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Game On!

September 14, 2010 by Donal

Childhood.

The things I spot on my lunch break.

Game On is coming to the Ambassador from September 20th. Don’t know what it is? Over 100 classic playabale arcade games are coming to the centre of Dublin, in a big nerdfest love-in.

Game On traces the technology behind the incredible pace of development in computer game production over the last 35 years and gives audiences a thrilling hands-on experience to explore how games and gaming has evolved into a massive billion-dollar industry of today.

I grew up basically attached to the Time Crisis machine in the Superdome here in Palmerstown so I’, really looking forward to this. From Pong to Mario Kart, it’ll all feature.

Admission seems to be a tenner, I’ll hopefully pop in to it early on and give you a review here.

Posted in Events | 1 Comment »

Float On.

September 13, 2010 by Donal

Liffeytown got a smile out of me, and just about everyone else, on the bus home from work today.

What is Liffeytown? Well, between September 12 and 26, the Liffey plays home to little red and green houses, popularly known as Monopoly homes to anyone old enough to stand. Anyone younger than that probably knows them as those things you stick in your mouth. I have an unopened Monopoly set upstairs that I’m now tempted to get out. It’s a nice piece of commentary on an economy that some treated like a game of Monopoly.

Moored between O’Connell Bridge and the Ha’penny Bridge, Liffeytown is a comment on the rise and fall of the property industry, bookmarking the end of an era. Throughout the boom, the city was surrounded by a forest of scaffolding and cranes constructing badly planned, badly designed, disposable architecture. ‘Liffeytown’ presents itself, hopefully, as the last of these ‘ghost estates’ — as a beacon that its time has passed and been replaced by a more sensitively attuned city.

-From Liffeytown.com

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Dublin Punk Playlist, 1977 – 1982 (History Ireland)

September 13, 2010 by Sam

Over 100 people attended the History Ireland discussion yesterday afternoon on ‘Dublin Punk & New Wave’ in the late 1970s as part of the Phibsboro Community Arts Festival (Phizzfest). The final line up was Pete Holidai (The Radiators From Space), Eamon Delaney (Ex. Punk & current Indo columnist), Billy McGrath (UCD Ents 1976/77 & manager of The Atrix), Dave Donnelly (Ex. Black Catholics) and Cllr. Cieran Perry (Ex. Punk).

The response was overwhelmingly positive with the only complaints focused on the lack of female participation in the panel and no chance for a questions and answers session. Hopefully, this will be the start of a number of public discussions on different aspects of Dublin youth/music culture e.g. Skinhead, Rockabilly, Mod/Soul and Dance/Rave.

Here’s my playlist from yesterday. Would you have chosen differently? Left out any particular song? Added in something else?

1. The Radiators From Space – Television Screen (1977)

2. The Boomtown Rats – Lookin’ After Number One (1977)

3. The Vipers – I’ve Got You (1978)

4. The Vipers – No Such Thing (1978)


5. The Boomtown Rats – Rap Trap (1978)

6. U2 – Stories For Boys (1979)

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Posted in Dublin History, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Some snaps from ‘Punks or Posers’ History Ireland Hedge School.

September 13, 2010 by Donal

We’re buzzing around these parts this morning. The Punks or Posers discussion managed to draw a huge crowd of ex punks, current punks, music lovers and the generally curious to the northside yesterday for an exciting conversation which didn’t disappoint. Sam has promised to upload his playlist here soon, so look out for that. My thanks to all who approached us at the end to say they enjoy the blog. A blog without readers wouldn’t make much sense…..

Thanks to Andrew Flood for these excellent images.

You can check out History Ireland over here, and if you’re new to ourselves you can get Come Here To Me updates delivered to your (virtual) front door via Facebook, over here.

Pete Holidai of The Radiators From Space, sitting next to Eamon Delaney.

A varied group of panelists

A little rain couldn't stop the show.

Posted in Dublin History, Music | 1 Comment »

Final list of speakers for Punks or Posers.

September 10, 2010 by Donal

This is the first Hedge School since the ‘Leccy Piccy’ in Laois so pop up to Phibsboro and get involved. Our own Sam has picked a fine setlist of music too, and the photo exhibition presents a chance to spot an embarrassing snap of a relative. Well done to the organisers of the festival on a fine and varied list of events.

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That’ll take some getting used to.

September 9, 2010 by Donal

Know the old Baileys sign at the bottom of O’ Connell Street? Of course you do, it’s been there as long as I can remember anyway. This one.

Well, look what I spotted on the way to work today:

Hmm. We’ll wait and see.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Leave a Comment »

Where Lower Mount Street used to be.

September 9, 2010 by Donal

You have to go abroad to find the gems. In a second hand bookshop in Edinburgh, a copy of Dublin:A Travellers’ Companion showed up, which features many excerpts from classic Dublin books and accounts.

This Dublin ballad by Dermot O’ Byrne, which was taken from An Anthology of 1916 by Edna Fitzhenry, is one I had not come across before and deemed worthy of sharing here.

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The Irish: A Dancing People.

