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  • Extremely unusual & culturally significant historical sign from a once famous pub in Castlebar Co Mayo, the historic and now sadly closed down Humbert Inn.Please email us directly to enquire about this most unusual item at irishpubemporium@gmail.com. "Located on the Main Street of Castlebar, The Humbert Inn  excelled in its hospitality to the public for over 200 years. Its name was derived from the fact that the French General Jean Humbert with his second in command General Sarrazin located their headquarters within the building during the United Irishmen rebellion of 1798. Originally until 1912 due to rates purposes, the premises also consisted of what is known today as Paddy Fahey’s shop and over the years has been used as hotel, restaurant and public house. In 1798 the site of Paddy Fahey’s and the Humbert Inn was known as Geevy’s Hotel. A banquet was held there after the 1798 Rising and it was in The Humbert Inn premises, that John Moore was declared first President of Connaught! The public bar was unique in appearance with its interior rough cut stone walls, arches, Liscannor stone floor and a façade that has changed little over the past fifty years.

    The premises has changed hands many times over the years, more recent owners including Tom Coucil, the Moran family and since 1994 John Connaughton, more popularly known as 'John Humbert'. While memories aplenty abound about The Humbert Inn with many instances of people today stating that they are the third generation of their family to call into The Humbert.  Its lasting legacy will be an outstanding and legendary venue for all that is musical. The Humbert Inn was long associated with encouraging local musicians and providing the public with a steady stream of talent. Everything from traditional sessions to Industrial Rock has been catered for, everything from one guitar, 6 piece bands to many DJs have enthralled weekly audiences! In many cases their audience trying for a pint, while singing and dancing at the same time. Always a multi-talented bunch, The Humbert regulars! The most historically famous of these bands will be 'General Humbert' consisting of Steve Dunford (bodhran, bones), John Donegan (mandolin, harmonium), Ruairi Somers (uileann pipes, tin whistles, bagpipes), Shay Kavanagh (guitar, bouzouki) and one Miss Mary Black (vocals, bodhran) from approx 1972 until 1982. Mary Black’s brother Mick was working with the then P&T in Castlebar, he along with his brother Shay informed a group of Humbert musicians including, John Hoban and Frank O’Reilly, that he 'had a sister that could sing a bit (brotherly understatement) and would they be interested if she sang with them'. Mary Black may have received her first taste of success with 'General Humbert' in the ‘70s and recorded her first album in 1982. But, along with playing venues in Dublin, she started out singing in Castlebar with traditional group 'La Salle' which included John Dunford and Fintan Murphy within The Humbert a good ten years before her international success. Christmas in particular was always memorable in The Humbert, it was a major home coming venue and meeting place. If you were brought up in Castlebar, were of a certain age, then chances were there was one of two places you would have been found on Christmas Eve, The Humbert or Rays!. The Humbert Inn can also boast its very own VIP list among its regulars with two crowned Roses of Tralee Mindy O’Sullivan and Aoibhinn Ni Shulleabhain along with Fair City actress Vicky Burke. Plus any number of quality customers, musicians, fine sportsmen and women, business people and the odd politician. Fate had decided a different path for The Humbert and further to this an offer to buy the premises by a local developer was accepted. This has resulted in the developer’s decision to convert the building into retail outlets and apartments, thereby no longer retaining the premises two hundred year reign in the hospitality trade.Public opinion has stated a desire to at least retain the look of the existing bar, possibly using same as a restaurant, wine bar, part of the Linenhall for exhibitions or even as a Tourist Office However, the general consensus is an overall request that The Humbert Inn remains a public bar while recognising the logic in upper floor apartment conversion. The future of The Humbert has been proposed by the developer, but it is the present planning section of the Town Council who will ultimately decide this historic buildings fate as rumours abound of its possible demolition! What ever the future holds for The Humbert Inn, its last weekend under the command of General John Connaughton will be a musical filled celebration which John has requested to end quietly on its last closing time on Sunday 3rd September. Which is curiously the same date that Humbert and his men left The Humbert Inn premises in 1798! It will be an emotional time for both punters, staff and owner, an end of an era no matter what the future holds, so it is important that it is understood that the bar will be closing promptly on the last night" Origins : Co Mayo Dimensions : 88cm x60.5cm  5kg
  • Very interesting and superbly framed New Map of Ireland from 1779 ( CMcG) from the latest surveys of the time.Please contact us directly at irishpubemporium@gmail.com for pricing and shipment quotation for this extraordinarily rare item. Offset in a display type frame made by The Dawson Gallery 4 Dawson Street Dublin 2, we estimate this piece to be well over 200 years old.Long obsolete place names such as the ancient baronies of Blakeny Co Galway,Rofs Co Cork,Philipstown Co Laois  and spellings such as Donegall,Lough Deirg & support this estimate. 70cm x 60cm Dublin  
  • Classy 1980s Bombay Dry Gin mirror in fantastic oak frame.Please contact us directly at irishpubemporium@gmail.com for pricing and shipment quotation. Cork City. 72cm x 60cm Bombay Sapphire is a brand of gin that was first launched in 1986 by English wine-merchant IDV. In 1997 Diageo sold the brand to Bacardi.Its name originates from the popularity of gin in India during the British Raj and "Sapphire" refers to the violet-blue Star of Bombay which was mined from Sri Lanka and is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Bombay Sapphire is marketed in a flat-sided, sapphire-coloured bottle that bears a picture of Queen Victoria on the label. The flavouring of the drink comes from a recipe of ten ingredients: almond, lemon peel, liquorice, juniper berries, orris root, angelica, coriander, cassia, cubeb, and grains of paradise. Alcohol brought in from another supplier is evaporated three times using a carterhead still, and the alcohol vapours are passed through a mesh/basket containing the ten botanicals, in order to gain flavour and aroma. This is felt to give the gin a lighter, more floral taste compared to those gins that are created using a copper pot still. Water from Lake Vyrnwy is added to bring the strength of Bombay Sapphire down to 40.0% (UK, the Nordics, several continental European markets, Canada and Australia). The 47.0% version is the standard for sale at duty-free stores in all markets.

