Rainbows over Stoneybatter

Has Stoneybatter really become the "gay capital" of the Irish universe? Here are two possible answers...

Benburb Street art (another update)

Benburb Street in Stoneybatter continues to have its little stretch of open-air gallery, which is one bright thing amid all that dilapidation and dereliction.

The Floozie in the Jacuzzi (not)

Dublin humour can be playful, cynical, surreal and full of wicked wordplay. It's a bit like the kid at the back of the class who's asked to use the word "bewitches" in a sentence.

"Ah you go on ahead," he replies, "I'll be wid yez in a minute."

Dublin wit is also embodied in the nicknames of its statutes and monuments, particularly the more "modren" additions to our postcolonial streetscape. And one nickname stands head and shoulders above the rest: "The Floozie in the Jacuzzi".

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...

Slack space #3: Block T and The Complex

Locksmiths can tell you a thing about the ups and downs of an area, the comings and goings in the neighbourhood, new homeowners, fledgling businesses, a spate of burglaries, squatters, break-ins, you know the kind of thing.

Benburb Street, North King Street in 1916

A postscript to the "Complexions" art project on the hoardings along Benburb Street in Stoneybatter...

Around last February the brightly coloured photographic installation that decorated the hoardings of a site on Benburb Street was taken down. I thought that was the end of it, but last month it was replaced by a second and even better exhibition by the Complex arts organisation.

Bargaintown: 'only famous'

"Hurry on down to Bargaintown
Where the prices are only famous..."

What or where is Bargaintown?

Bargaintown is a brand, a logo, a notorious jingle. Bargaintown is a chain of furniture and floor stores, a part of Dublin, a state of mind.

Bad driving and rubbish fiends

I think this might be one of the new cameras, though I may well be wrong

Much is being made of this morning's launch of an "automated red light" traffic camera - apparently the first of its kind in this part of Ireland - at the junction of Benburb Street and Blackhall Place in Stoneybatter.

The Mystery of the Museum Rest and the dead drop

This is the twisting tale of two adjacent buildings in Stoneybatter. Both have almost disappeared, physically speaking, yet somehow they continue to tell their stories. In their crumbling, decaying state they have become a piece of art.

Benburb Street #2: artists and artisans

The 'Complexions' artwork on Benburb Street

How this stretch of Benburb Street looked
like before 'Complexions'

Benburb Street in Stoneybatter crops up frequently in my novels, from Another Case in Cowtown to the latest thriller, Ghost Flight. 

As an earlier post put it, the street has had a chequered past. It's still somewhat run down at the moment, though you could see a definite turning point after the Luas arrived a decade ago.

The tramline provides a natural promenade and removes most of the cars, though until last spring your morning stroll or cycle ride would be marred by the ugly derelict buildings and hoardings on the north side of the street.

Since last May these have been covered up and brightened up by a brilliant little public art show called Complexions - An Exhibition of Character. Indeed, one or two of you might recognise some of these local characters.

Benburb Street #1: the old red-light district

Over the years Benburb Street has certainly been through the wars. Literally.

If you stroll, jog, cycle or take the tram along its route on a fine summer's day it can seem like a lovely spot today. Most of us can be forgiven for not knowing - or simply forgetting - about the street's sordid past.

But I deal in crime fiction, and this happens to be a real street in Stoneybatter with countless real crimes.

Wuff, Benburb Street

The real-life diner Wuff made its literary debut in my second 'Moss Reid' novel, Black Marigolds...

The sounds of the Luas Red Line

The Luas - Dublin's light rail or tram system - is only a decade old, yet it is now deeply embedded in the life of the city centre.

It features in all of my crime novels so far. The "network" (I use the term very loosely) currently has two disconnected lines, reflecting the disconnected thinking at the time they were planned and built.