Dublin Diary #OnThisDay
What stories made the news in Dublin over the years during this month?
What stories made the news in Dublin over the years during this month?
1 April 1897 – Death of Church of Ireland Diocese of Archbishop of Dublin, William Conyngham Plunket, Baron Plunket.
1 April 1966 – Death of Brian O’Nolan aka Flann O’Brien aka Myles na gCopaleen, wit, Irish Times columnist, author of At Swim Two Birds, The Dalkey Archive, The Hard Life, and The Third Policeman.
1 April 1972 – Death of Thomas Collins, co-editor of Dublin Opinion for 50 years.
2 April 1750 – Dublin Society for Promoting Husbandry and Other Useful Arts in Ireland incorporated.
2 April 1925 – Act amalgamates Dublin Metropolitan Police with Garda Síochána.
2 April 1983 – The Phoenix Park racecourse is re-opened.
3 April 1761 – Sir Timothy Allen elected Lord Mayor of Dublin City.
3 April 1807 – A charity ball (thereafter the Roomkeepers’ Ball) was held at the Rotunda in aid of the Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers’ Society. A sum of over £184 was raised.
3 April 1846 – Death of Michael Moran, aka Zozimus, Dublin street balladeer. He was born in a thatched cottage in Faddle Alley, off Ducker’s Lane (since demolished), Lower Clanbrassil Street, Dublin, in 1794. Moran died in a top back room at 14½ Patrick Street. He was interred at Glasnevin cemetery. W.B. Yeats wrote fondly of Zozimus in the poem ‘The Last Gleeman’.
3 April 1933 – Rutland Square was renamed Parnell Square.
3 April 1971 – The European Song Contest held in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. The competition was won by Monaco.
4 April 1900 – Visit of Queen Victoria to Dublin.
5 April 1852 – Death of William Cuming, portrait painter, at his residence 31 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin.
5 April 1858 – The Viceroy Lord Eglinton opened a loan exhibition of fine art at the Royal Dublin Society, Kildare Street, Dublin, which continued until 19 June. The exhibition was held in the Agricultural Hall (now the National Museum).
5 April 1861 – A large public meeting was held in the Oak Room of Dublin’s Mansion House under the chairmanship of Lord Mayor Richard Atkinson to help alleviate the famine in India.
5 April 1915 – The Coliseum Theatre, Henry Street, Dublin, opened. The building was destroyed a year later during the Easter Rising and never rebuilt. The entrance was directly opposite Moore Street.
5 April 1982 – Chapelizod Bridge, between Chapelizod Road to the north and Lucan Road to the south, was renamed Anna Livia Bridge, in honour of James Joyce.
6 April 1861 – An omnibus from Terenure fell into the Grand Canal at Portobello Bridge and five passengers including a baby were drowned.
6 April 1988 – Monument unveiled at Glasnevin cemetery to Michael Moran, aka Zozimus, Dublin street balladeer (see also 3 April 1846).
7 April 1969 – Death of Dublin-born landscape painter and miniaturist Maude Ball. She was born in Dublin on 5 April 1883 and educated privately. She studied art at the Royal Hibernian Academy schools and the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. She first exhibited at the RHA in 1910. She was an old friend of Mainie Jellett.
7 April 1995 – The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award was officially launched by Lord Mayor John Gormley at the Mansion House. The Award is the biggest award worldwide for a single fiction title and is worth €100,000 to the winning author. The IMPAC Award is managed by Dublin City Public Libraries.
8 and 9 April 1954 – American singer Nat ‘King’ Cole gave a concert at Dublin’s Theatre Royal.
8 April 1881 – Death of William Hutchinson (87). A former Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he was pilot master of the Port of Dublin, harbour master of Kingstown until 1874, a J.P., and a R.N.L.I. volunteer. From the age of 80 he lived at 13 Croswaithe Park West, Kingstown. He was buried in Mount Jerome cemetery.
