My Camera Is My Paintbrush: 2010

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Pigeon House Road, Ringsend 1981

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

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.

Ringsend Park Cottages, Ringsend 1981

As kids we used to play "piggy beds" at the far end of this cul-de-sac. Very little traffic to disturb us! Taken March 1981.

Before the Porches, Cottages, Ringsend 1981

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.

Holiday, Cashel, County Galway 1981

This was the view from our holiday chalet in Cashel, County Galway. Our group of friends, numbering at one point ten in total all stayed here over long weekends a couple of times a year. Taken April 1981.

Loop Head, County Clare 1975

That's me hanging over the cliff edge (do not try this at home!) at Loop Head, County Clare. Taken August 1975.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Rear-View Cambridge Avenue, Ringsend 1971

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.

Field Right of Cottage, Rathmolyon 1969

This was the field to the right of the cottage at the end of which was the crossroads. My uncle's cows would graze here in the evening. Out of shot to the right was a hedge where I used to catch bees in a jam jar. Taken in August 1969.

Cottage, Rathmolyon, County Meath 1969

This was my aunt and uncle's cottage where I spent two weeks out of my summer holidays every year when I was a kiddy. I had a great love of the peace and quiet even then. The evenings were magic just listening to the wood pigeons and crickets. Taken in August 1969.

Side Gate, Cottage, Rathmolyon 1969

I used to love standing on this gate when I was a kid on my summer holidays. Taken in August 1969.

Front Steps, Cottage, Rathmolyon 1969

This was me with my aunt and uncle's dog, Toddy, on the front steps of their cottage in Rathmolyon, County Meath. Taken in December 1969.

Field Left of Cottage, Rathmolyon, 1969

This was the field to the left of the cottage in Rathmolyon, County Meath where my aunt and uncle had their vegetables growing. I used to run around the edge of this in the evening pretending I was a great athlete. Taken in August 1969.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Cambridge Avenue, Ringsend 1969

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

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.

Friday, November 12, 2010

St. Catherine's Home and ESB, Ringsend 1968

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

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

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.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Early Years (1)

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 (2)

That's me in the back yard of my aunt and uncle's cottage in Charlemont Row off Harcourt Street, Dublin. All those cottages have now long since been demolished. Taken by my cousin in 1956. I was five years old.

The Early Years (3)

This was a very special day - my First Holy Communion. The photo was taken once again in my cousin's back yard in Charlemont Row off Harcourt Street, Dublin. Taken by my cousin in May 1959. I was seven and a half years old.

The Early Years (4)

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 (5)

I remember the day this was taken. It was in the yard of St. Brigid's Primary School, Haddington Road, Dublin 4 where I attended from six to twelve years of age. The year was 1960 and I was eight years old.

The Early Years (6)

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.