Eyewitness 1916: Images From 'Dublin After The Six Days' Insurrection'
This image gallery is composed of images taken from Dublin After The Six Days’ Insurrection (Dublin: Mecredy, Percy & Co., Ltd, 1916). The photos were taken by T.W. Murphy (also known as “The O’Tatur”), the sub-editor of The Motor News. The images are reproduced by kind permission of the estate of T.W. Murphy.
Sophia ‘Rosamond’ Praeger was a Northern Irish artist, specialising in both sculpture and in illustrations. She was born in Holywood, Co. Down in 1867 to Maria Ferrar Patterson and Willem Emil Praeger, and was the third child of six and the only girl.
This year sees the 100th anniversary of the birth of Woody Guthrie, American folksinger and songwriter. He wrote more than 1000 songs, which were all influenced by his travels, and dealt with such themes as the hardship of the Depression, the "Dust Bowl" drought and the Unions. He is best known for the song "This land is Your Land" and "So long it's been good to know ya". Many of the songs he wrote during his illness were lost as they were not recorded.In 1940, Alan Lomax began recording Guthrie's songs for the American Library of Congress. Around this time, he also met Pete Seeger in New York where Guthrie also performed with other activists, such as Lead Belly. During the 1950s and 1960s he became famous as a folk hero, influencing the younger generation of protest singers, such as, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg and others.He was born on July 14, 1912, and raised in the small town of Okemah, Oklahoma. His father was a businessman and was also involved in local politics. His early life was beset by many tragedies including the death of his sister in a fire which destroyed the family home. His father was financially ruined. His mother suffered from poor health, although, it was not known at the time that she was struggling with the symptoms of Huntington’s Disease for which she was later institutionalised and died.He received little formal education and taught himself to play the guitar. Both his parents were musically inclined and taught Woody a wide range of folk songs. During the 1930s he lived a very nomadic lifestyle, singing and performing his songs on the streets from place to place to eke out an existence. He travelled with migrant workers to California singing and busking along the way. Many of his songs are about his experiences in the Dust Bowl era during Depression times. Guthrie became a successful radio personality in Los Angeles, and began performing at protest meetings and picket lines. Guthrie was married three times and fathered eight children. He died 3rd October 1967 from complications of Huntington's disease which he had inherited from his mother.To celebrate Woody Guthrie Centenary, Billy Bragg and Andy Irvine will be staging a show at Vicar Street, 17th September which will focus on the legacy of Woody Guthrie.The Music Library has many of Woody Guthrie's CDs, Scores and books among its collectionSome Folk (Woody Guthrie)Dust Bowl Ballads (Woody Guthrie)Pastures of Plenty (Woody Guthrie)Struggle (Woody Guthrie)The History of American Folk (featuring Woody Guthrie)Bound for Glory (Woody Guthrie)
This Image Gallery was created to provide a context for The Diary of the Weather and Winds which has now been made available on the web. The original document and a transcript have been placed on-line by Dublin City Libraries as part of its contribution to Dublin’s year as City of Science.
We are so lucky in Dublin to have access to the world’s best music. Music in the churches can be sublime, and visiting companies perform French and Italian music in the city during the season. I notice that many of the wealthy, or aspiring families now engage music masters to teach their children to play the harpsichord or violin, to sing, and to appreciate the finer points of musical composition. I’m sure this can only have a civilizing effect, especially on the young men. The new Music Hall in Fishamble Street has witnessed stunning events. Since its official opening last year this fine building hosts fashionable balls and assemblies. It has a wonderful vaulted roof which gives a great sound quality for musical evenings. It is decorated in the most elegant manner with fluted columns and pilasters and large mirrors to give extra light and to reflect the dancers. For concerts it holds about 600 people.Mr Handel has staged some of his first nights here. They say he’s not as popular in London as he used to be, but he’s still a major star in Dublin. He is staying in Abbey Street near Liffey Street, and you can subscribe to his concerts there. The Lord Lieutenant, the Duke of Devonshire, and his family come to the performances, so this attracts the fashionable audience too. At Easter this year his new oratorio, called The Messiah (catalogue record of the Messiah libretto), had its opening in the Music Hall. What a night that was! All the great and the good were there, they say that 700 people were squeezed in, and it was so crowded that you could not spot half the celebrities. I spotted George Faulkner the bookseller there, and I was hoping to get a glimpse of the Dean (Jonathan Swift), but he was obviously too ill to attend. The proceeds of the evening went to the Charitable Infirmary and Mercer’s Hospital, I believe they collected nearly £400. I bought each of the librettos of these works at the time, they only cost a British sixpence each, so they won't break the bank. It’s good to be able to follow the action on the night, and to have the text as a souvenir afterwards, to be re-read quietly at home. As well as The Messiah, I have copies of (The Masque of Acis and Galatea libretto), (Esther libretto), and (L'Allegro libretto).
Since opening its doors in 1871, the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin has been a cultural landmark. The oldest continuously operating theatre in Dublin, the Gaiety Theatre has provided entertainment to audiences for generations. As the name ‘gaiety’ suggests, the theatre originally specialized in comedy and opera; today the theatre offers entertainment of all forms. This gallery offers a peek into the Gaiety’s rich history, from the 1880s to the 1930s.
