William of Orange Statue - Dame Street

Here sits William of Orange astride his horse on Dame Street, close to College Green. King Billy was unveiled in 1701, commisioned by Dublin Corporation to commemorate his victory at the Battle of the Boyne over King James in 1690. The artist was Grinling Gibbons. 

The Battle of the Boyne and William of Orange himself became integral parts of Ulster Protestant folklore and tradition, with its annual commemoration by the Orange Order every 12 July. As such, it's understandable that this statue was occasionally a focus for nationalist anger - as well as childish pranks. In 1710 the statue was smeared with mud and its sceptre stolen by several students from nearby Trinity College. When caught they were fined, expelled and sentenced to stand before the statue bearing a placard stating their crime.

Further acts of vandalism were numerous, with attempts being made to file off the head as well as the sword being stolen, and watchmen had to be posted at the statue to protect it. In 1805 a man posing as an artisan informed the watchman on duty that he had to paint the statue in anticipation of the 12 July celebrations. When the watchman returned, he found the statue had been covered not with paint, but with a mixture of tar and grease.

The battered statue limped on in this manner until 1929, when it was destroyed in an explosion planned by the IRA.

References:
The Story of Dublin, D. A. Chart, illustrated by Henry J. Howard. (1907)
LROY 727 and LROY 2993 National Library of Ireland

GAA: Croke Park

In the week of the All-Ireland Football Final (up the Dubs!) we're taking a look back at the beginnings of Croke Park. The area on which Croke Park now stands was previously known simply as Jones' Road sports ground, and was the original home of Bohemians soccer club. From the time of the GAA's establishment in 1884 they regularly used the grounds for matches, and in 1908 the land was purchased personally by GAA member Frank Dineen and from that point on used almost exclusively by the Association. They purchased the grounds from Dineen in 1913 and renamed it Croke Park, after founder member Archbishop Thomas Croke.

At this time Croker had stands at what is now the Hogan Stand side, and grassy banks around the edges. In 1917, rubble from the destruction of O'Connell Street during the 1916 Easter Rising was taken to Croke Park and used to construct a hill at the railway end of the park to create a better view of the pitch - hence the name Hill 16. Legend has it that The O'Rahilly's burned out De-Dion Bouton car was buried here along with the rubble and still lies beneath Hill 16 today.

On 21st November, 1920 Croke Park was the site of one of the worst atrocities in the Irish War of Independence. British troops opened fire at Croke Park in retaliation for the assassination of members of the Cairo Gang (right) by Michael Collins' agents. Collins famously justified this action by saying that he had 'paid them back in their own coin'. The British troops fired at a Tipperary-Dublin match, murdering eleven spectators and one player (Michael Hogan, after whom the stand is named). Two spectators were also trampled to death in the panic to leave the grounds.

Such a history, combined with the symbolic importance of being the home of traditional Irish sports, has ensured that Croke Park became somewhat of a sacred site. However, recent years have seen significant milestones being reached with the relaxation on the GAA's Rule #42 - the ban on the playing of foreign games - in 2005, and the visit of the Queen earlier this year. 

This week though the focus is on the final this weekend: enjoy the match, those of you lucky enough to get tickets, and best of luck to Dublin!

References:
Above, INDH917, National Photographic Archive (picture of the opening ceremony of the Tailteann Games, 1928)
Right, GAA Museum, Croke Park

GAA: Clonliffe Road - Drumcondra

This week and next I'll be posting a couple of entries on Croke Park and the surrounding area to coincide with the All-Ireland hurling and football finals which take place on 4th and 18th September respectively. Congratulations to Kilkenny on their win on Sunday, and best of luck to the Dubs for the 18th!

The subject of this post will be familiar to anyone who has attended a match day at Croke Park. The main street which fans walk down to reach the stadium is Clonliffe Road, a residential street in Drumcondra. On match days this street is absolutely packed with throngs of GAA fans (and occasionally, Westlife or Take That fans) from all over the country. On an average day though it looks like the image on the right - a relatively quiet, long street which links Drumcondra in the west all the way to Ballybough in the east. As well as Croke Park, Clonliffe Road is home to the Mater Dei Institute of Education and Holy Cross College.

The road as it stands is not all that old. It was preceded by a narrow lane called Fortick's Lane which led to Clonliffe House, where Holy Cross College now stands. This was the only building on the lane at that time, as memorialised by the poet Thomas Caulfield Irwin when describing Clonliffe Road in his poem The Ghosts' Promenade:

There was a long old road anear the town
Skirted with trees
One end joined a great highway, one led down
To open. shores and seas.
There was no house upon it saving one,
Built years ago.
Dark foliage thickly blinded from the sun
Its casements low.

The trees still skirt the road, but it's certainly been a long time since Clonliffe Road housed only one building.

References:
EAS_1675, National Photographic Archive

Revlon Cosmetics - 1950s

As well as local and architectural history, I'm also really interested in the history of cosmetics and toiletries, particularly in terms of their advertising. A feature in the Guardian is currently running in which they take a look at the history of different makeup brands, and today it's Revlon's turn. Revlon have some of my very favourite beauty advertisements. The one above is from the 1950s. 'Cherries in the Snow' lipstick is still made by the brand today.

If this happens to be a topic you're interested in, I recommend a couple of Youtube videos by makeup artist Lisa Eldridge, in which she speaks with historian and author Madeleine Marsh. The link to the second video can be found by clicking on the video.