    Production

    In 2011, plans were announced to move the manufacturing process to a new facility at Laverstoke Mill in Whitchurch, Hampshire, including the restoration of the former Portal's paper mill at the proposed site, and the construction of a visitor centre. Planning permission was granted in February 2012, and the centre opened to the public in the autumn of 2014.The visitor centre included a new construction by Thomas Heatherwick of two glasshouses for plants used as botanicals in the production of Bombay Sapphire gin. Production and bottling of the drink is contracted out by Bacardi to G&J Greenall.

    Varieties

    Three of the Bombay varieties
    Bacardi also markets Bombay Original London Dry Gin (or Bombay Original Dry). Eight botanical ingredients are used in the production of the Original Dry variety, as opposed to the ten in Bombay Sapphire. Wine Enthusiast preferred it to Bombay Sapphire. In September 2011, Bombay Sapphire East was launched in test markets in New York and Las Vegas. This variety has another two botanicals, lemongrass and black peppercorns, in addition to the original ten. It is bottled at 42% and was designed to counteract the sweetness of American tonic water. A special edition of Bombay gin called Star of Bombay was produced in 2015 for the UK market. It is bottled at 47.5% and is distilled from grain. It features bergamot and ambrette seeds in harmony with Bombay's signature botanicals. This version has later been extended to several other markets. Another variety is Bombay Bramble, it’s Infused with fresh Black- and Raspberries and bottled at 37.5% ABV. In summer 2019, Bacardi launched a limited edition gin called Bombay Sapphire English Estate, which features three additional English sourced botanicals: Pennyroyal Mint, rosehip and hazelnut. It is bottled at 41%.

    Design connection

    The brand started a series of design collaborations. Their first step into the design world was a series of advertisements featuring work from currently popular designers. Their works, varying from martini glasses to tiles and cloth patterns, are labelled as “Inspired by Bombay Sapphire”. The campaign featured designers such as Marcel Wanders, Yves Behar, Karim Rashid, Ulla Darni, and Dror Benshetrit and performance artist Jurgen Hahn. From the success of this campaign, the company began a series of events and sponsored locations. The best known is the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition, held each year, where design students from all over the world can participate by designing their own “inspired” martini cocktail glass. The finalists (one from each participating country) are then invited to the yearly Salone del Mobile, an international design fair in Milano, where the winner is chosen. Bombay Sapphire also endorses glass artists and designers with the Bombay Sapphire Prize, which is awarded every year to an outstanding design which features glass. Bombay Sapphire also showcases the designers' work in the Bombay Sapphire endorsed blue room, which is a design exhibition touring the world each year. From 2008 the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition final will be held at 100% Design in London, UK and the Bombay Sapphire Prize will take place in Milan at the Salone Del Mobile.