September 8, 2010 by Donal

Skip to 5:19. No comment.

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A Random Drop Inn: The Church

September 8, 2010 by Ciarán

The Church on Mary Street; a building I’ve walked past twice a day for the last year or so and never managed to set foot in. I’ve always got a feeling that the place would be too hoi- polloi for me, the kind of person who doesn’t mind a shabby interior or lack of dress code once his pint and choice of company are acceptable. While I got the great company and a good pint, I still felt a little out of place, my bad, not the pubs.

The Beautiful interior- from europealacarte.co.uk

Vying with Davy Byrnes for the title of Dublin’s most beautiful interior, the Church, which you’ll be suprised to learn used to be, wait for it… a church, still retains many of it’s old features. While it’s not the kind of place you’d go to to watch a game, or for a casual pint after work- this place is a no runners affair, and with pints at €5.50 (rising to €5.75 after eleven for some reason) you can guess the kind of crowd they’re aiming for. As I said, the place is absolutely stunning both inside and out- even the toilets look fantastic. A large enclosed smoking area with gazebos dotted around for shelter, patio heaters, shrubbery and candles finished off the decor.

I’m trying not to be hard on the place, for while it wasn’t my cup of tea, we had a great night there- two great friends of CHTM were celebrating their wedding vows   (uh oh… does that mean we’re getting older?) and they did so in style. The place is well spread out, and though I’ve heard it gets a little hectic on the ground floor on Friday nights, a mezzanine/ balcony rings the exterior wall of the building, a great place to retreat to if the crowd gets too much below. There’s also a club below, we didn’t venture that far, having found a nice spot outside, we settled ourselves there.

To summarise, it’s a beautiful bar, with a large selection of beers which, while expensive, are thankfully good. It has a great smoking garden, I’d argue and say the best in Dublin for its location. We had a great night in there, (major congrats to J & K) but I’m not sure if I’ll be back. The three trips to the ATM that night put paid to that!

Posted in Pubs, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

The Rubberbandits.

September 8, 2010 by Donal

God, this looks like the highlight of the Absolut Fringe in the city this year.

“Sat 11th September at 12 midnight. Arrive early to guarantee entry. €5 entry to Festival Club. Tickets available on the door only. Doors at 9.30pm.”

The gig is taking place in The Grand Social. Don’t know where that is? It’s Pravda. Or it was Pravda, apparently it looks a gem now. What can one say about the Bandits? Well, they are without doubt the best novelty act to come out of this country since Ding Dong Denny himself. They wear Tesco bags over their heads, and they’ve got a mate who DJs wearing a Willie O’ Dea mask. Along with Crystal Swing, they rocked the Little Big Tent in a great way last Friday at Electric Picnic.

“Stall the ball, Pope John Paul, Lets all go and egg the Dail….”

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A historical junction

September 7, 2010 by Sam

For nearly 1,200 years there has been a continuous sculpture at the junction of College St. with Pearse St. and D’Olier St. The following is a rough description:

~ 837 – 1720 = The Long Stone, otherwise known as  The Steyn(e) or Stein.
~ 1862 – 1959 = The Crampton Memorial.
~ 1986 – Present = The Long Stone replica.

The old Viking ‘Long Stone’ was first constructed by Norsemen in 837 AD to symbolise their possession of the surrounding lands. The historic stone itself “escaped all the vicissitudes of time, the invasions of the Danes, the wars of Celts and Saxons, the struggles of Royalists and Republicans” (Ireland and the Celtic church, (1907) p. 281) but was eventually stolen in 1794. Does anyone know where it is now?

The Crampton Memorial, known colloquially as ‘The Water Baby’ and ‘The Cauliflower’, took its place and was situated at the junction of College St. with Pearse St. and D’Olier St. for nearly one hundred years. It was designed by John Kirk (son of Thomas Kirk (1781 – 1845)) and is named after Sir Philip Crampton (1777–1858), an eminent surgeon and anatomist. The memorial, which was made up of a stone base with three drinking fountains, slowly fell apart and was finally removed in 1959.

The Crampton Memorial (1900)

The Crampton Memorial (1930s/1940s?)

Sketch of The Crampton Memorial

In 1986, a replica of the Long Stone (designed by Cliodhna Cussen, mother of Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Rossa, Rónán, and Colm of Kíla) was erected. The 11 foot granite sculpture has the head of Ivar, the first Norse king of Dublin and who is believed to have erected the original Stein, on the base of one side and a head of a nun, from All Hallows monastery, which is thought to have been situated on the site in the Middle Ages, on the other.

The present day Long Stone replica sculpture (Erected, 1986)

Posted in Dublin History | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments »

The Voice of Labour

September 4, 2010 by Ciarán

I got a strange notion into my head last week, went on a bit of a blitz and picked up as much Christy Moore stuff as I could get my hands on…  Now the following track might not be new to a lot of people on here, but I thought it a powerful rendition so I thought I’d share it with anyone who hasn’t heard it. Anyways; from the evergreen Christy Moore, I give you “James Larkin.”

"A labour man with a union tongue."

Just press play…

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