Jul 23
It wouldn’t be a real ‘fun-day’ without dancing, and on June 16th East Wall was stepping out in style. Led by John, the ‘Lord of the Dance’ himself, there was no holding them back, and again the inclusive and inter-generational nature of our events is clear to see.
Jul 20
The Garda Band opened the proceedings at the family fun-day, and gave a great performance as usual, warming the crowd up nicely. There were even some new recruits.
Unfortunately, despite the large Garda presence a serious crime took place while everybody was distracted by the entertainment. Luckily the camera captured the daring villain at work. (Images have been sent to Crime-Line!)
And apologies had to be made after an over-enthusiastic new recruit tackled this suspicious looking character, who surprisingly turned out to be innocent of any wrong-doing (that we know of!).
Jul 17
As part of the Family Fun Day on June 16th an ‘East Wall’s got talent’ display took place. Here’s a selection of photos showing those who entertained, amazed and amused us with their performances. It was a great day for all those who attended – if you weren’t there here’s a chance to see what you missed.
Jul 15
On the 16th of June our community held a family fun day to celebrate being Pride of Place winners for 2012. Throughout this week we will be presenting selections of photos taken on the day, which we hope you all enjoy. We start off with a collection which shows many of those in attendance, highlighting the inclusive and inter-generational nature of community events in East Wall.
Jul 09
The Boyz have arrived
Now appearing at the Sean O’Casey theatre
The weather is not the HOTTEST thing in East Wall this week.
4EVERBOYZ is the latest production at the Sean O’Casey Theatre , starting on Wednesday.
The play is a full on comedy about a former (fictional) Dublin boy band from the 90′s who decide to reform after 10 years away. The don’t quite look like they used to, the dance moves are not quite there anymore and there are few personal problems to be dealt with.
Image: youtube link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Dzmx7hhv0&feature=share
Jun 29
“Make way for the Molly Maguires…”
This year marks the centenary of the 1913 Lockout, one of the most important events in the history of Irish Workers. The Lockout would have had a huge impact on our community, with most families in the North and South Docks impacted in some manner.
The Lockout began in August, and later this year the East Wall History Group will be amongst those marking the anniversary. In the lead up to the anniversary, we have been holding a series of talks entitled ‘On the Road to the Lockout’. So far this has featured a talk by Conor McCabe on the 1911 Railway strike (which helped inspire the local school boys actions) and Francis Devine on the Dublin Dockers trade unions. For this latest talk we are going a bit further back in time and across the Atlantic to look at the story of an earlier generation of radical Irish workers.
We are grateful to Bill Yund and to the Pennsylvania Labor History Society for permission to use these illustrations, (which originally appeared in a newsletter of the Insulators (Lagger’s) Union Local 2 based in Pittsburgh).
Heres a short student made documentary briefly outlining the history of the Molly Maguires, and the classic Dubliners song, featuring the great Like Kelly.
Jun 27
Church Road fire 1970
On this date, 27th June, in 1970 a major fire broke out on Church Road in the early hours. A total of nine premises were destroyed in the blaze, as listed in the newspaper below.
The photographs below show the block of shops as residents may remember them, and as they looked in the aftermath of the fire, with boarded up windows. The colour photo shows the location as it is today, over four decades later – St. Marys Court, senior citizen accommodation.
The Church Road fire occurred just two days after another major local blaze, at a timber yard belonging to James McMahon LTD, which had been destroyed, along with vehicles and an estimated million pounds worth of timber. This was a large three acre site, and neighbouring streets were affected. This included Merchants Road, where according to one report “blistered paint and cracked window panes were apparent on all the terraced houses on the road” and due to smoke damage one women complained that “Wallpaper, clothes, furnishings, things like that are a write off.”
Around this time a number of similar fires occurred around the city, with some speculation that the Ulster Volunteer Force was responsible. Following threats from loyalist paramilitary’s security measures had been increased for members of the government and on state buildings. Any link to the city fires was discounted by the Gardaí, who claimed that “while arson could not be ruled out in at least some of the recent fires, there was little evidence that to suggest that they were politically motivated”. `
As part of his “Songs from the North Lotts” collection Paul O’Brien recorded this favourite, which looks at events of that day from a unique viewpoint. (See link to video below)
THE CHURCH ROAD 1970 (Paul and Gerard O’Brien)
A song I wrote with my brother Gerry during a weekend visit to play some of my songs in East Wall. I met “Paddy the butcher” and he told me that he had been sick for two days and had missed his chance to rummage around in the Lego warehouse on the Church Road that burnt down in 1970. Paddy has no Lego, but he does have a picture of the scene and now he has a song, it may be poor consolation, but it’s the best I can do. Thanks Paddy, we had a great laugh writing this!
