Our Stable Companion – the Dublin Horse

This image gallery is a tribute to an animal which has been a friend to Dubliners through the centuries. Whether as a working horse, a military high-stepper, a means of transport or simply a beloved companion, these images show the important role Dublin horses played in daily life throughout the last century, from those pulling the Lord Mayor’s Coach to those feeding from an old car in Labre Park.

Many of us still remember how the working horses of Dublin pulled carts for coalmen. Not so many of us will have seen the horse-drawn barges which ceased working in the 1930s and probably none of us the great war-horses that once paraded proudly though the city. During the 19th century, Ireland was a huge supplier of horses for the British Army, with one of the major remount depots in the country located at Islandbridge (Clancy) barracks. The tradition of the fine army horse can still be seen in the Horse Show photographs of the Irish equestrian teams of the 1980s and the connection between the horse and the defence forces has been renewed in more recent years with the establishment of the Garda Mounted Unit in 1998.

In terms of ordinary Dubliners, the joyful companionship of horse and human is still very much in evidence in our pictures of teenagers tearing through the streets of Dublin in pony and traps, and in those of couples enjoying romantic moments during a trip in a horse-drawn carriage around St. Stephen’s Green.

Further photographs of Dublin horses can be seen in the Alive Alive O! Image Gallery, and those with an interest in the sport of kings may want to take a look at Place Your Bets. And if you have any stories of Dublin horses, why not share them with us?

Further Resources

Dublin City Libraries has a wide range of sources on the social, political, and cultural history of Dublin, some of which are available online and some through the Dublin City Libraries network.

The Reading Room, Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street holds a wealth of material on the history of Dublin, including books, pamphlets, journals, street directories, and almanacs.

The following online resources can be accessed free of charge at your local library. Ask library staff for information and assistance.

• DRI - Digital Repository of Ireland is a national digital repository for Ireland’s humanities, social sciences, and cultural heritage data. Here you will find select digital collections of Dublin City Library and Archive. Our digital repository features photographs, postcards, letters, maps and more.  Traffic jams during the 1974 CIE Bus Strikes, and jubilant Heffo’s army supporters are among 43,000 historic photographs and documents that are freely available online. Highlights of the collection include the Fáilte Ireland Photographic Collection, the Jacobs Biscuit Factory Photographic Archive, and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive.
• Irish Times Digital Archive: This online archive service gives access to contemporary editions of the Irish Times from the mid-nineteenth century until the present.
• Irish Newspaper Archive: This online archive service gives access to contemporary editions of the Irish Independent and a range of other newspapers.
• The Ireland-JSTOR Collection: This online archive of academic articles can also be accessed free of charge at your local library.

For further reading, consult the Library Catalogue.