Come Here To Me!

A Ballyfermot child discusses religion in The Rocky Road To Dublin

Rocky Road to Dublin indeed! The film is anticlerical, antigovernment, anti-G.A.A, anti-censor, anti-Abbey Theatre – anti EVERYTHING.

-Evening Herald,1968.

I was saddened today to hear that Peter Lennon has passed away. Lennon was a renowned journalist and the man behind the groundbreaking documentary The Rocky Road To Dublin, which blew many cobwebs off of what people thought Ireland was and showed what lay underneath in many regards. The documentary featured people as diverse as Seán Ó Faoláin and Conor Cruise O’Brien, and forced many to look at the role of the church in Irish society. At the time the documentary was produced, in the late 1960s, Lennon was based in Paris as a journalist for The Guardian and it was upon a return trip to Dublin that he decided to produce The Rocky Road… a critical analysis of Irish society at the time.

It was 2004 before the film was restored by the Irish Film Board. It had been the victim of a de-facto banning here in Ireland for years before that. Lennon and the team behind the work, like so many others who dared question the society of the period, found themselves effectively silenced.

Was there a revolution in Ireland? “A rebellion led by poets and socialists”, as Lennon described it, had led to a strange and conservative country, and Ó Faoláin goes further on film to call it “a country without moral courage” and a society “in constant alliance with a completely oppressive,regressive and uncultivated church.”

I’ve always loved the scenes in Ballyfermot, a corner of the city close to my heart and family. The young children shown are happier than any you’ll find today, despite living in a society defined by inequality.

We owe Peter Lennon so much for The Rocky Road To Dublin.

This excellent documentary is also worth a look, from Icarus Films:

This documentary reunites director Peter Lennon and cinematographer Raoul Coutard, who recount the making of their then controversial but now classic documentary on Ireland in the Sixties. Rocky Road to Dublin was screened for only a few weeks at a single Dublin theater and was critically condemned and accused of being Communist-funded. But as Lennon explains, while the Irish saw Rocky Road to Dublin as an insult, the French saw it as a film.

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If so, please do get in touch with me at donal.ofalluin.2009(at)nuim.ie

The destruction of Wood Quay is something I’m fascinated by at the minute and hoping to do some study on in the future. I’d love to do a feature on the site here, as last year I undertook a college research project on viking homes in Dublin last year that really brought the magnitude of what happened at Wood Quay home.

Youtuber thachabre has uploaded this excellent footage from 1979, showing Historical Societies from all over Ireland and ordinary Dubliners marching in protest at the plans for the Civic Offices.

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Another week, another list.

I got to do about half the things I intended to last week. To be honest I’m blaming Paddys Day for the other half, or indeed anything, not getting done.

The Dublin Derby between Saint Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers didn’t exactly go to plan. By not going to plan, I mean we lost by two goals. Regardless of that we’re at home this Friday to Dundalk. Three defeats in a row would be a disaster, but heads up for now.

Last weeks cinema trip happened, I took in Submarine at the IFI and absolutely loved it. It’s well worth a look. I’m hoping to get back to the cinema on a weekly basis.

At the weekend, come payday, I’ll be buying my ticket for the Forbidden Fruit festival in June. Jamie XX, Caribou, Aphex Twin, Battles and more besides make this all a worthwhile venture. Day tickets are €49.50, and the gigs take place in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham.

I will get along to Crackbird on Crane Lane at some point this week, I’ve the intention of taking the younger brother too. Awfully decent of me all things considered:

Tweeters who follow @CrackBirdDublin and send them a reservation request using the #tweetseats hashtag will – if their requested booking is available – eat for free at a special six-seater booth at the back of the restaurant.

I haven’t got up to Collins Barracks in a while and I’m meaning to check out the Irish High Crosses exhibition, not least as it’s relevant to college interests at the moment.

Don Conroy off the telly is in The Bernard Shaw on Thursday. Showing people how to draw. Really, he is. It’s so surreal it’s almost tempting to drop in.

A visit to the Dublin Civic Trust is long overdue, not least to see the figures from The Irish House pub that once stood at Wood Quay, depicting men like Grattan and O’Connell. The people in the Civic Trust do some amazing work for the capital.

I didn’t make it to the Dead Zoo last week as intended, but am optimistic I’ll squeeze it in this week.

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Tip of the hat to my friend ‘Bob Bono’, Photoshop wizard. Come Here To Me welcomes all Photoshop submissions about Bono.

The beauty is in the detail, enlarge the image.

On the subject of Bono, Bob Byrne’s take on the man had me in stitches.

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This video comes from Wild Irish Swan, a great site showing the wildlife photography of Paul Hughes.

Charlie the seal has been impressing people over on the northside recently by waving for food. This video was taken at Howth Harbour.

Sadly, it seems the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have put a sign in place warning people of a €5,000 fine for feeding Charlie or his mates. But could you resist this little waving lad?

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It finished two nil to the Hoops in the southside derby last night, and the PA took the opportunity to play The Drugs Don’t Work by The Verve at the end of the match. Cheeky fecker.

If anyone has photos or video of the SRFC Ultras display forward it on and I’ll stick it up in the post. I’ve looked around and found the SRFC TV stream, which is over here and shows the game, the two goals and the SRFC Ultras display.

The SEI have a video of their display and the Saint Patrick’s Athletic singing section up already, here it is. The chanting at the end was about fifteen minutes after the final whistle. The policing operation was larger than anything I can recall at one of our Dublin derbies in the recent past, and we were kept back a little longer than usual I think.

A good night off the pitch for us, but on the pitch it was three points in the bag for Rovers who continue a perfect run.

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I’ve this little review of Between The Canals in this weeks Le Cool, the film is worth checking out if you find yourself in the mood for a cinema trip.

I hope you’re all feeling better today than I am. Below is Johnny McGory, one of my favourite Dubliners tracks and featured in Between The Canals.

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ADW does it again. Andrews Lane.

Have a nice day tomorrow and treat the city with some respect.

It’s my day off. I’ll leave it to Flann O’Brien:

And here’s a good wan. The brother met an oul fella below in Wiekla town and yer man said straight out of that there was no Saint Patrick and that the whole yarn was invented be Strongbow or somebody. The brother asked him, if that was true, how come there was no snakes in Ireland? Know what th’oul fella done? Laughed in the brother’s face. Me dear man, says he when I was a young man settin out to make me fortune, I first emigrated to Australia. There was work to be had there but it was too hard and the grub was something fierce. With the result was I continued me travels to New Zealand. Ever heard tell of New Zealand? Right. I’ll tell ya wan thing about New Zealand. There isn’t a single snake in the whole place.

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We saw this coming. Highlights include axed routes and a few buses that now go halfway around the world. The changes come into effect from Friday 25th March 2011.

Come Here To Me ‘Save The Dublin Nitelinks’ Facebook Page.

(more…)

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The Guardians of the Peace and courts of law have told a northside publican to remove his banner banning the Queen of the United Kingdom from the premises. Due to a fear of losing the venues late licence, the owner of The Players Lounge agreed to remove the banner.

Inspector Liam Dillon told the court that his objection, based on public safety concerns, would be withdrawn if the banner was removed by 1700 GMT.

BBC News NI have a good report over here.

City centre graffiti.

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