Echoes of past centuries in its streets and institutions.

Dedication

To Sir Charles A. Cameron CB, MD, DPH, CAMB, FRCS, FRCP,

Medical Superintendent and Executive Officer of Health, and Public Analyst of the City of Dublin.

One who has done much for the advancement and betterment of his native city, as a sincere expression of gratitude to him for the many acts of kindness he has extended to me during the past 30 yearsm which period I have served him on the staff of the Public Health Committee of the City of Dublin.

Introductory Note

I know full well that many shortcomings and errors will be found in this little publication, but I trust it may be accepted in the spirit in which it is offered, as an humble attempt to keep green some memories of my native city; and I fondly hope that it may have the effect of leading more competent students and writers to follow up a subject so full of interest, the fringe of which I have only touched.

July 1913. J. C.

LIFE IN OLD DUBLIN. **

CHAPTER I.**

Echoes of past centuries in its streets and institutions-Wattle Bridge - Innes of Court-Ormond Market - Dominican Priory - Mary’s Abbey-Essex Bridge - St. Paul’s, Arran Quay.** **

The** **Rome correspondent of the Freeman, in a letter to that journal in October, 1907, **writing about a walk on the Aventine, near Rome, expressed ideas which most aptly fit in with a ramble through our own city streets:-

“‘Places have a soul,’ said a French writer recently; ‘men make it for them by living in them.’ And even after men pass away and the place with a soul has become depopulated and deserted, something, if it be only a memory of it, remains. The stranger who comes to such a place, and is informed of the story of men who lived in it, becomes influenced and impressed in such a spot, and his memory retains the picture of it for years to come. I think it is in the more lonely and desolate places in and near Rome that you feel this impression of the soul of the past in the fullest degree. If you stop to review the events which have happened in a certain place, or to consider the lives and deeds of the men whose footsteps have in ages past resounded on one of these now decaying streets, the pageant of a long and brilliant history passes before your imagination. But, in this very old land, the records of which cover long ages, it is scarcely possible for you to go half a dozen yards without finding, in your imagination, the hand of some famous old dweller of the soil stretched forth to welcome you. Here it is a pagan warrior, or a self-sufficient philosopher; there it is a Christian martyr or confessor who greets you. You can people, in your thought, the barren and solitary neighbourhood with hosts of figures selected from the pages of history and made to live again.”

These words, written about Rome, its streets and environment, may, as I already have said, well be taken as applicable to Dublin also. There is much to think about as you walk its streets and lanes, stretching back, as many of them do, through full a thousand years of Irish history, to the days when the, “Ford of the Hurdles,” Baile-Atha-Cliath, gave its name to the infant city that came to be described, in its first English charter, still preserved in the Corporation archives, as “Diveline.”

The ford is supposed to have been situated close to where Whitworth Bridge now stands and to have led to the roadway known to later generations as Stoneybatter. There is much of the deepest interest recorded in connection with ancient Dublin, but there is one matter which is seldom or never noticed by the historians of our city. Harris, in his “History of Dublin,” published in the year 1766, alludes to it, but only to sneer at “the monkish story.” If we turn to that commonplace book of Dublin commercial life, Thom’s Directory, we learn the following from the Annals of Dublin:-

“A.D. 484 - St. Patrick converts the King of Dublin, Alphin McEchold, and his subjects, to the Christian Faith.” it is recorded that after St. Patrick had fulfilled his mission amongst the then natives of Dublin he set out on his journey to Tara. Crossing over the Wattle Bridge, he wends his way towards Finglas. Just outside the city the saint came to an eminence, which tradition points to as the mount where the Broadstone Terminus now stands. It is told that he looked over towards Dublin and its boundary, and said these words: “This town will be prophetical. Although small and miserable, it will be a large town in time that is to come. It will be told and spoken of far and near, and will be increasing until it is the chief town in the kingdom.”

But, to return to the Wattle Bridge, and the roads leading from it. Halliday, in his “Essay on the Ancient Name of Dublin,” says “that in our oldest MSS. it is stated that Ireland was intersected by five great roads, and that the present Stoney Batter formed a part of one of these ancient roadways. The portion of Dublin where the Danish invaders settled was called after them Eastmann Town, since corrupted into Oxmanstown.” In days gone by this place was famous for its forest of oaks. Hanmer, in his Chronicles of Ireland, tells us that in “1098** **King Rufus, by licence of Murchard, had the frames which made up the roofs of Westminster Hall, where no English spider webbeth or breathed to this day, and that the fair green or common, now called Oxmanstown Green, was all wood, and he that diggeth at this day to any depth shall find the ground full of great roots.”

This Danish village or settlement was outside the city walls, such as they were, in those days, and if one looks at Speed’s map of Dublin, as it was in 1610, he will find in this neighbourhood mostly green fields and cultivated lands. The few buildings, those calling for our immediate attention, are first the “Innes of Court,” now a portion of the Four Courts. Here was founded the first Priory of the Order of St. Dominick, in the year 1224,** **just three years after the death of St. Dominick.