    Evaluation

    Bombay Sapphire has been reviewed by several outside spirit ratings organizations to various degrees of success. Recently, it was awarded a score of 92 (on a 100-point scale) from the Beverage Testing Institute. Ratings aggregator Proof66.com categorizes the Sapphire as a Tier 2 spirit, indicating highly favourable "expert" reviews.

    Cultural references

    • Long time sports radio personality Jim Rome is known for his love of Bombay Sapphire Gin, which he often refers to as "the Magic Blue".
    • American hip-hop artist Wiz Khalifa and his "Taylor Gang" are also known for their love of Bombay Sapphire dry gin.
    • Former Las Vegas, Nevada mayor Oscar Goodman is known for his love of Bombay Sapphire Gin, and he has served as a spokesman for the brand.
    • American musician Robert Earl Keen references "a quart of Bombay gin" in the song "The Road Goes on Forever".
    • American YouTuber/streamer Etika was known for drinking Bombay Sapphire, among other alcoholic drinks, during streams as a way to celebrate donations.
    • In the Netflix series Bojack Horseman a bottle strongly resembling Bombay Sapphire can be seen in Princess Carolyn's office.
          Gorgeous Gordon's -This is the Gin tin advertising sign.As the   Fantastic,rare antique tin Gordon's Gin Advertising sign from the 1940's.-manufactured by Sir Joseph Causton & Sons Ltd London (more information at bottom).At the top of the sign is the Royal Crest and By appointment Gin Distiller To H.M King George VI. Gordon's is a brand of London dry gin first produced in 1769. The top markets for Gordon's are (in descending order) the United Kingdom, the United States and Greece. It is owned by the British spirits company Diageo and, in the UK, is made at Cameron Bridge Distillery in Fife, Scotland (although flavourings may be added elsewhere).It is the world's best-selling London dry gin. Gordon's has been the UK's number one gin since the late 19th century. A 40% ABV version for the North American market is distilled in Canada.
    The Cameron Bridge Distillery in Scotland where Gordon's is produced
    Gordon's London Dry Gin was developed by Alexander Gordon, a Londoner of Scots descent.He opened a distillery in the Southwark area in 1769, later moving in 1786 to Clerkenwell. The Special London Dry Gin he developed proved successful, and its recipe remains unchanged to this day. Its popularity with the Royal Navy saw bottles of the product distributed all over the world. In 1898 Gordon & Co. amalgamated with Charles Tanqueray & Co. to form Tanqueray Gordon & Co. All production moved to the Gordon's Goswell Roadsite. In 1899, Charles Gordon died, ending the family association with the business. In 1904 the distinctive square-faced, green bottle for the home market was introduced. In 1906 Gordon's Sloe Gin went into production. The earliest evidence in recipe books for the production of Gordon's Special Old Tom was in 1921. In 1922 Tanqueray Gordon & Co. was acquired by the Distillers Company. In 1924 Gordon's began production of a 'Ready-to-Serve' Shaker Cocktail range, each in an individual shaker bottle. In 1925 Gordon's was awarded its first Royal Warrant by King George V.In 1929 Gordon's released an orange gin followed by a lemon variety in 1931. In 1934 Gordon's opened its first distillery in the US, at Linden, New Jersey. By 1962 at least it was the world's highest selling gin. In 1984 British production was moved to Laindon in Essex. In 1998 production was moved to Fife in Scotland, where it remains to this day. Every label and bottle top of Gordon's gin bears a depiction of a wild boar. According to legend a member of Clan Gordon saved the King of Scotland from the animal while hunting.