8 April 1976 – Friends of Medieval Dublin established.
8 April 1981 – Death of Dublin-born primitive painter Gretta Bowen. She was born on 1 January 1880. She moved to Belfast and began painting in her 69th year. Her first solo show was in Belfast in 1955. She exhibited regularly throughout the 1960s in Dublin, including the 1966 Oireachtas, and also at the RHA.
8 April 1987 – Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital, Dublin, purchased for £1.5m. by the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology. The hospital had been closed by the Eastern Health Board in 1986 as part of a rationalisation plan.
9 April 1875 – Death of Sir John Gray, proprietor of the Freeman’s Journal.
9 April 1876 – Death of writer, archaeologist and doctor Sir William Wilde. He was born in 1815. Wilde was one of the foremost eye and ear specialists of this day. He set up a dispensary for the poor at Lincoln Place. He was the father of wit and dramatist Oscar Wilde. He was interred at Mount Jerome cemetery.
9 April 1885 – The Prince of Wales visited Dublin in his capacity as chairman of the Committee relating to the Dwellings of the Working Classes. The Prince and his son the Duke of Clarence visited slums in Golden Lane as part of their tour. On 10 April the Prince laid the foundation stone of the Science and Art Museum and National Library of Ireland (architect Thomas Newenham Deane).
9 April 1900 – Death of Dr Joseph Edward Kenny, aged 55, Coroner of the City of Dublin. He had also been Parnellite M.P. for Dublin College Green from 1892 (one of only nine Nationalists elected that year) until he resigned in 1896. He was elected City Coroner in July 1891. He died of blood poisoning after a dental extraction.
9 April 1921 – Death of Dr William Walsh (80), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland since 1885. He was born at Dublin on 30 January 1841. He was interred at Glasnevin cemetery.
10 April 1619 – Death of Thomas Jones, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin since 1605.
10 April 1702 – Jacob Peppard, on the surrender of Thomas Twigg, appointed Town Clerk of Dublin, until 1724.
10 April 1755 – New Essex Bridge over Liffey opened for carriages.
11 April 1687 – The last formal meeting of the Dublin Philosophical Society.
11 April 1948 – Before a crowd of over 33,800 Shamrock Rovers beat Drumcondra AFC in the FAI Cup Final at Dalymount Park, Dublin 2 – 1. Coad and Kirby were the scorers for Rovers while Henderson equalised for Drumcondra.
12 April 1867 – Death of Robert Bell, aged 67, journalist and founder of the Dublin Inquisitor. He was born in Cork, and graduated B.A., T.C.D., 1818. He was interred at Kensal Green, London.
12 April 1915 – Death of Denis Joseph Maginn aka the eccentric Professor D.J. Maginni, dancing master of 35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin (now the James Joyce Centre). He made several appearances in Joyce’s Ulysses. A Beau Brummel character he wore a white vest, occasionally trimmed with gold lace, and evening tie, and was often to be seen around Grafton Street in the forenoon, taking his constitutional stroll with the inevitable cigarette. He often rode through Dublin streets on horseback.
12 April 1923 – First production of Sean O’Casey’s The Shadow of a Gunman at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.
13 April 1742 – George Frederick Handel first performed his Messiah oratorio at Fishamble Street Musick Hall, Dublin.
13 April 1782 – Death of architect George Semple, aged 73, whose most noted work is Essex Bridge. He also designed St Patrick’s Hospital and the granite spire of St Patrick’s Cathedral. He was interred at Drumcondra cemetery.
13 April 1937 – c.11,600 workers affected by stoppage in Dublin building trade.
13 April 1976 – Death of Noel Lemass, T.D. for Dublin South West. He was 47, the only son of Sean Lemass, and he died in the Mater Hospital.
13 April 1992 – 250th anniversary performance of Handel’s Messiah, at Dublin’s Point Theatre.
14 April 1744 – Formation in Dublin of Physico-Historical Society for the ‘preservation of manuscripts, rare books, and natural curiosities relating to Ireland.’
14 April 1920 – Detective Constable Henry Kells, DMP 10119 (93B), was shot dead at the junction of Upper Camden Street and Pleasants Street, Dublin. He was born in Drumlane, Co. Cavan in 1878 and had over 22 years’ DMP service.
