My Beloved Poolbeg Chimneys / Pigeon House Road

 © Ann Brien

In the late 1960s my Dad worked on the early construction of these twin iconic chimneys known affectionately to us Dubliners as the "Poolbeg Chimneys". Forty years later they faced demolition but due to the huge public outcry over their impending demise an online petition was set up entitled "Light Up The Chimneys" to which of course I added my signature and comment:  "Those chimneys remain part of my Ringsend childhood memories. My father worked on their construction. As one of Dublin's most treasured landmarks, they deserve to stand tall and proud, two shining beacons on our city's skyline".  I've yet to find out if they have been included in the Record Of Protected Structures, I sincerely hope so.

 © Ann Brien

The road leading up to the chimneys and to the Poolbeg Generating Station, generally referred to as the ESB (Electricity Supply Board) is Pigeon House Road, Ringsend, Dublin.  Over the past thirty years this road has been changed beyond recognition.  A couple of weeks ago I ventured back there to again attempt to capture some of its atmosphere I knew so well as a child.  For me, the changes have been too great, there is a sense of an irretrievable loss.

The black and white images are of the old Pigeon House Road.  Removing the colour allows me only to see the familiar things, not the brightly coloured storage containers, for instance. The long stretch of sea wall is actually the original stonework.  Taken July 2012.

© Ann Brien

  © Ann Brien

 

© Ann Brien

© Ann Brien

Pigeon House Road, Ringsend 1981

© Ann Brien

This photo was taken on a sunny Sunday afternoon from the end of Cambridge Avenue where I lived until I was seventeen years of age. Note the old grey gasometer in the background!

I deliberately didn't crop the image where you can clearly see the old sellotape markings because I didn't want to lose a single inch of the path and roadway. Taken March 1981.

Old Sea Wall, Pigeon House Road, Ringsend 1981

© Ann Brien

This is the last picture I took of my beloved sea views before it all was to change irreparably over the next few years. Taken March 1981.

Before the Porches, Cottages, Ringsend 1981

© Ann Brien

Changes to the sea front were already afoot when this photo was taken. Nice though to see the old rowing boats were still in action at the time. Also, this was before the cottages had acquired their new porches which I personally feel removed some of the character from these quaint little abodes. Pigeon House Road Cottages, Ringsend. Taken March 1981.

Rear-View Cambridge Avenue, Ringsend 1971

© Ann Brien

This image was from a time when everywhere had wide open spaces, back gardens were not smothered by obscene kitchen extensions and each house had its own individuality. We played hide and seek in those bushes, not to mention cowboys and indians! Taken July 1971.

Cambridge Avenue, Ringsend 1969

© Ann Brien

This was the avenue where I lived from age two and a half to seventeen years. Perhaps because of this I've never lost my love for the old two up, two down, red brick terraced house.

You might also notice from the above image that not many of my neighbours had cars. Only the families where the husband had any kind of a good job were the ones privileged to own such luxuries and some of these people even had a telephone installed in their hallways! We had neither car nor phone but what you didn't have you didn't miss. Taken in May 1969.

Coastguard Station, Ringsend 1969

© Ann Brien

My best childhood friend lived here. I lived just down the road but this was our real playground, the long gardens at the back of the houses and open grassy areas leading from them provided perfect fodder for our young imaginations.

Opposite those houses still runs the River Liffey with its old wall from where I used to stare out to sea. The image also shows to the left, after the bus-stop, the slip-way and you can just about see one of the upturned rowing boats. Taken in May 1969.

St. Catherine's Home and ESB, Ringsend 1968

© Ann Brien

St. Catherine's Home, a one-time convalescent home for TB sufferers. I've been told it is a listed building so I guess it still stands, a grim reminder of dark times. It's directly across the road from the sea view image below.

In the background stands the ESB (Electricy Supply Board) Poolbeg Station which generates most of Ireland's electricity supply. Taken in the summer of 1968.

Old Sea Wall, Pigeon House Road, Ringsend 1968

© Ann Brien

This is the one-time beautiful sea view from between the Coast Guard Station and the ESB, Poolbeg, Ringsend. I would spend a lot of my time just staring out there, it was so calming. On winter evenings I would peer into the dark river, her waters black as ink, the eerie sound of the fog horn ringing in my ears. Later I would trade the coldness of the night for the warmth of my home. Taken in the summer of 1968.

Pigeon House Road, Ringsend 1968

© Ann Brien

My greatest memory of this "waterfall" is of summer evenings when men and boys would be lined up with their fishing rods and nets, all silent....waiting. Taken in the summer of 1968.

The Early Years (1)

© Ann Brien

A very shy little Ann in my back yard in Ringsend, Dublin, the family home until I was seventeen. Taken by my cousin with her Brownie camera in 1954. I was two and a half years old.

The Early Years (4)

© Ann Brien

This was taken on the hall door step of a neighbour I used to babysit for. In fact it's on the morning after the little boy's first birthday party which of course I attended (that's him sitting beside me). The year was 1960 and I'm eight and a half years old.

The Early Years (6)

© Ann Brien

Twelve years old in Ringsend Park, Dublin. Taken on a bitter cold January morning in 1963 by a neighbour (note the snow footprints and me blinded by the bright sunlight!). I particularly love this photograph as it shows the park I knew so well as a child before the erection of tennis courts and other sporting facilities.