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Photos Compare Dublin 1916 Then and Now
Lisa Lawless sent WorldIrish a message about a great resource called Dublin 1916 Then and Now. The page hosts archived images of Dublin in 1916 and compares them to modern day Dublin. Lisa told us “My husband and daughter (14) have put it together and add photos of Dublin in 1916 with corresponding images of the same locations now, with commentary on notable events there during The Rising and their strategic importance an ongoing basis.”
The two-person team is putting the catalogue of historic and modern photographs together in advance of the centenary.
Do you recognise this image of Davy’s Pub? Now named ‘The Portobello Pub’ it was taken over by The Citizen Army on Easter Monday 1916. As written “The rebels held the British at bay here for a time but were eventually forced to make their retreat towards the City Centre under heavy fire.”
This image features British troops looking into Merrion Square. The house in the background sits on the corner of Merrion Square and Clare St in Dublin city.
Taken from the bridge at the junction of Georges Quay and Tara St, the pub on the corner in the old picture has been demolished since then but the one next door still stands. The building between Kennedy’s Pub and the Loop Line Railway bridge has since been demolished to create what is now the entrance to Tara St. Train Station.
Take a look at City Hall as it was then and now.
This context is given for the image – “The building was taken over by Rebel Forces shortly after noon on Easter Monday 1916. Ferocious fighting then ensued in the hall itself and also in the surrounding buildings. It was finally re-captured by Government Forces the following day but only after both sides had sustained extensive casualties. The Rebel’s were up against The Dublin Fusiliers and the irony of this situation was summed up when during the re-capture of one of the buildings facing City Hall a young volunteer was confronted by his brother in a British Army uniform who promptly told him in a broad Dublin accent to cop himself on & go home.”
These photos come from the junction of Lower Merrion Street and Merrion Square. The troops have their guns pointed in the direction of what is now Govt Buildings. Not much seems to have changed at this junction.
Does Eden Quay look familiar to you?
To coincide with the image above, the quote below gives an eyewitness account from someone who watched the republican prisoners being marched away into captivity on Sunday April 30th 1916. The text is taken from ‘The Easter Rebellion’ by Max Caulfield.
It’s a sight I shall never forget. That thin line, some in the green uniform of the Volunteers, others in the plainer equipment of the Citizen Army, some looking like ordinary civilians, the others looking mere lads of fifteen, not a few wounded and bandaged, and the whole melancholy procession wending it’s way through long lines of khaki soldiers. But down – hearted - no! As they passed, I heard the subdued strains of the scaffold song of many an Irishman before them – ‘God Save Ireland.’ Dockers, labourers, shop assistants, all conditions of men; all have the same look of defiance which will haunt me to my dying day. Whatever else they were, they were not cowards. If they had been at the front and accomplished what they had accomplished in the face of such odds, the whole Empire would have been proud of them, and the whole world ringing with their praises.
You can find out more about the project on the Facebook page Dublin 1916 Then and Now..
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