The first Priory of the Order, St. Saviour’s, was destroyed in 1316** **with a view of preventing Richard Bruce obtaining an entrance into the city, and portions of the stones of the Priory were devoted to the purpose of the erection of parts of the city walls and gates, including Winetavern Street gate and another gate; long since removed.

Out of the same source was procured the materials for the erection of St. Audoen’s Arch, the only remains above ground of this famous Priory. Some years after this desecration Edward III. obliged the citizens to restore the church which had been depleted for their benefit. In the meantime the Dominican Friars erected a College on Usher’s Island. They erected a bridge across the Liffey in the year 1428**, **which was afterwards called the Old Bridge. For the privilege of crossing this bridge a toll was paid to a lay brother, and a vessel stood in the centre of the bridge containing holy water, for the purpose of sprinkling the passengers.

The following sketch is really descriptive of the bridge as it stood in medieval Dublin:- ” It had two fortified and embattled towers, one on the south end and the other on the west. These towers were built by Geoffrey de Montague, under a licence of the King, which licence empowered de Montague to erect houses of his own on the spaces between the two towers.” Thus we find dwelling-houses and shops lining the bridge, whilst in 1348 this miniature town on the Old Bridge was further enriched by the erection of a chapel in honour of the Blessed Virgin. Further improvements were made from time to time, and in good Queen Bess’s reign we find it was repaired, buildings of various kinds being erected alongside the river.

The time was fast approaching when once again the Dominican Priory (which had become rooted in the hearts of the citizens as centuries rolled by) was to pass through the ordeal of confiscation, as on the suppression of the monasteries-the fate of all such places-it was surrendered to the Crown. This took place on 3rd July, in the third year of the reign of Henry VIII., by Prior Patrick Hughes.

The monastery and its possessions, as usual, were parcelled out to the favourites of King Henry and Queen Elizabeth. Amongst those who received share of the spoil was the Earl of Kildare. In the reign of Charles I. the Duke of Ormonde became possessed of the Earl of Kildare’s part of the property. This he had laid out for building, opened a new street, which he named Charles Street in honour of the King. The remainder he allotted for a public market, which is now in ruins, but the place still retains the name (Ormond Market).

In 1612** the whole site of the monastery and church was appropriated to the lawyers, and was called the King’s Inns. When James II. resided in Dublin he held a Parliament in the cloisters; and it was again occupied by the Dominicans, but only for a short time, for on the arrival of William III. they had to quit. This building before its conversion to the use as we see it now served many purposes. It was used as a theatre - the Lord Lieutenant of the day frequently attending it. There were also printing offices in its curtilage. A prayer book was printed at this place in 1760. **This prayer book contains a quaint collection of no less than 35 woodcuts, as well as its unique frontispiece.

The monastery chapel was given over to the French Huguenots, and was used by them till shortly before its being taken over for the purpose of erection of the present law courts, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1786. The Four Courts took 14 years to build, costing over £200,000.** **In passing, I may add that the lands of the Dominicans on the south side of the Liffey were granted to Sir William Usher, and, like Ormond on the north, he let them out for buildings, and his name is associated with same; hence Usher’s Quay, etc.

The building of the Four Courts, and the consequent improvement in this neighbourhood, has removed all traces of the Dominican Priory and its massive structures, save such as remain still underground, several of which are known to exist in the locality starting from North King Street towards the river.

One of the most interesting was up to some years ago in a good state of preservation, after a lapse of 700** **years. It consisted of a series of lofty semicircular and round arches, built on massive piers, which are approached by a descent of large steps built in what was, up to a short time ago, known as Bailey’s timber yard, George’s Hill. Opposite to the steps and in the first vault is a deeply arched recess in which there is a well of the purest water, said to be dedicated to St. Anne, from whom the adjoining street derives its name. On the left of the entrance vault is a built-up opening, which closes a vaulted passage, and tradition tells us that this passage extended to Christ Church, being tunnelled under the river, and used at a remote period by the monks for the purpose of attending the ceremonials of the Cathedral.

It is said that fifty years ago a workman procured a large ball of twine and some candles, and proceeded to explore the passage. He tied the end of the twine at the entrance, unwinding it as he went along, until he reached, as he considered, as far as Ormond Quay, when he was obliged to return, being driven back by foul air. The entrance was closed up in consequence of this exploit.

This vault conducts to many others, one being 150ft. in length, 15ft**. wide, 12ft. **high. There are also several others, but of smaller dimensions. From these even slight particulars, one can well imagine that within the monastery boundary here and there were dotted massive buildings devoted to religion and charity-a richly-endowed church, with delicately-traced windows, costly shrines, cloisters, and cells. The main site was nearest the river, facing the city; while in compliance with the statutes of the Brehon Laws, just then obsolete, there were provided a refuge for travellers, store houses, granaries, and mills.

