Thursday 14 July 2016

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.

Sunday 10 July 2016

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.

Monday 27 June 2016

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.

Tuesday 7 June 2016

A country pub in the city


Sometimes you walk into a Dublin pub and step back in time. You have in fact entered an old-fashioned, homely hostelry at a remote country crossroads.

Sunday 5 June 2016

Christy Brown's coal lorry, Arbour Hill



Dublin writer and artist Christy Brown was born on this day in 1932. My Left Foot, Jim Sheridan's award-winning film from 1989, tells the semi-fictional story of Christy (brilliantly played by Daniel Day-Lewis), and this is a famous scene shot in Stoneybatter, around Arbour Hill.

Friday 27 May 2016

Grangegorman Military Cemetery


Grangegorman Military Cemetery is back in the news again. Yesterday morning Canada's Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin Vickers, pounced on a protester during a State ceremony to remember the British soldiers killed in the Easter Rising.