H I S T O R Y INCHICORE
INCHICORE Inchicore is located 3.5 km from Dublin city centre. Its location at the edge of the city means that its development has and will continue to be critical as the city inevitably
expands outwards. There is a particular history with the evolution of the place which can be traced in parallel with the evolution of the city
Change is inevitable, it is how we plan for it that makes a difference...
We want to explore the current condition of the area of Inchicore as a piece in the fabric of the wider city A particular history lies hidden iunder the current urban profile
BEGINNINGS In 1659 Inchicore was still a rural townland with mostly arable land and a sparce population but its location was close to the progressive industrial pockets of Chapelizod, Islandbridge and Kilmainham and the main road to the west of Ireland. In 1660, the monarchy was re-
stored in England when King Charles II took the throne. He appointed James Butler, Duke of Ormand, as his Viceroy in Ireland. Dublin became more prosperous in these years and the laws against the Catholics were relaxed. It was around this time that the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham was established.
I N D U S T R Y The infrastructure of the canal opened up the area to new industries including the Harcourt Flour Mills, the Mount Shannon Flour Mills and the Goldenbridge Paper Mills (which later became Brassington’s Saw Mills). The paper mill was on the north side of the canal near were the canal crossed the River Camac and was powered by the waters of the little river. They developed a special relationship with the Canal Company, who issued notes to pay their employees. The Goldenbridge Paper Mill provided the paper for making
these notes. 100 years later Brassington took over the premisies as a saw mill. Following the establishment of the Inchicore Railway Works in 1846, coal was brought by barge from the Port of Dublin to a jetty on the Fourth Lock and transported to the Works on a single track railway line. The railway works grew in size and employed over 2000 people at its peak. It established the terraced houses for its workers and turned Inchicore into an Industiral town .
THE C A The Grand Canal was constructed between 1756-1804 and opened in 1779. It was the first major change in the landscape of the area and the greatest civil engineering achievement of the century. It gradually rises two hundred feet (70m) above James’s Street Harbour to the highest point in County Kildare. Numerous locks and bridges were built along the route, the third of these was at the top of the Tyrconnell Road to take the Naas Road
GRAND N A L across the canal. It became known as the Black Horse Bridge, named after the inn adjacent to it, or The Third Lock Bridge. At this point on the canal the Camac River also had to be crossed. A stone aqueduct was built to carry the canal over the river. Today the Red Luas line runs parallel to the canal with a stop also named after the inn.
I N C H I C O R E R A I L W O R K S
The first rail line in Ireland was from Dublin to Dun Laoghaire and was opened in 1834. At this time rail lines were private companies at competed with each other. The Great Southern and Western Railway established the Inchicore works in 1846 to service and build its locomotives.
came from the canal nearby.
Sancton Woods, the architect how designed Heuston station designed the first building in the works which was the running shed. In 1846 GSWR established the first part of its line which ran to Carlow, and within a year the employees went from 39 to 251.
The work now primarly consists of the manufacture and upkeep of railway stock. The railway produced more than just trains during its time of production. During the Wars it produced armoured plated rail cars to patrol the rail lines and also produced grenades and other weapons.
In 1851 Inchicore south had a population of 656 with 96 houses almost all built for the works. In 1896 there were 1600 men employed to maintain and operate 331 engines, 234 tenders, 908 carriages and 7242 wagons. At its peak the works employed over 2000 men and housed about a quarter of the families in 147 houses. The works contributed to the growth and development of Inchicore and brought
The railway estate and terraces were considered private land, and up untill recently there was a gate at the entrance of the terraces. Dublin Coproration would not come in and collect waste and it had to be collected by the residents and dropped at a collection point.
The Works was self sufficent. Every thing tht was needed could be designed and constructed there, from the wheel barrow to the locomotive. Steam, gas, and oil engines drove the plant machinery and a supply of good water
In 1952 60 diesel rail cars were introduced. CIE was the first national railway in Europe to abandon steam traction. By the fifties diesel locomotives were being made in the works.