14 April 1937 – The M.V. Kilkenny was launched at Alexandra Wharf, Dublin. The 376ft. long cargo ship, 1,500 dwt tons, was built by Vickers (Ireland) at their Dublin dockyard for the British and Irish Steam Packet Company.
15 April 1711 – State papers destroyed by fire in the Surveyor-General’s office in Essex Street, Dublin.
15 April 1873 – New docks opened at the North Wall, constructed by the Midland Great Western Railway Company, by the Lord Lieutenant and named Spencer Dock, in his honour.
15 April 1914 – The first General Meeting of the Civics Institute of Ireland Limited held.
16 April 1953 – The first exhibition by the Irish Professional Photographers Association was opened in Dublin’s Mansion House by the Association’s patron Lord Killanin. The exhibition featured some 300 compositions by the I.P.P.A.’s 40 members.
17 April 1824 – Death of William Ashford, painter, at his Sandymount, Co. Dublin residence. He was president of the Irish Society of Artists in 1813 and took an active part in founding the Royal Hibernian Academy, and was elected its first president in 1823. From 1780 he lived in his house in Sandymount designed by his friend James Gandon. He was interred at Donnybrook, Co. Dublin.
17 April 1850 – Severe hailstorm in Dublin. Damage estimated at £27,000.
17 April 1937 – At Lansdowne Road, Blackrock College, for the first time, won the Leinster Challenge Cup. They beat the 1936 winners Clontarf 9 points to 8.
17 April 1971 – Tailor’s Hall, Dublin, re-opened after restoration. The building, built in 1704, had been due for demolition but Dublin Corporation agreed to lease the semi-ruin, provided it was restored. It is the sole survivor of Dublin’s old Guild Halls, and was t he meeting place of the Back Lane Parliament.
18 April 1689 – King James II entered Dublin; on 25 April he summoned a parliament for 7 May.
18 April 1814 – Dublin city illuminated for the capture of Paris by the allied armies, and the restoration of the bourbon throne.
19 April 1627 – Great assembly meeting in Dublin rejected proposed toleration for Catholics.
19 and 20 April 1955 – American singer Johnnie Ray was in concert at Dublin’s Theatre Royal.
19 April 1885 – Death in London of Dublin-born journalist Christopher Clinton Hoey, aged 54. From 1860 to 1876 he wrote a great deal for the Irish Builder, contributing over 100 poems under the general title of ‘Civic Lyrics’.
19 April 1936 – Dublin football side Shamrock Rovers beat Cork 2 – 1 to win the Free State Cup, at Dalymount Park.
19 April 1939 – The first public meeting of the Dublin Housing Inquiry, instituted by the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, was held in the Council Chamber, City Hall, Dublin. M.P. Colvey (chairman of the Housing Board) was chairman of the Dublin Housing Inquiry.
19 April 1980 – Death of Dublin-born stained glass artist William John Dowling. He was born on 12 July 1907. He was educated at O’Connell Schools. North Richmond Street, Dublin, before becoming a student of Harry Clarke. He died at his residence 49 Copeland Street, Dublin.
19 April 1982 – Dublin’s Project Arts Centre was largely destroyed by fire.
20 April 1896 – First screening of a cinema film in Ireland, using the Lumiere process, at Dan Lowry’s Star of Erin Palace of Varieties, Dublin (later the Olympia Theatre).
20 April 1912 – Death of Dublin-born writer Bram Stoker, in London. He was born at Clontarf on 8 November 1847.
20 April 1913 – C.P. FitzGerald called a meeting at 48 Summerville Park, Rathmines at which it was decided to form the Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society.
20 April 1954 – Michael Manning was the last man to be lawfully executed in the Republic of Ireland, at Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.
21 April 1976 – The fortnightly In Dublin magazine launched.
21 to 30 April 1978 – Dublin Arts Festival. A series of medieval events was organised in conjunction with the Friends of Medieval Dublin. Other events included contemporary theatre, jazz and folk music, and walking tours.
