Goodbye O'Devaney Gardens

It's known in the trade as a "wet demolition". Despite the fire hoses the dust is everywhere, thick layers of it on the nearby cars and trucks. Hydraulic excavators pull and claw, peck and pummel away, surrounded by piles of rubble. They're pulling down the flats at last.

Worldwide Discount Airfares, Arbour Hill

Ghost signs are a recurring motif in Ghost Flight, such as this one - an abandoned shopfront at 58A Arbour Hill in Stoneybatter. The book only mentioned it in passing, but it deserves far better, because since the start of the recession the building has become, well, a sort of lovable local landmark.

Take Her Up to Monto

- Child at play, Railway Street, Dublin, 1913

So far I've not woven any of the history of Monto into a Moss Reid story, but it's only a matter of time. Here are some of my notes about the area...

Hanlon's pub and Hanlon's Corner

Hanlon's pub gives its name to Hanlon's Corner at the top of Prussia Street. It's an old Dublin landmark; the bar features in an early chapter of Another Case in Cowtown.

Stoneybatter is not just beards and cake

NOTE TO MEDIA: There is more to Stoneybatter than Mulligans, Mi Thai and Slice. And this part of town does not consist solely of hipster beards cycling to cake shops with a freshly baked sourdough baguette under each arm. And what follows is a rant, about the media. But I'll try to back it up with hard facts. Statistics.

The Viking streets of Stoneybatter, and Dublin's 'Milluminum' anniversary

Many of Stoneybatter's streets have Norse-sounding names. In a literal sense, most of them came via the Artisans' Dwelling Company around the late 19th century. Many of these back streets, like their terraced houses and cottages, were brand new back then.