Tools, uniforms, and even the signal signs for the railway were produced here in the Inchicore works. Rail tracks were used as the support beams in some of the railway terraces and old sleepers from the railway were also used in the construction of garden walls and boudaries The works had its own voluntary fire brigade and also its own medical wing.
R I C H M O N D B A R R A C K S Construction on the barracks began in 1810. Completed and occupied by the British Army in 1814. Named after the 4th Duke of Richmond, Charles Lennox. The 1916 Easter Rising was one of the most important events in the history of Richmond Barracks. All those arrested were taken here, including the leaders who were held in the gymnasium prior to the court martial. As the executions relentlessly continued and withgrowing unease in the British Parliament, Prime Minister Asquith visited the Barracks on the 12th May 1916. After the Irish Free State was estab-
lished in 1922, the Irish Army occupied the barracks and renamed it Keogh Barracks after Comdt Tom Keogh who was killed by a mine in the War of Independance. The Irish Army closed the barracks in 1925. The building came into the possession of the Dublin Corporation in 1924 and was used to house Dublin families who were on the housing list, they named it Keogh Square. The emphasis was more on economics than suitability and soon degenerated into a slum. It was demolished in 1969 and was replaced with St. Michael’s estate which has since been demolished.
C O R A S I O M P A I R É I R E A N N Córas Iompair Éireann was formed as a private company by the Transport Act 1944 and incorporated the Great Southern Railways Company and Dublin United Transport Company. It was a monopoly on transport as it started to broaden its business interests into road transport. The Transport Act 1950 amalgamated CIÉ and the Grand Canal Company and for-
mally nationalised CIÉ, changing its structure from a private limited company to a board appointed by the Minister for Transport. Old photographs of the works show the productivity and activity that existed during this time. The works employed over 2000 people at its peak. All kinds of skilled trades people worked together to produce locomotives, carriages, and trams.
We are part of an architectural thesis group in UCD, entitled ‘Expanded Practice’. We are currently undertaking a reading of the landscape of Inchicore, it’s social history, architectural legacy and close relationship to important landscape features such as the Cammock River and the Grand Canal. Expanded Practice is a methodology of analysis, research and design that supplements the traditional design process, exploring modes of reading a place and designing architecture for it, which is associated with a more fluid set of processes and social conditions. The daily methodology of our work involves consultation with resources in both Inchicore and UCD. It is a collaboration, a sharing of information in order to plug this into the design process. It is of the utmost importance to the process that while practicing in an expanded field, the approach to analysis and representation is equally expanded, or expanding. We endeavour to use as many varied methods of representation and analysis as possible in order to achieve a more expanded analysis of Inchicore. This methodology is developing as it is being applied, it is a learning and absorbing process that requires testing, experimentation and tweaking. It is our hope that this analysis will contribute to the on-going discussion of how space and resource is used, in Inchicore and in a wider field. This is a collection of thoughts, drawings, ideas , suggestions, interventions and history.
W H O ARE WE? We are a group of five UCD architecture students called Expanded Practice. We are doing a collaborative project with the people of Inchicore. Our goal is to generate a public discussion about how space is used in the area and what could potentially happen there to tap into its potential.
JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION! Visit us for a chat and some tea! Give us your thoughts or stories, learn a bit more about Inchicore’s history and development, see some old and current photos of the railway works or propose your own changes in the town. We will be in: Common Ground, 15 Tyrconnell Road. Monday - Wednesday 10am-5:30pm (24th March - 2nd April) Inchicore Sport and Social Club, Inchicore Square 2-5pm, 5th April See exhibition boards in Inchicore Public Library Library opening times, 7th - 17th April
CONTACT expandedpractice@gmail.com
SUBMIT YOUR IDEAS!
Tear out this page, draw or write down your ideas or comments and drop them off at : Expanded Practice Common Ground, 15 Tyrconnell Road Pop into our Ideas Exhibition for a chat and some tea and biscuits! Saturday April 5th 2-5pm Inchicore Sports and Social Club (Former CIE Hall) Inchicore Square