18TH CENTURY SEA WALL DISCOVERED AT DUBLIN PORT

CONSERVATION WORK ON THE OLD ESB SUBSTATION IN THE GROUNDS OF PORT CENTRE UNVEILED THE DISCOVERY OF THE ORIGINAL 400-YEAR-OLD SEA WALL.

In October 2022, Dublin Port Company announced the discovery of part of Dublin’s original sea wall dating back to the late 1720s, which has never been seen before.

dockworker artefacts, including several clay pipes embossed with trade union and political logos, including a Parnell MP pipe thought to be one of the earliest examples of political campaign support merchandise in Ireland. Leather shoe parts belonging to dockworkers have also been recovered for preservation by Dublin Port Company, as well as 19th-century pottery fragments, glass and bone.

This historic discovery was made during project construction works being carried out by Dunwoody & Dobson building contractors on behalf of Dublin Port Company at the former red-brick electricity substation

ROLE OF THE SEA WALL IN DUBLIN’S DEVELOPMENT

The original sea wall once enclosed the eastern and northern sides of newly reclaimed land that would become known as the North Lotts, acting as a polder. As the port extended eastwards away from the city, the sea wall’s original purpose became obsolete, and the facing stones of the wall were removed. It is likely that the stones were re-used to construct the three-metre-high visible from East Wall Road. It is from this original sea wall that the area known as East Wall derives its name today.

CLAY PIPES REVEAL DOCKWORKERS’ POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

The dockworkers’ pipes discovered include a Parnell MP pipe, showing support for Charles Stewart Parnell, who was a Member of Parliament from 1875 to 1891 and leader of the Home Rule and Land League movements. This pipe is a fascinating historical artefact, as it is believed to be merchandise used in this country.

A number of the pipes bear the mark of the Dublin United Trades Association, which operated from 1863 to 1883 and national trade union organisations in the world, pre-dating the British Trade Union Congress by succeeded by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions.

AN “INCREDIBLY EXCITING” DISCOVERY

“We have long suspected that part of the original sea wall may have lain beneath the old redbrick substation, which itself is a protected structure,” explained Jim Kelleher Head of Special Projects with the Port Heritage & Communications Team. “But it has been incredibly understanding of the city’s development eastwards, but also the lives and political leanings of dockworkers of the day. We look forward to sharing our discovery and telling these stories when the red-brick Victorian substation opens to the public in early 2023.”

NEW PERMANENT DISPLAY & DISTRIBUTED MUSEUM

The story of the 18th century sea wall in the evolution of Dublin Port and the City, and the role of the red-brick on permanent display within the rehabilitated building at Port Centre.

Dublin Port Company’s plans for the building include a

exposed sea wall that once served to protect the East

The modest scaled decorative red-brick substation forms the cornerstone of Port Centre Precinct. While its exact date of construction is unknown, the latest estimates suggest that it was built in the early 1920s. This two-storey, red brick, nearly rectangular shaped building has two formal “show fronts” facing the public roads (East Wall Road and Alexandra Road), with two port hole windows either side of the arched front door, with really nice brickwork and craftsmanship.

Lar Joye, Port Heritage Director, said, “Between the wall itself and the artefacts uncovered, this represents a

The display will become the latest addition to Dublin Port’s distributed museum, a key part of Masterplan 2040’s strategic objective to integrate the Port with the

City. When complete, the red-brick substation museum display will be part of a 6.2km cycle and pedestrian route linking Port, maritime and industrial heritage landmarks and vistas from Dublin’s Docklands through the Dublin Port estate and overlooking Dublin Bay.

As a multi-functional space, the substation will host a range of small scale events such as lectures and seminars, poetry reading, music recital, intimate experimental theatre performance, a venue for the Dublin Dock Workers’ Preservation Society, pop-up café potential, or a teaching/ seminar space.

“While the substation will form part of the distributed museum, the value of a multifunction space is it could also be the perfect venue for a book launch, a board meeting, a piano recital or some other form of intimate cultural event,” Jim Kelleher noted.

The largest component of the distributed museum in time will be The Flour Mill. The Arts Council and Dublin Port Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of the Flour Mill as an ‘Artist Campus and Workspace’ and are working together with Grafton Architects on the feasibility study to deliver in the future 5,000 square metres of much needed space for artists in the City.