    Products

    An export bottle of Gordon's London Dry Gin
    According to the manufacturer, Gordon's gin is triple-distilled and contains juniper berries, coriander seeds, angelica root, licorice, orris root, orange, and lemon peel, though the exact recipe has remained a closely guarded secret since 1769. It differed from others at the time in that it didn't add sugar, which made it a "dry" gin.It takes ten days' distillation after receiving the wheat to create a finished product of a bottle of Gordon's Gin. In the UK Gordon's is sold in a green glass bottle, but in export markets, it is sold in a clear bottle.Some airport duty-free shops sell it in plastic bottles in the 75cl size. Gordon's is sold in several different strengths depending on the market. In the US, the strength is 40% ABV. Until 1992, the ABV in the UK was 40%, but it was reduced to 37.5% to bring Gordon's gin into line with other white spirits such as white rum and vodka, and also reduce production costs (the other leading brands of gin in the UK, Beefeater gin and Bombay Sapphire, are both 40% ABV in the UK). In continental Europe and in some duty-free stores, a 47.3% ABV version (Traveller's Edition) is available in addition to the 37.5% one, while in New Zealand and Australia, as of 2011, it is sold at 37.2% ABV,and in South Africa, it is 43% ABV. In addition to the main product line, Gordon's also produces a sloe gin; a vodka (US & Venezuela only), two alcopop variants, Space and Spark; three vodka liqueur variants, Cranberry, Parchita and Limon (Venezuela only) and a canned, pre-mixed gin and tonic as well as a canned Gordon's and Grapefruit (500ml - Russia only). On 11 February 2013, Gordon's announced the release of Gordon's Crisp Cucumber, a flavored gin, which blends the original gin with cucumber flavor.In early 2014, Gordon's Elderflower was added to their "flavored" gin collection, and is made in much the same way, with a natural elderflower flavoring being added to the original recipe. In August 2017, Gordon's began selling Gordons Pink, a pink-colored gin flavored with several types of red berries. In February 2020, Gordon’s launched two new flavours in lemon and peach. In April 2020, it was announced that Gordon’s were launching an orange flavoured gin.

    Discontinued products

    Gins

    • Gordon's special Old Tom Gin (1921–1987)
    • Orange Gin (1929–1988, 2020–)
    • Lemon Gin (1931–1988, 2020–)
    • Spearmint gin (US only)
    • Gordon's Distiller's Cut - A luxury version of the gin, released in 2004, with additional botanicals of lemongrass and ginger.

    Shaker cocktails

    A range of pre-mixed drinks:
    • (1924–1967) Fifty-Fifty, Martini, Dry Martini, Perfect, Piccadilly, followed by Manhattan, San Martin, Dry San Martin and Bronx.
    • (1930–1967) Rose, Paradise and Gimlet 1930-1967.
    • (1924–1990) Dry/Extra Dry Martini

    Other products

    • Finest Old Jamaica Rum
    • Orange Bitters (made from Seville Oranges)

    In popular culture

    1912 bottle of Gordon’s Gin
    1912 bottle of Gordon’s Gin
    Gordon's Gin is specified by name in the recipe for the Vesper Cocktail given by James Bond in Ian Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale. Gordon's was Ernest Hemingway's favourite gin, which he claimed could "fortify, mollify and cauterize practically all internal and external injuries". In the movie The African Queen Katharine Hepburn's character pours Humphrey Bogart's entire crate of Gordon's bottles into the river and floats away from the empties. In the 14th episode of the anime series Transformers: Super God Masterforce, towards the end of the episode, a hospital patient reveals that he snuck in a bottle of Gordon's Gin and the label was in its export colors. In the film The Sting, Paul Newman's character drinks Gordon’s Gin whilst playing cards with Robert Shaw's character. In the film The Big Heat, Gloria Grahame's character mixes a cocktail with Gordon's Gin. According to an eyewitness account cited in A Night to Remember (book) by Walter Lord, a passenger of the RMS Titanic "drained" a bottle of Gordon's Gin and survived the sinking.  

    n 1863, Joseph Causton and his son, also named Joseph, developed the printing company which was to become the large and well known Joseph Causton & Sons Limited.

    In 1867 the company was described as being a wholesale stationer and printer with a large warehouse at Southwark Street, London.

    Joseph Causton was also a politician. He became a Councillor for Billingsgate, East London in 1868 and later Sheriff for London and Middlesex. The pinnacle of his career came when Queen Victoria opened Blackfriars Bridge and Holburn Viaduct in 1869 and he was knighted at Windsor Castle to mark the event. The company name now became Sir Joseph Causton & Sons Limited. Sir Joseph died just two years later but his sons, Joseph, Richard and James continued as partners of the firm.

    The company moved to a large new printing works in Eastleigh, Hampshire in the 1930s. The printing works made labels for household brands including Marmite and Guiness. During The Second World War they printed secret maps for the government in a specially bricked off part of the building.