The grandest public space in Dublin is College Green. Roughly triangular in shape, it has three of Dublin’s finest public buildings fronting onto it: Trinity College West Front, the Houses of Parliament, and the General Post Office. In the centre is the equestrian statue of William III. Leading off it from the three corners are the great shopping streets, Dame Street and Grafton Street, and leading towards the river, College Street. It’s a lovely drive by carriage, sweeping down Cork Hill to Dame Street and entering the Green from the west. It is very fashionable to take an evening promenade by the Parliament House, strolling in the arcade formed by the columns. Posters for new plays, and other public notices, are displayed on the pillars and you can catch up with all the latest news as well as getting information about upcoming events here. Back in the early '80s we saw the huge gathering of Volunteers before the Parliament House, what a spectacle that was! Rousing speeches were given that day and we all cheered. We have settled down with our own parliament now, but it does not have full legislative rights, some matters have to be referred to London. However, there is a great sense of occasion surrounding the workings of the Houses, lords come and go, proud orators preen themselves on the steps before entering. When petitions are being presented great ceremony can accompany the petitioners as they enter the building. The Lords’ Chamber is sumptuous, one of the most beautifully decorated spaces in the city, and it is a rare treat to be able to visit. The Parliament Coffee House is the place to be seen if you have ambitions in the political sphere. The Green is like the throbbing heart of the city when parliament is in session. A new club, called Daly’s Club, is the talk of the town since it opened at the beginning of the year with a grand dinner. It’s a fine new building on the western edge of the Green at Dame Street. Designed by Francis Johnston, its interior is reputed to be lavish with grand chandelier lustres, inlaid tables and marble chimney pieces, and the chairs and sofas are white and gold upholstered in silk. Here the sons of the aristocracy and members of parliament can squander their wealth in gambling with cards and dice. I see in the papers that Antoine Gerna is about to open a very fancy new reading room at his shop across from Trinity, next to the General Post Office on the south side of the Green. He’s calling it the Cabinet Littéraire, this would seem more pretentious, I suppose, if he wasn’t French himself, and fluent in French and Italian. Members can make themselves comfortable at his blazing fireplace reading all the recent newspapers in French and Italian, and browsing all the new pamphlets. I hope it’s a success, it will probably attract the Trinity crowd, the students are always glad of a warm place to sit! I’m sure the politicians from across the way in the Houses of Parliament will be happy to be seen there, and at least pretend to be interested in current affairs in the European and American lands.
Listen back to ‘The Irish Economy; What happened, what next?’ The 2011 series was aimed at helping to answer, or at least providing possible answers to some questions around the Irish Economy: How have we reached the point we are at now? What has the policy of successive governments been? How has this contributed to the current situation?
I love the theatre, I’m fascinated by the spectacle, the costumes, the music, and of course people watching. The heavy smell and flickering images of the wax candles create an atmosphere like no other: combining the formality of church with the excitement and anticipation of the performance to come. All the gentry turn up in their carriages, especially on benefit nights. When it gets really busy the drivers are only allowed to drive the carriages in one direction along the street, they drop their passengers at the door and keep moving. Smock Alley, or to give it its official name, The Theatre Royal, Smock Alley, is my favourite theatre in Dublin and it gets all the latest shows from Drury Lane in London. Smock Alley has had a play-house on this site for over a century now, and it is frequented by Dublin's high society. It can even boast a number of riots since the start of this century. Many of the great actors have trod its boards, such as Thomas Sheridan, Peg Woffington, Benjamin Victor, Elizabeth Vincent, and David Garrick visiting from London. Its location is very convenient also, right in the centre of town, not far from Dame Street where all the fashionable people shop, and it's near the Liffey where you can go for a stroll before the performance. Crow Street Theatre is a good space too, and I like having the choice of venue. I especially enjoy the new comedies and I see that Oliver Goldsmith’s new play, She stoops to conquer, is advertised again. I love this play, it is so well observed, and it moves at a cracking pace. I read it as soon as it came out two years ago, it was published first in London, but I read the Dublin edition when it appeared shortly afterwards. The Dublin edition costs sixpence halfpenny. It was so popular that it reached its fifth edition in less than a year. While it was very entertaining to read, you really need to see it performed. I went first in January, and I enjoyed it so much, that now three months later I’ve got tickets to go again. It's good to know that in nearly 240 years time a theatre will still occupy this space in Smock alley and will still be showing She stoops to conquer to delighted audiences.I like to buy my own copies of the new plays, they’re not expensive, usually between sixpence and one shilling each, and I can relive the theatrical experience at home. It’s good to have the cast list at the front so that I know the actors who were in the original production. I like to see who acted in the Drury Lane production, I wonder if they were as good as the actors I saw in Dublin: Mr Parker as Hardcastle, Mrs E. Brown as Mrs Hardcastle, Mrs Brown as Miss Hardcastle, and Mr Waddy as Young Marlow. I keep the plays carefully and eventually I will bind them together in volumes arranged by theme, or perhaps by date.
