A Stone’s Throw from Kevin Street
The Revolution will not be Penalised
If you have made it in to our library since the re-opening in 2018, you will no doubt have encountered my bearded friend and colleague, Ciarán. He, far more knowledgeable about history than myself, was looking through old photographs and archives doing some research and came across this letter. John Whelan was the first librarian…
The Stairs to Hell
You never know what you might find in the middle aisle in LIDL. Nowhere is this more true than the one on Aungier Street in Dublin. If you have visited the new LIDL on Aungier Street, near St. Enda’s School, you will have no doubt noticed the two large glass windows in the floor, giving…
A Palace on Kevin Street
An 800 year old palace is hiding in plain view on our doorstep. Kevin Street, has had the same name for 400 years and is one of Dublin’s oldest streets. It was named for the nearby St Kevin’s Church, in the park off Camden Row. The old Garda Station on Kevin Street, had been a…
Griffith Barracks
In 1813 the building that now houses Griffith College was originally built as a prison. Above the entrance it said “Cease to do evil; learn to do well. It was designed by Francis Johnson. In 1844, after a trial that lasted 25 days, Daniel O’Connell was imprisoned there. Next in the late 1800’s it became…
Jacob’s Biscuit Factory
Just across the road from our library on Bishop Street once stood the Jacob’s Biscuit factory where thousands of delicious treats were made every day! Image: National Library of Ireland The Jacob’s were a family from Waterford. They were Quakers and they were also bakers. In 1885 they invented the Cream Cracker, their best-seller. In…
Harcourt Street Station
Harcourt Street Station, the long building beside the Harcourt Luas stop, opened in 1859 as a train station. A train line ran between from there to Bray and then later Wexford. The Vaults underneath the station were used to store whiskey. In 1900, on Valentine’s Day, a train carrying cattle “failed to stop” and came…
Dunlop Building
The first bike tyres were made of iron bands on wooden wheels. After that they were made from solid rubber. Imagine how bumpy that would be! Thankfully John Boyd Dunlop, a Scottish Inventor living in Ireland, came up with the idea of the inflatable or pneumatic tyre and we’ve been cycling around on a cushion…
The Cork Street Fever Hospital
Brú Chaoimhín was a originally a hospital set up to treat people with infectious diseases. It was designed as two buildings originally. One for the people who were still sick and one for people who were not infectious any more but were still getting better. In 1818, 3,000 people with Typhus were admitted In 1826…
10 Mill Street
10 Mill Street was built in the 1720’s, making it one of the oldest surviving buildings in the area. The Brabazon family owned a lot of land around the Liberties. Eventually they were given the title of the Earls of Meath. Lots of local place names still have that name today, like Meath Street or…
The Dublin Whiskey Fire
In 1875, a fire started in a warehouse on the edge of Newmarket Square holding 5,000 barrels of Whiskey. Whiskey has a lot of alcohol in it and it burns like petrol. Eventually the 5,000 barrels exploded and a river of burning whiskey poured like lava down Chamber Street, to Mill Street beside Warrenmount Presentation…
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A Stone's Throw from Kevin Street 