A Walk Down Memory Lane

Saturday morning began with an Irish Breakfast of rashers (back bacon), sausages, eggs and Potato Farl (a type of potato cake) and great company. 

                         An Irish Breakfast

Kees, Eileen, Susan, Rosin and I; enjoyed an hour or so of great conversation and laughter.

Our banter was wide and varied but focused finally on “the good ol’days” and thus began my walk down Memory Lane.

We took the 49 bus, a double decker naturally, and sitting upstairs felt all too familiar. Memories of going to school by bus each day came flooding back. The fare then, was a penny ha’penny or one and half pennies. Of course it’s hard to calculate the value on that amount since there were 240 pennies in a pound and I’ve no idea what the conversation rate was but I seem to recall that my dad earned eight pound a week. This was a good wage at that time as dad was a highly skilled ladies tailor/cutter having taken first place in the City and Guilds of London for Britain and Ireland for his trade in 1923.

We broke our journey to the center of Dublin to visit where Eileen and I grew up, Wilfrid Terrace in Harold’s Cross. We got off the bus at Kenilworth Park and were surprised to find the Kenilworth Cinema was no longer there. 

I can remember when this Cinema opened first and queuing on a Saturday for the matinee performance. This was where teenage boys and girls met and engaged in the custom of “wearing”; kissing and cuddling in the back row of the cinema! We laughingly thought we were “making out” but compared to today’s generation we were extremely innocent!

The various shops which were so familiar to us then are gone, Quales, O’Hanlons, Hayes, Deveney’s, Keogh’s, Walshe’s and Harper’s the butcher shop. There is still a chemist in Walshe’s location but it is now owned by someone named Hickey. The essence of this area is no longer there; what was once a community is now feels like a disjointed collection of people living in proximity to each other as opposed to being with or involved with each other. Once everyone knew everyone else but now strangers and strange accents abound.

There were some ‘constants’ remaining. Century House, a renovated church has been maintained and looks in excellent condition.

The church of Our Lady of the Rosary is still the impressive landmark it has always been with little obvious change.

This church has been a significant part of the Molloy family since the marriage of my parents there around 1938. Sisters, Leoni and Eileen were married there. I was baptized, received first communion, and was married there in Dec. 1971 to the love of my life, Frances. The sign offering daily and monthly rates for parking in its grounds seems alien but perhaps a sign of the times. I could not resist going into the church and little has changed.  As we entered we noticed the statues and crucifix were covered with purple drapes as is the custom for lent.

This, of course, is in keeping with tradition but I could not help but notice that the floor covering is exactly the same as it has always been. I immediately wanted to know the brand and where I could but this product as it is obviously extremely resilient. 

 The main alter were Frances and I were wed is a little more open but essentially the sam

There only noticeable change was the cushions on some of the seats. It would seem that since only some seats have cushions that the finance for this project ran out or that elitism has found its way into the church.

                               Confessional

                          Eileen and Kees

Crossing back over the road and going up Tivoli Avenue to Wilfrid Terrace brought the names of the families who once lived back. Dowling, Jordan , Norman, Mularchy and Keogh; the children of whom were once friends or at least acquaintances of our family.

Our old house, 8, Wilfrid Terrace, looked very much as it did all those years ago, except for the new windows. 

 The Privet hedge was higher and well kept. I wondered about our old neighbours; Keegans, Ryans, McCoubry Cranny and Golden. So much time has passed, I wondered if any were still around.

The house name over the front door of#8. I painted this circa 1960.

On top of the bus again heading to the city center, we passed the park, St. Clare’s,

 The Hospice (Marymount) and the subdivision where Frances lived, Mount Drummond.

               Close to where Frances lived

The bicycle shop, Delaney’s at the Canal Bridge seems to be the only business that has survived. I cannot remember a time when it was not there so it must be close to 60 years old at least.

 We passed Leonard’s corner, St. Kevin’s church, Synge St., before turning left on to Camden St.

 The Bleeding Horse pub a favourite haunt of James Joyce is on the right and many of the once familiar shops and businesses of Camden and Angier’s St have disappeared. The Whitefriar St church is on the left and Dunne’s stores is the only store |I recognized on George’s St.

The draw of Trinity College I suspect will always be there; and as I entered the main Gate and saw again the hexagonal flooring, a wave of nostalgia hit me.

                        Trinity main gate

       Hexagonal flooring at Trinity entrance

I suppose having worked there for more than 25 years it is not surprising. Front Square, the Campanile Bell, the Exam hall, the Dining hall, the stacks and the Long Hall which were so familiar as to be almost invisible once, were suddenly impressive and appreciated.

 I passed the ‘New’ library (the Berkeley), the Rugby and cricket pitches on my way to the back of college and the Zoology building which once housed Pharmacology and where I worked.   

We met with Rosin and Susan at the front gate shortly thereafter and sauntered along Grafton St when the boys went to Powerscourt Center and the girls went on to Stephen’s Green shopping Center. We met my friend Denis the owner of Corr’s Jewelers before joining the girls for coffee sometime later. Again we separated; Kees and I walked through St. Stephens Green on our way to the Oscar Wilde Sculpture in Merrion Square. 

         St Stephens Green main entrance

                The bridge over the pond

I had not seen the memorial in St. Stephen’s Green dedicated to the members of the defense force who died in the service to the state and was very impressed.

On our way to Merrion Square we saw the Hughenot cemetery of 1693.

                     The Hughenot Cemetry

 We stopped for a pint of Guinness at O’Donoghues pub, the ‘birth place’ of the Dubliners Folk group.

                     Kees in O'Donoghues

               Kees and Tom in O'Donoghues

 The dark and old insides probably have not changed since that time but the walls are adorned with photos and drawings of the group members and it has an atmosphere like no other pub that I know.

We reached and marveled at Oscar surrounded by his sayings written on several pillars close by before checking out the venue of the Synge St Past Pupil’s Union annual dinner.

The reunion was an amazing experience. Meeting old classmates and hearing their stories was brilliant. Des Behan, Frank Haden, Paddy Brady, Paddy Hahessy, Pat Rowan, Clement Mc Gann, Ron Bolger, Paul O’Neill, and Liam Maher to name but a few. The stories and memories we shared were priceless and I hope I get to meet one or two again before I leave on April 7th

L to R

Ronnie Bolger,Frank Hayden, Des Behan, Paul O' Neill

L to R

Pat Brady, Hugh 0'Neill

Paddy Hahessy

L to R

Liam Maher, Pat Rowan

L to R

Brian Redmond, Frank Hayden

Dessert