    By the end of the 1960s Sir Joseph Causton & Sons Limited fortunes were in decline. In the mid 1970s the company was losing money but it was not until 1984 that the firm was taken over by Norton Opex. They in turn were acquired by Bowater and Sir Joseph Causton and Sons ceased trading.

    The Causton name has survived only as Causton Envelopes Limited and Causton Cartons, which is a subsidiary of the Bowater Group, manufacturing cartons for the pharmaceutical industry.

  • 50cm x 65cm    Artane Dublin Classic Smithwicks Ale Advertising Showcard-(1960s era)-Brewed in Ireland.Please contact us directly at irishpubemporium@gmail.com for pricing and shipment quotation. The old Smithwicks brewery is on the site of a Franciscan abbey, where monks had brewed ale since the 14th century, and ruins of the original abbey still remain on its grounds. The old brewery has since been renovated and now hosts "The Smithwick's Experience Kilkenny" visitor attraction and centre.At the time of its closure, it was Ireland's oldest operating brewery. John Smithwick was an orphan who had settled in Kilkenny. Shortly after his arrival, Smithwick went into the brewing business with Richard Cole on a piece of land that Cole had leased from the Duke of Ormond in 1705. Five years later, John Smithwick became the owner of the land. The brewery stayed small, servicing a loyal local following while John Smithwick diversified. Following John Smithwick's death, the brewery temporarily fell out of family hands. John Smithwick's great grandson, Edmond bought the brewery land back freehold and worked to reshape its future. Edmond concentrated on discovering new markets and successfully building export trade. Drinkers in England, Scotland and Wales developed a taste for Smithwick's brews and output increased fivefold. As a result of substantial contributions made to St Mary's Cathedral, Edmond became great friends with Irish liberal Daniel O'Connell, who later became godfather to one of his sons. Edmond Smithwick became well known and respected by the people of Kilkenny who elected him town mayor four times. In 1800, export sales began to fall and the brewing industry encountered difficulty. To combat this, the Smithwick family increased production in their maltings, began selling mineral water and delivered butter with the ale from the back of their drays.By 1900, output was at an all-time low and the then owner James Smithwick was advised by auditors to shut the doors of the brewery. Instead, James reduced the range of beers they produced and set out to find new markets. He secured military contracts and soon after saw output increase again. James' son, Walter, took control in 1930 and steered the brewery to success through the hardships of both World War II and increasingly challenging weather conditions.By January 1950, Smithwick's was exporting ale to Boston.Smithwick's was purchased from Walter Smithwick in 1965 by Guinness and is now, along with Guinness, part of Diageo. Together, Guinness & Co. and Smithwick's developed and launched Smithwick's Draught Ale in 1966. By 1979, half a million barrels were sold each year.In 1980, Smithwick's began exporting to France. In 1993, Smithwick's Draught became Canada's leading imported ale.By 2010, Smithwick's continued to be brewed in Dundalk and Kilkenny with tankers sent to Dublin to be kegged for the on trade market. Cans and bottles were packaged by IBC in Belfast.Production in the Kilkenny brewery finished on 31 December 2013 and Smithwicks brands are now produced in the Diageo St.James' Gate brewery in Dublin.The original Kilkenny site was sold to Kilkenny County Council, with a small portion of the site dedicated to the opening of a visitor's centre, the "Smithwick's Experience Kilkenny".      
  • Fire damaged but still robustly intact cast iron Capel St street sign .This pieced of Dublin history was acquired in the UK where the story goes a former British soldier brought it home as a souvenir after extracting it from the post 1916 Easter rising burning rubble.Whether this anecdote is true or not, we feel this is a unique and once off item not to be missed ! For further information on pricing and shipping costs please contact us directly at irishpubemporium@gmail.com 60cm x 14cm 5kg It is sometimes claimed that the street takes its name from the chapel of St Mary's Abbey; other Capel Streets may be named after chapels, but this one is named after Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1672–1677. Built by Sir Humphrey Jervis in the late 17th century, he also built Essex Bridge (today Grattan Bridge), and the street was known for its mansions and a royal mint. In the 18th century, it became a commercial hub, with two-bay buildings replacing the "Dutch Billy" houses.The Capel Street Theatre also stood there in the 18th century. The Torch Theatre operated on Capel Street in 1935–41. The street declined in the 20th century, before a revival around the 1980s. Today it is known for its variety of restaurants, shops, cafés and pubs; as Panti, the owner of Pantibar put it, "You can buy a lightbulb, sexual lubricant, Brazilian rice, get a pint and go to a trad session." Louis Copeland's tailor is another notable business.
  • 45cm x 60cm  Naas Co Kildare Extremely unusual charcoal sketch "Study for Metamorphosis"from the internationally  renowned sculptor Bob Quinn.Quinn works from preparatory sketches like the beautiful charcoal featured here to the wax or clay original.He then makes his own moulds before taking the wax through the long casting procedure to the patination process and to the permanence of the final sculpture. Please email us directly at irishpubemporium@gmail.com for more information. BOB QUINN grew up with sculpture. His father, a bank manager, was a part-time artist and, as a boy, Bob would watch him casting and moulding sculptures for sale. Bob dabbled for years too, producing the odd private commission but it was only after a long career in commercial art and design that he took the "frankly terrifying" step of giving up his job as a commercial designer BOB QUINN grew up with sculpture. His father, a bank manager, was a part-time artist and, as a boy, Bob would watch him casting and moulding sculptures for sale. Bob dabbled for years too, producing the odd private commission but it was only after a long career in commercial art and design that he took the "frankly terrifying" step of giving up his job as a commercial designer to become a full-time sculptor. His first major exhibition, at the Solomon Gallery in the Powerscourt Centre, Dublin, is the culmination of months of hard work. Seeking inspiration in everyday life, Bob first sketches his tableaux of human interaction in charcoals before moulding the figures in clay and finally casting them in bronze. The pieces are full of quiet drama. In the ironically titled Conspiracy, two womencasually gossip on a bench while a third listens in.Without overburdening each figure with facial detail,Bob lets the weight of the bodies and the angles of the glances between them convey their various personalities. Quinn lists Epstein and Rodin amongst his inspirations but his sculpture Waiting recalls the stark memorial pieces of German sculptor Kathe Kollwitz. We see the lonely figure of a man grieving on the rugged western shoreline. His hand pulls the coat around his face shielding him from the elements, but also to hide his grief. The figures are largely naturalistic, but Quinn is not over-preoccupied with a rigidly-correct anatomy. In many pieces, such as The Christmas Swim the enlarged hands and feet exaggerate the gestures giving the figures an almost playful expression. Quinn's works are being displayed in an exhibition of work from various artists at the Solomon Gallery until July 21.
        Born in 1948 Bob Quinn enjoyed a long career within the Irish advertising business as a commercial artist, designer and as the head of a successful design and production company. He now works full time as a sculptor in Blackrock Co Dublin where he lives with his wife and two daughters.  

