Bøger af Joe Curtis

In late-Georgian and Victorian Ireland, most towns and many villages had an impressive public Market House, administered by the local landlord or Town Council, where farmers weighed and sold their merchandise. Often, the first floor of the building was used as the local Court House, or for public events, or even by the Town Council for their monthly meetings. Thankfully, many of these important public buildings have survived, and converted to alternative use, such as the public library, or Council offices. This book, with many colour photographs, confines itself to the province of Leinster, in an effort to give a flavour of what the rest of Ireland has to offer.

This book provides sketch histories of a wide selection of important old Dublin businesses and institutions, many no longer trading or operating, although quite a number are still in existence today. Old letterheads and advertisements provide further information about the companies, especially those with good graphic design or sketches of the premises or products. The book therefore provides a rare insight into old Dublin, when the city was compact and bustling, yet human in scale.

Up until the middle of the 20th century, Dublin had hundreds of tall industrial free-standing chimneys, puffing out smoke and fumes, serving the boilers and steam-engines of factories, laundries, hospitals and other institutions. With the advent of cheap and plentiful electricity, the chimneys became redundant, and were often demolished to save on maintenance costs or to secure some extra space in the factory yard. Now there are only about two dozen stand-alone tall chimneys left in Dublin, and this book provides potted histories of the various companies which used them, illustrated with old and modern photographs and maps. Most of the chimneys are attractive examples of good design, materials and workmanship from our industrial past.

At the foundation of the State in 1922, Kimmage was just a crossroads (KCR), with farmland all around, but then thousands of houses were built by Dublin Corporation in the 1930's, bringing life to the area.

Castlebar derived its name from Barry's Castle (Castle Barry), which was located in the open square of the present Army Barracks, up until the time of "The Races of Castlebar" in 1798.

Ringsend In Old Photographs

A history of Harold's Cross

Blackrock is well known as an affluent and well-loved suburb of Dublin, situated on the picturesque east coast of the city. Blackrock never fully achieved the status of a seaside resort, but still boasted outdoor swimming baths, and the banks of the railway track afforded sunbathing perches for our pale-faced city dwellers.

It is generally agreed that the first recorded mention of Terenure came in 1216, when Hugh de Barnewall was granted the lands of Terenure and Kimmage. In this new book by author and local historian Joe Curtis, the reader can explore the history and development of Terenure from its earliest days.

Drogheda nestles on the east coast of Ireland, on the border of Louth and Meath. A lively medieval town, it is home to a host of contemporary music and theatre companies, an international Samba festival, and was the birthplace of many famous Irish people, including Pierce Brosnan, Steve Staunton and Shane Horgan.