Black & White photographs of the inner city area of Dublin during the 1980's by the Irish photographer Gerry Smith. Book available here - www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail...
I remember growing up in the Liberties in the 60s, the roads were all covered in cobblestones and the old green lights it had brilliant character back then and up until the early 90s until the money men took over,the people were absolutely salt of the earth everyone helped each other out,now u don't even know Ur next door neighbour they might have done the streets up but they have and are destroying the character, it's great to have the fantastic memories that we will never get back.
When I run a hand atop the Liffey walls I'm home n hosed.. Dublin 3 reflects Dublin 4 of Ringsend /Irishtown.. Dublin 1of Oriel St/Sherrifer across from City Quay /Townsend /Pearse St... Dublin 7s Smithfield Manor /Aughrim St's and so The Coombe /Thomas n Jamebo St's on the far side. What takes me to reminisce is the old timers.. Oul gabardine coats.. Head scarfs.. Shopping bags.. Browsing 2nd hand shops n stalls.. Refrigeration for just about 1 n all.. Smog all about us from the coal/turf /briquettes /log fires. We all availed of the Pawn and Provident.. Marvelled at some neighbours new bit of carpet n how it was invariably protected by clear plastic tacking.. Our holidays were once a week family outings on Sundays to. Howth /Portmarnock/Skerries /Bray/Killiney or if it were pissin down we all went to the flicks. Inner city dereliction was all around.. Dumps to muck about In. The Brothers n Nuns kept us in fear of a baitín.. We all went to mass.. Some of us lived contentedly ever after and too many got lost to the drugs. Dublin is home.. With or without Celtic tigers and being 1 of the dearest kips to live in.. Hands in the till politicians or scaldy F. A. I. tealeafs. We will Rock Again...
Can remember seeing many of these characters growing up in Dublin. My Dad has thousands of archived negatives from all over the city. The 80s and 90s. I keep asking him to publish them. He started off with a Mamiya ZE2 camera years ago when I was around eight years old. Forty years later he is still using manual cameras.
My father photos and films. in atic in family home. People I'll never nó thery were in photos... He was the late Joe fay. Born in 1922. Great photos and music...
In what era were all the run down, semi-demolished looking buildings new? When you look at just the infrastructure of the place it's amazing, the buildings are just in massive disrepair. I haven't been home in 8 years but when I left there was still abandoned buildings all over the city, in easy walking distance from the city center, North and South sides. Rents were mad, even for a box room in a run down old building and I know now there even worse. Something very strange going on with the big boy landlords in Dublin City.
So hard to believe in present day Dublin that there was so much poverty in the 1980s and that present day Dublin is a multi cultural vibrant city. Some of the salt of the earth people depicted in these beautiful images that I guess never lived long enough to see things turn modern. There's an underlying romanticism about hard times and cohesion of people without greed and envy. However modern Dublin has brought the world's cultures to Irish shores where once it was only one way migration. Thanks for the reading.
@Dashing Dave: it was said by a famous professor in 2009, Prof Prondeski of DCU, that if present (2009) immigration levels continued, that by 2050 Irish people would be a minority in Ireland. They were about two thirds of what they are now, so please don't lie!
