Dublin Dossier

Vice-Admiral William Bligh, of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. during his surveys of Dublin Bay recommended the building the North Bull Wall. These walls deepened the entrance of Dublin Port for

the building the North Bull Wall. These walls deepened the entrance of Dublin Port for larg er shipping access, and remarkably the side effect was the formation of North Bull Island and our biosphere from silt, mud and sand cleared by the narrower more vigorous river water flows. The actual construction of the North Wall used designs by George Halpin. He is mostly remembered as the major figure in the early construction of Irish lighthouses, including my nearest, the Baily on Howth head.

That very same William Bligh, eleven years earlier, was captain of the 'HMS Bounty' when the legendary 'Mutiny on the Bounty' occurred. Three weeks into a journey from Tahiti to the West Indies the mutineers took over his ship and set him and 18 loyal crewmen adrift in a small open boat. After almost 42 hundred miles they safely reached the shores of Timor Island in Southeast Asia. While working in Dublin he rented an apartment above The White Horse pub on the corner of George's Quay and Corn Exchange Place. The pub closed and is now a Starbucks coffee shop.

To visit the North Bull Island Interpretative Centre take the Causeway Road from the James Larkin Road. Open Mon.to Thurs 10.30-16.00 Fri.10.-13.30 Closed Sat/Sun In these uncertain times it might be advised to check first, visit www.dublinbaybiosphere. ie/ where you can also get their Dublin Bay Biosphere Newsletter.

Sir John Rogerson began to reclaim and fill-in lands along south side of the then much wider Liffey, effectively he straightened the river and establishing what is now Sir John Rogerson's Quay.

Dublin Dossier Rembering Malahide’s oysters

They say oysters are an acquired taste - I haven't quite got there yet and I suspect at this juncture, is unlikely. Mind you I've tried them many times, many slimy swallows, mostly to save my sophisticated face. My first, long long ago, was accompanied by a creamy pint of Guinness on a beautiful sunny day sitting outside Morans on the Weir at Clarenbridge Co. Galway. I've tried them with champagne in France, a fancy mignonette sauce in Italy, with a hit of Tabasco in Louisiana and with the simple squeeze of a lemon in Dublin. The occasion and the accompaniment always seemed to outshine the oyster.

Dublin is not especially noted for oysters but a reproduced old cutting from a 1827 'Freemans Journal' headed 'Malahide Oysters' sent me to Google where I discovered that Dublin as far back as the 15th century was oyster famous. So, not just "cockles and mussels alive alive oh!."

Back in 1733 the Lord of Malahide Manor was Richard Talbot and he owned all the fishing rights in the estuary, the extensive oyster beds included. He leased the oyster beds to a Nicholas Edwards of the 'The Tavern' in the village. Local historians believe this was where Gibney's at 6 New Street stands today.

Malahide oyster beds stretched across the entire estuary...until the trains came. The 600 feet long Broadmeadow bridge that carries the main Dublin to Belfast railway across the estuary was first built in 1844. Made of timber it needed to be replaced in 1860 by wrought iron which corroded and was again replaced in the mid 1960s. All fine and successful for rail connections but not for Malahide oysters. Sand and mud collecting over the oysters began a gradual decline in volume and quality. The railway company made compensation payments of £7,000 to Lord Talbot, over a million in today's euros.

I like to believe it was Dubliner Jonathan Swift, never short of a smart one liner, who propounded that ‘He was a bold man, that first eat an Oyster.’ This from his 1738 publication A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation. In his Gulliver’s Travels our famished stranded hero gathers oysters, but fearing the lighting of a fire that might attract undesired attention, decided to eats them raw. I know it takes a giant leap to ask if he start the trend ?

Back in 1733 the Lord of Malahide Manor was Richard Talbot and he owned all the fishing rights in the estuary, the extensive oyster beds included. He leased the oyster beds to a Nicholas Edwards of the 'The Tavern' in the village. Local historians believe this was where Gibney's at 6 New Street stands today.

Jonathan Swift: ‘He was a bold man, that first eat an Oyster.’

Au Revoir Coppinger Row Restaurant

One of Dublin’s best-loved restaurants, 'Coppinger Row' on the corner of Coppinger Row and South William Street closed December 31st 2021, The owners, Marc and Conor Bereen, are hopeful Coppinger Row will reopen when Aviva, who own the building, complete their planned redevelopment. Conor says “We’ve welcomed everyone from Beyoncé to George Clooney, and rugby stars to politicians, but it’s our regulars that we’ll miss the most. They made us and kept us going through tough times. We like to think we played our part in making our neighbourhood so great, and we will miss it hugely. But watch this space – literally!” Marc adds: "Coppinger Row restaurant was at the heart of the South William Street renaissance - opening during the global recession in a quiet side street in the former rag trade quarter and building a new vibe with the help of a fun and dynamic team and our wonderfully loyal customers - It’s been quite a journey!" Marc also hints at "an intimate new neighbourhood project on Dublin’s south side" - we'll keep an eye on that.

History Third Age Books: a new home for family histories

Carding wool, Co Donegal c1914

Carding wool, Co Donegal c1914

Seán O’Keeffe, Publisher, Liberties Press, suggests you consider writing your family history

The pandemic has shown us how connected we all are – and how fragile life can be. It has also helped us appreciate our family members – even if we may not have been able to see them in person very much, if at all. As life goes back to normal – or whatever the new normal is – we’re delighted to announce the launch of a new publishing venture: Third Age Books.

The popular TV programme Who Do You Think You Are? and others like it have shown how many twists and turns there can be, in any family, over the generations. Many people have spent time during the various lockdowns discovering their local areas, perhaps for the first time, or at least with fresh eyes – and researching their family histories.

The poet Michael Longley once said that everyone should write a book about their life – and that everyone else should read that book. While this is perhaps not very practical, we understand what he was getting at: the better we know people, the slower we are to judge them. (Longley was talking in the context of the Troubles.)

You may have thought about writing your life-story, or the story of a member of your extended family. Perhaps they were involved in important historic events. Once you have written your manuscript, we will work with you to turn it into a beautiful book which you can share with your friends and family, wherever they are. Drawing on our almost twenty years’ book-publishing experience, we will produce your book to the highest editorial, design and production standards. The result will be something you can be proud of – and which will be around for many years to come. Why not have a party to celebrate the publication? The first book to be released by Third Age Books is Flowers That Bloometh by Séamus Dowling, the Bridge Correspondent with the Irish Times. Séamus’s friends and relations will be receiving a copy of this book, which is full of snippets of poetry, reminiscences, anecdotes and stories – and numerous photographs – in the spring. Baker of Plan B Associates designed a logo for Third Age Books, and has created a short video to accompany it. Here, he tells us about the thinking behind it.

The process of creating any branding starts with an understanding of the client’s needs. Liberties Press asked me to come up with a logo for a new imprint that was going to offer people the chance to give an account of their life, memories and dreams. I came to the conclusion that the last third of a person’s life must hold the most treasured memories – or at least a lifetime of stories. So I created this very simple idea of a square made up of two-thirds and a third – both in the logo, and for the front cover of the book. The first two-thirds are the early and middle periods of your life, and the last third is the present, the one you live in now – and also the one which holds all those wonderful observations and pastimes that are so dear to all of us

Baker @ Plan B Associates, bplanb.co.uk

If you are interested in knowing more about this project, write to: Sean O’Keefe, Publisher, Liberties Press, 14 Landscape Avemue, Dublin 14. D14 EH42 Tel: 086 8538793. Email: sean@libertiespress.com www.libertiespress.com