21 April 1989 – Death of Limerick-born (1909) comedian Harry Bailey. He starred for many years at Dublin’s Theatre Royal.
21 April 1994 – Death of Mathew Macken, Dublin City Manager and Town Clerk (1965-76) and Dublin County Manager (1965-76).
22 April 1945 – Shamrock Rovers retained the F.A.I. Cup by defeating Bohemians 1 – 0 at Dalymount Park. The attendance was 37,348. Gregg scored the Shamrock Rovers’ goal.
23 April 1942 – Death of Thomas Kelly, Dublin City Councillor, and founder of the Old Dublin Society.
23 April 1955 – The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Denis Larkin, T.D., received the British Ambassador to Ireland. Sir Alexander Clutter-Buck at the Mansion House.
24 April 1802 – The first stone of the Hardwicke Fever Hospital, Cork Street, was laid.
24 April 1824 – The Talbot Dispensary, attached to the House of Industry was opened for the relief of the sick poor of the north-west district of the city.
24 April 1845 – Death of Lady Olivia Clarke, songwriter. She was born about the year 1785, the younger sister of Lady Morgan and the daughter of Robert Owenson. She married Dublin physician Sir Arthur Clarke in 1808. She was interred at Irishtown, near Dublin. Her published works include The Irishwoman, a five-act comedy (1819).
24 April 1900 – Queen Victoria visited the Masonic Female Orphan School on Merrion Road, Ballsbridge.
24 April 1916 – Easter Rising: G.P.O. occupied without a shot fired; key buildings in Dublin captured; proclamation issued by Pearse from the steps of the G.P.O.
24 April 1916 – Kilfergus, Co. Limerick-born Constable James O’Brien, DMP 9862 (168 B) was shot in the head while on duty at the Cork Hill entrance to Upper Castle by a Volunteer. Constable O’Brien had 21 years’ service in the DMP.
25 April 1954 – Drumcondra defeated St Patrick’s Athletic 1 – 0 to win the F.A.I. Cup before 20,000 fans at Dalymount Park.
27 April 1916 – 12,000 British troops in Dublin – city centre cordoned off.
24 April 1947 – Death of Abbey Theatre actor F.J. McCormick.
25 April 1969 – The Lord Mayor and City Council were removed from office by the Minister of Local Government, and until 28 June 1974 their duties were performed by Commissioners. Dr. John Garvin was appointed Commissioner for the Corporation until 30 April 1973.
26 April 1880 – Resolution of Dublin City Council grants Honorary Freedom of the City of Dublin to Edward E. Potter, captain of the U.S. Constellation, a famine relief ship.
26 April 1915 – Death of Joseph Nannetti, former Lord Mayor of Dublin, and foreman of the Freeman’s Journal. He was interred at Glasnevin cemetery.
27 April 1916 – Constable William Frith, DMP 10175 (174 C), was shot dead by a bullet through the head in a bedroom of Store Street police station. He was born at Clara, Co. Offaly in 1878 and had over 17 years’ DMP service.
28 April 1894 – Death of James J. Bourke, Dublin-born poet, who wrote over the signature ‘Tiria’. He was born on 17 September 1837 and employed by Dublin City Assembly.
28 April 1962 – In an all-Dublin F.A.I. Cup Final at Dalymount attended by some 32,000 football fans, Shamrock Rovers beat Shelbourne 4 – 1. Paddy Ambrose and Tommy Hamilton scored a brace each for the winners and Eric Barber scored for Shelbourne.
28 April 1977 – Death of Dublin-born sculptor Hilary Heron. She was born on 27 March 1923, the daughter of James Heron, bank official. Her first one-man show was in 1950. She was a member of the RTE Authority.
29 April 1897 – Birth of Mainie Jellett, artist, at 36, Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin.
30 April 1832 – The foundation stone of the cruciform Saint Andrew’s Church, Westland Row, Dublin was laid by Rev. Doctor Blake. The design was by John Boulger [or James Bolger] to replace a smaller chapel in Townsend Street. When finished, the church was the largest in Dublin city – it had cost £13,000 to build.
© Dublin City Council