LANEWAY IN CLONSKEAGH

01/11/2023

I am beginning to explore the Clonskeagh area of Dublin in detail and it is a slow process.

Gledswood Avenue is a mature residential cul-de-sac located in Clonskeagh, Dublin 14. It is a highly sought-after area, due to its proximity to a wide range of amenities, including shops, restaurants, schools, and colleges. 

There is a large house known as Gledswood House and it is described as being  Between Bird avenue and Gledswood Avenue and according to my prior information access to it is via Gledswood Avenue but when I visited I could not locate any such entrance. An examination of the area using Google Maps indicates that there is a driveway from Bird Avenue to the property ... I will check at a later date. 

Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI) maps 1838-1845 and 1898-1913 place it in the townland of Faranboley and it is annotated as Bloomville and Gledswood House respectively.

It is substantial house on 15 acres known as Bloomville, Roebuck.  The name changed to Gledswood circa 1856 (possibly named after an area in Scotland by the Robertson family). The house has a beautiful semi circular ironwork porch and arched bay windows. In 1847 the valuation was 248 pounds and in the 1901 census it is noted as

having 17 rooms occupied by a single family

BOTH SECTIONS OF BEECHWOOD DRIVE

01/11/2023

Beechmount Drive is described as a small cul-de-sac of detached houses located in the townland of Farranboley, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14. It is off Bird Avenue, near the junction with Dundrum Road. However there are two sections to Beechmount Drive connected by an ugly lane or alleyway. So Beechmount Drive extends from Mulvey Park to Bird Avenue.

The road was originally known as Ardnabel, and the earliest known reference to it is on an Ordnance Survey map from 1838-1845. In the 1898-1913 OSI map, it is annotated as Farranboley Cottage and Ardnabel respectively.

I came across the following description in the property section of a national newspaper: "A large Victorian house in a suburban cul-de-sac in Clonskeagh, Dublin 14, could appeal to a buyer who wants a large period home – or to a developer with an eye to building something on the 0.09-acre back lawn, which has a wide gate opening to Beechmount Drive. Roebuck Manor was the home of the late Jan Kaminski, a Holocaust survivor who arrived in Ireland after the second World War and founded the Concorde Travel agency in the 1960s; he died in 2019. Now the house he bought in the 1970s, Roebuck Manor, Beechmount Drive, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14, a 484sq m (5,212sq ft) four-bed on 0.42 acres, is for sale through Lisney for €1,950,000. It has a BER of E1. Beechmount Drive is a small cul-de-sac of detached 1960s-style houses built before Jan Kaminski bought Roebuck. Beechmount Drive is off Bird Avenue in Clonskeagh, near the junction with Dundrum Road."

WEXFORD STREET AND CAMDEN STREET

23/10/2023

I was in the area as I had planned to have lunch at Las Tapas de Lola on  Wexford Street. The restaurant offers award-winning Spanish tapas, wines, beers and tasty sangria and this would have been my first visit. Unfortunately, I arrived too late as I got distracted by my photography. I will try again next week after the Bank Holiday and after the ending of summer time.

Camden Street links Ranelagh/Rathmines (Dublin 6) to the southern city centre of Dublin via Wexford Street. It is divided into Camden Street Upper (southern end) and Camden Street Lower (northern end).

The name is likely derived from the Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94). The fact that the street name first appears on maps in 1778 would rule it out as originating from his son John Pratt, Marquess Camden (1759-1840) who became Lord Lieutenent of Ireland in 1795. An attempt to connect the name to Saint Kevin (Old Irish Cóemgen) is regarded as spurious.

A prominent company located on Upper Camden St for over a century was Earley and Company (1861–1975). They were ecclesiastical furnishings and stained glass manufacturers and retailers. The firm was one of the largest and most prestigious ecclesiastical decorators both in Ireland and the U.K.

An intact Edwardian shop interior existed at number 39, Carvill’s Off Licence until the early 21st century. The Bleeding Horse pub is also a notable building, with a public house sitting on the site since 1648. It is mentioned in the work of Sean O’Casey, and both James Clarence Mangan and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu were patrons.

There were two cinemas on the street: The Camden Cinema and the Theatre De Luxe. The Camden Cinema was located at 55 Upper Camden St., where the headquarters of Concern Worldwide is now located. It closed around 1912. The Theatre De Luxe was opened in 1912 by Maurice Elliman, a Jew who escaped the pogroms in Eastern Europe. The first building was designed by Frederick Hayes, MRIAI, and built by George Squire & Co. It was enlarged and rebuilt in 1920. The exterior was remodelled in Art deco style in 1934. It closed in 1975. The building is now a hotel, Hotel De Luxe, and a night-club.

URBAN DEPRESSION ON AUNGIER PLACE

23/10/2023

Aungier Place may once have been a laneway or narrow street, with stables, connecting Aungier Street to Upper Mercer Street with a branch to Digges Street. It is now a very ugly back lane.