Merchant's Arch - Temple Bar

This is the opposite view of Merchant's Arch looking north, from 1969. Merchant's Arch takes its name from Merchant's Hall, a building next door which is now a restaurant and bar. The building at the left of the image has been opened out to the side in the intervening years, creating premises for small shops. Merchant's Arch, as has been described on this blog before, is a main gateway to the pedestrianised area of Temple Bar. Prior to the mid-1980s, the area had fallen into a state of neglect.

As shops closed down in Temple Bar, they were not replaced, and many businesses moved out of the area. As the area became more and more decrepit, CIE (now Dublin Bus) gained ownership of most of the area and intended to build a large central bus station there. While they awaited approval for these plans, they began to lease the existing buildings at low rents to small businesses such as art galleries, restaurants and shops. An awareness began to grow that something valuable was happening, that a bohemian and arty district was developing. This was something that Dublin had entirely lacked, and a movement began to swell to protect the area from CIE's development plans.

An Taisce, Ireland's conservation association, looked at the architectural heritage of Temple Bar and recommended in 1985 that the area be preserved and protected. The bus station plan was abandoned, and government funding and tax incentives were created to encourage growth in the area.

In recent years there have been many mixed feelings on what Temple Bar has become, with its preponderance of bars and pubs. However, I think the one thing we could all agree on is this:  much better that than an eyesore of a bus station.

References:

WIL 57[9], National Photographic Archive 

Sean Murphy, A Short History of Temple Bar (1994) 

Sepiatone Photographs Brought to Life

ARCHIVE PHOTO INSERTS FROM MOTALKO from Miklós Falvay on Vimeo.

Miklós Falvay's 3D camera mapping of old Hungarian sepiatone photographs. Beautiful.

Henry Grattan - College Green

The statue of Henry Grattan stands on College Green facing Trinity College. The Bank of Ireland, the home of the parliament named after him, lies to his left.

Grattan cartooned by James Gillray (1798)

Born in Fishamble Street, Dublin, Grattan studied law at King's Inn and later entered the Irish parliament for Charlemont in 1775. He had superb oratorical skills and quickly rose to prominence. On 16 April 1782 Grattan led his fellow MPs in declaring the independence of the Irish national parliament, a hugely popular move. The newly independent house became known as Grattan's Parliament.

However, growing tensions during the following years culminated in the 1798 Rebellion, after which the British government moved to reinstate legislative union between Ireland and Britain. Despite bitter Irish opposition the Act of Union was passed in 1800, and Grattan's Parliament came to an end. Grattan's last words in the parliament were 'I will remain anchored here with fidelity to the fortunes of my country, faithful to her freedom, faithful to her fall'.

Grattan later served at Westminster as an MP for Malton. He died in June 1820, and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

References:
EAS_1704, National Photographic Archive

Merchant's Arch - Central Bank

Merchant's Arch is the most charming and prominent entrance to the Temple Bar area of Dublin. The arch leads directly from the Ha'penny Bridge into Temple Bar Square, which is thronged with tourists throughout the year but particularly at this time of year. Back in the 1960s though, when this photograph was taken, Temple Bar was becoming a run down and increasingly derelict part of the city. In a forthcoming post we'll take a look at how it became the lively and vibrant area it is today.

Today though it's interesting to look at the difference in the background of the two pictures. You can see in the older image that Crown Alley stretches down towards Dame Street, with old buildings running perpendicular to it. Now though, the back of Central Bank looms over the Square. Central Bank was completed in 1980 and required the demolition of a swathe of old buildings. It dwarfs the surrounding buildings and narrow steets - if you think the building is too tall in relation to its surroundings, you're right. The original planning permission was contravened by creating a building of this height. It's not hard to imagine the Irish tradition of a brown envelope smoothing the way here at some point.

I might take a look at the equally brash front of Central Bank in another post, if I can stomach it. For now though, let's just appreciate the fact that a book and music shop still stands almost exactly where this couple browsed back in 1969.

References:

WIL 57[7], National Photographic Archive

Sean Murphy, A Short History of Temple Bar (1994)

Clonsilla Railway Station

Clonsilla is a small town in the north west of Dublin. In recent years it has moved from a sleepy town on the Dublin-Meath border to being subsumed within the sprawling growth of the suburb of Blanchardstown. Many housing estates have been built on the formerly open green areas. Despite this Clonsilla retains some of the feel of the old village, and a main contributor to this is the signal box and bridge at the train station in the town.

 

The station opened on 1 September 1848 as a stop on the Dublin-Sligo line, and closed in 1947. As with Drumcondra station, it was reopened in 1981 for commuter services to Dublin city and upgraded in 2000, which involved the building of a new station building. The main line running through the station now is Dublin-Maynooth, with some services running as far west as Longford.

The signal box is similar to, but less ornate than the similar boxes to be seen in north county Dublin on the Dublin-Belfast railway line station such as Balbriggan. It was burned down in 1938 by a group of Irregulars intent on bringing down Eamon de Valera's goverment by destroying the country's communications. However the box was rebuilt and to this day the level crossing gates are still manually controlled by wheel, a rarity in today's railway system. The footbridge across the tracks (left) was originally situated at the station in Listowel, county Kerry, and was brought to Clonsilla after Listowel station was closed in 1988.