A little boy was lying sick in his bed
When all around him were loosing their head
Down by the bookies around at the back
They were scrambling and fighting on a mountain of black
He called for his mammy, “please to me tell
What’s the commotion, what is that smell?”
She said “not to worry, it’s nothing at all,
It’s par for the course down here in East Wall”
“I’m goin’ over the road; I’ll just get a sack
And I’ll bring you a present when I get back”
True to her word and to his surprise
She laid out the goodies before his sick eyes
OH! MAMMY WHY IS THIS LEGO SO BLACK?
WHERE DID YE GET IT, CAN YE NOT BRING IT BACK?
THE TRAIN IS A BEAUTY, A WONDER TO SEE
BUT THE TRACK THEY ALL WOBBLE AND THERE’S NO BATTERIES!
He opened the sack and looked down in dismay
You could tell by the wrapping it’s not Hector Gray
He looked at the thousands and thousands of bits
And searched in vain for two that would stick
OH! MAMMY WHY…..
Then someone finally sent for the police
And then scurried off with the very last piece
The firemen were cursing and looking forlorn
In a warehouse of boxes and the Lego all gone
OH! MAMMY WHY…..
Next day for school poor Paddy was late
His hair and his cloths in a terrible state
The teacher said “Paddy, show me your hands
I can see by the smuts that you’re from Lego-land!”
OH! MAMMY WHY…..
https://www.facebook.com/eastwallhistory/videos/vb.580261572043057/678585938877286/?type=2&theater
If you have any memories of the fires of 1970, or other notable local events please contact us at
eastwallhistory@gmail.com
Jun 21
Comic book creators visit St. Josephs Co-Ed
Comic book creators Rory McConville (writer) and Paddy Lynch (Artist) made a very special visit to our school this week. Rory and Paddy are the talents behind the graphic novel “Big Jim- Jim Larkin and the 1913 Lockout”, the latest in a series of historical graphic novels from O’Brien Press. Published in the year that we commemorate the centenary of the Lockout, the novel presents the events in a very accessible format, and packs a lot of detail into its 80 beautifully illustrated pages of story.
East Wall School is very historic, the location of the city’s first school boys strike in 1911, and during the Lockout most pupils and their families would have been involved. It was for this reason that O’Brien Press decided to hold this special event here, and it was brilliant that both Rory and Paddy took part.
Having first been welcomed by the pupils of 3rd class in the guise of school boy strikers, Rory and Paddy were introduced to the children who were fascinated by their presentation.
The children were treated to a crash course in the graphic novel creative process. How the story went from concept to script and onto the finished page were all detailed. Both writer and artist explained the necessity of research to achieve authenticity, both factually and visually. Pages from the novel were projected onto the wall to show the artistic process, from the initial sketches to the final full colour version.
The children were very much engaged and continuously questioned Rory and Paddy – the length of time taken over each illustration and the time spent on completing the project were popular topics, as was the repeated request to explain why they picked Larkin to do a comic about. After the Q+A session copies of the books were signed, ‘Big John’ (Mr. Mangan) ended the proceedings and Principal Niall Heneghan thanked Rory and Paddy for visiting the school.
We would like to thank Rory and Paddy for taking the time to visit St. Josephs Co-Ed, and also O’Brien press for organising the event. O’Brien Press have published a number of Irish History graphic novels, and kindly donated copies of each to the school library.
Signed copies still available
“Big Jim- Jim Larkin and the 1913 Lockout” has been described as “a great resource and a great way to encourage young people to learn about their own history”.
The book retails for €12.99 in the shops – a limited number of copies signed by both writer and artist are available from the school at a special price of €10, just ask at the office.
Jun 17
Family Fun day – the preparation
On Sunday the 16th June our Family fun day took place to celebrate our community success as “Pride of Place” winners. This photo essay chronicles the trials and triumphs of the intrepid group of volunteers who gathered at the recreation centre to prepare for the day ahead.
Many hands make light work.
Confused! Also Confused!
It’s starting to happen…
Balloon Preparation
More balloon preparation.
Even More Balloon preparation.
The Finished Product.
Ready Steady Cook!
Can somebody say “RISK ASSESMENT”
“Who booked the clown?”
More helpers arrive…
…bringing new confusion with them.
New instructions – “There will be no confusion”
And it’s all happening now. Bin bags are hung around the playground.
Two Marquees later , the balloons and bunting are in place , the sound system is pumping out the music , the cookers have been fired up , the Garda band are parked outside and the Magician is due to appear ! The clock has just struck 2pm , and we’re ready to go …
