photography on September 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Back in April, we gave you a sneak preview of As An Talamh, an upcoming documentary that will focus on both Dublin’s rich rave history and the underground dance culture of today, talking to the promoters, bedroom producers, DJs, DIY record labels and radio shows who keep the flame alive. Well now, they need your help. With weeks left to finish their doc, they are scrambling for any old fliers or photo’s from the scene any ravers are willing to part with.

There must be hard drives, dusty old boxes and folders full of tracks, photos and video sitting out there that we can use to tell the story of dance in Dublin. We’re not just looking for shots of DJs and producers, what about behind the scenes material? What about photos and videos from the perpective of the clubbers and ravers? Get in touch and tell us what you and how we can use it! It’d be much appreciated.

So, what are ye waiting for?! Get yourselves to www.asantalamh.com and start submitting!

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There’s more to Dublin than this

Posted in Miscellaneous, Photography, tagged , on September 6, 2012| 6 Comments »

Its easy to forget that Dublin is a town on the sea. Our relationship to the wide expanse that is Dublin Bay extends slightly farther than Dublin Port on the Northside and the Pigeon House on the Southside; but for the last few years, I’ve lived between the canals and because of that, my world has consisted of Dublin’s streetscapes,  neglecting what lies outside of those.

With the summer that was in it, you couldn’t exactly go exploring, but thankfully, this last week has looked something like a normal September might… This week so far though, I’ve been to Dun Laoghaire on Monday and out to Howth with the bauld JScully on Tuesday. Later this week, its the Hellfire Club for us, and hopefully a few pictures of that will come too. Above is Ireland’s Eye from the end of Howth Pier. For some reason, I always thought it was bigger…

Some… odd grafitti adorning the lighthouse at the end of the pier. Tags from all over the world, from Brazil to Korea and beyond, go right around the small structure, an interesting one to see. This village lies not ten miles away from O’Connell Bridge yet I haven’t been here since I was a toddler.

Up to the summit, off the bikes (thankfully,) and a walk down to the cliffs. Have to admit, we felt more than a bit jealous looking at the people sitting outside The Summit pub drinking pint bottles of cider, but that’s for another time. Stunning views from the cliffs. (more…)

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A few quick snaps

Posted in Miscellaneous, Photography, Street Art, tagged , , , , , , on August 28, 2012| 14 Comments »

“The delights a stroll around Dublin can bring you. I’ve always carried my camera around with me, but have only recently started to take it out and not give a shite that I look like a tourist.”

Someone said of the last bunch of photo’s I stuck up that Dublin is starting to look like a proper shithole… Its not- its really not, its just that for whatever reason, I like taking pictures of graffiti, rundown buildings and, well, real Dublin. For any piece of eight or ten images, its possible to have taken fifty or sixty shots on my not very fancy camera. Subsequently, I have hundreds of shots of birds, trees, sunshine and flowers. But I still prefer the grittier side of things!

The Seahorses of Grattan Bridge. JayCarax has done some great work on the history of the Grattan statue on College Green. The  statue is, of course, surrounded by lamps bearing ornate seahorses. Grattan Bridge bears the same idols on its lamps.

I’ve recently moved gaff, so my cycle to work takes me down along the canal, from Rathmines to Inchicore. For three months, I’ve been cycling past this spot and never noticed this piece on the side of the bridge at Herberton Road until this week. The work of Solus, I think its a belter!

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I miss the Tall Ships.

Posted in Photography on August 27, 2012| 1 Comment »

What a fantastic few days that was. After a few days knocking around the docks, it was sad watching the ships sail out yesterday. If nothing else, the festival showed that the soulless kip that is the IFSC can be brought to life, and the sight of tens of thousands spilling down onto the quays for days on end was a joy to behold. Sailors wandering from pub to pub, and Dubliners from ship to ship. I was lucky enough to board a few over the course of the festival, and even took the €2 Liffey Ferry with Jaycarax. We loved it.

Even the Anglo building couldn’t ruin the beauty of it all…

Financial pirates.

The weather was exactly as you’d expect for anything in Dublin, with the sun hiding until the last day. Rain ponchos were being sold for up to €7 by chancers along the quays, and it seemed some were more than willing to take them up on the ‘bargain’.

I remember that summer in Dublin

The Liffey cuts the City, like a meandering blue vein. Ancient poetry echoes, in soft rain down the lanes.

‘The Liffey cuts the city….’

Kings of Concrete and the Tall Ships Festival might have seemed strange bed fellows at first, but in the end the vibrant mix of street art and sports on the edge of the festival was a welcome addition. The Big Blue Bus was on hand serving up great pizza.

The rules of graffiti aren’t being obeyed by all clearly….

Kids today…

Isn’t she beautiful?

Me Jewel and Darlin’

Really the only downside with it for me was Bulmers having a monopoly on the booze on site, which meant popping over to The Black Sheep for a sly one to avoid the rain!

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A few quick snaps

Posted in Dublin History, Miscellaneous, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on August 14, 2012| 3 Comments »

“The delights a stroll around Dublin can bring you. I’ve always carried my camera around with me, but have only recently started to take it out and not give a shite that I look like a tourist.”

The last couple of months have been busy, and I haven’t gotten out with the camera as much as I would like. Hence, I’m a little rusty. I hope to remedy this though, and over the next while, hope to get one post of pictures up a fortnight… I’ll start off with the below, looking down toward School Street from Earl Street South- “Fuck the System.”

“Dublin is in palliative care, drowning in oceans of Lynx and fake tan and fake people. Hipsters, bints, where have all the real people…” something, something, angry rant, something.

I hoped to have two scooters in this piece, one far more impressive than the one below, but an unfortunate incident of a disappearing memory card means there’s just this one. Just off Grafton Street, a beauty. The blokier version will appear in the next “A few quick snaps” post.

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