The next building commanding our attention is that of St. Mary’s Abbey. One could devote a whole chapter to the many interesting episodes in connection with this historic building, which has long since disappeared; but its memory is still kept green in the names of the streets which are within its environment, viz.:- Mary’s Abbey, Mary’s Lane, Abbey Street. According to Archdale’s Monasticon, it was founded about the year 948. This date is doubted by Cardinal Moran, who fixes it about 1038. [Pictured below is a representation of the Facade (supposed of) Ancient Church of St. Mary’s Abbey, Dublin. Lithograph of enamelled floor tile, 1½ inches thick, found about 12 feet under ground level in Boland’s Bakery, Capel Street, Dublin, January 1882)

tilepic.gif (5613 bytes)At first it was of the Benedictine Order; in 1139** **it was granted to the monks of the Cistercian Order. Shortly after the latter getting into possession the Normans came to Ireland. Strongbow gave the lands of Clonliffe and Adam Pheipho gave a considerable amount of his property to the monastery. The abbey, like all other similar institutions, was destroyed by the edict of Henry VI II.

It was in the Council Chamber of this abbey - now portion of Boland’s Bakery - that Silken Thomas defied the King. A report gained circulation that the last Catholic Earl of Kildare had been done to death by Henry VIII. in London. His son, Silken Thomas, goaded by the statement related in these reports, and believing them to be true, determined to throw aside for ever his allegiance to the English King. A meeting of the Privy Council had been arranged for the 11th June, 1534, to be held in the Chapter House of Mary’s Abbey.

He appeared before the councillors in a hot fury, and instead of taking his place at the head of the table he flung his sword thereon, and formally renounced his allegiance to King Henry, flung off his official robe, and strode out in armour as England’s foe. His rebellion ended abortively in August, 1538**, **when he surrendered on a guarantee of Lords Butler and Leonard, the conditions of which were not kept, as he was executed at Tyburn on 3rd February, 1537.

From this date to the end of the century the records of Mary’s Abbey are sad reading. Before its destruction it was one of the most sumptuous of its kind in the kingdom; had bequests made to it from all parts of’ Ireland; its grounds extended up to the vicinity of the Broadstone and back again along the river. From the time of its foundation till its demolition it had an existence for over 500** **years.

I will try and describe its position. The entrance gate was near the corner of Chancery Street, extending south through the White Lyon in Charles Street, out to the river, and north through East Arran Street, Green Street, and Henrietta Street, and included a large area towards the east. (By the way, the “White Lyon,” which was an ancient inn, has only been lately demolished. In passing, I may add that in this house was established in the year 1845** **the Irish Branch of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul).

It is well known to antiquaries that all Cistercian Abbeys were built on the same plan since the 11th century, and the discovery of the chapter house some few years ago at once gave the data from which the whole Abbey of St. Mary could be conjectured. In order to fully understand the situation of St. Mary’s Abbey the plan of a Cistercian Abbey was laid down by that eminent architect, Sir Thomas Drew, on the Ordnance map of the locality, and, standing on the site, it is easy to picture the familiar objects changed back to their ancient uses.

st.gif (29141 bytes)Down towards the south, where now stand the premises known as 16 Mary’s Abbey, extended the fraternity or community room of the monks, divided down the centre by pillars supporting their dormitory overhead with unglazed windows, in accordance with the austerity of the Cistercian rules. [Pictured, on right, is a problematical plan of the buildings which formed Old St. Mary’s Abbey]

Across the end of Meeting House Lane was the kitchen, further to the west the refectory stood across the open space, known to us now as the streetway of Mary’s Abbey; then came the stores and offices, and at right angles to the line of the other buildings stood the workroom of the lay brothers. This workroom was situated about the site of the late Jewish Synagogue, now the ice house of Mr. Mather.

The Abbey church formed the south boundary, extending from the rere of Arran Street, through Messrs. Boland’s bakery premises, and terminated at the rere of Capel Street. During the excavations some years ago fragments of ancient tiles were found, and side by side were two built graves or small vaults, evidently the resting-place of kings or bishops. One of the graves is believed to be that of the Archbishop of Tuam, who died in 1238**.**

About 130** **years after the dissolution of Mary’s Abbey in 1676 the then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Sir Humphrey Jervis, threw down a portion of the abbey to supply material for Essex Bridge, named after Arthur Capel, Earl of Essex. This act of vandalism met a deserved fate, for the bridge fell into the river some ten years after its erection. Shortly after building this bridge, Sir H. Jervis, together with Sir H. Stafford and others, formed a syndicate for the purpose of laying out new streets and building houses on this part of the estate belonging to Mary’s Abbey.

About this time St. Michan’s, which was the only parish on the north side of the city, was further divided into two additional parishes-St. Mary’s and St. Paul’s. As the city in this direction extended its bounds the Roman Catholic population also increased, and the latter established a new chapel by converting an old stable to this purpose at the rere of what is now 11-12** **Arran Quay. This was, after some time, found inadequate for the increasing congregation, and in 1835 the splendid new church of St. Paul’s on Arran Quay was erected.

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