    He has pursued his love of drawing and sculpture throughout his career and has illustrated several publications and has been a regular contributor of illustrations to Independent Newspapers. His sculptures appear in private collections and gardens throughout Ireland, Britain and Europe.

    Although loosely described as figurative his art is expressionist and his deep knowledge of anatomy allows him to abstract the human form and make the simplest of observations. His lifelong influences have been Epstein, Marini and Giacometti and painters such as Millet and Degas. His current work is a celebration of the drama and the nobility of the most ordinary of human activity. In terms of the craft of sculpture he enjoys the whole time worn process: Working from preparatory sketches to the wax or clay original he then makes his own moulds before taking the wax through the long casting procedure to the patination process and to the permanence of the final sculpture.

  • 15cm x 20cm Charming framed postcard depicting the Irish alphabet, which has only 18 characters.  
  • Framed Mantilla fine old Irish Ruby Wine Label . 21cm x 16cm Portuguese wines are the result of a succession of traditions introduced in Portugal by the various civilizations that proceeded, such as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks and, above all, the Romans. The export of Portuguese wines began in Rome during the Roman Empire. Modern exports developed trade with the United Kingdom following the signing of the Treaty of Methuen, also referred to as the Treaty of Cloths and Wines, signed between Great Britain and Portugal in 1703.
  • Lovely framed postcard depicting the legendary Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. 16cm x 20cm
    Gaiety Theatre
    Gaiety Theatre, Dublin.JPG
    Gaiety Theatre is located in Central Dublin
    Gaiety Theatre
    Gaiety Theatre
    Location within Central Dublin
    Address South King Street Dublin Ireland
    Coordinates 53.340312°N 6.261601°W
    Capacity 1,145 (on three levels)[1]
    Construction
    Opened 27 November 1871
    Architect Charles J. Phipps
    Website
    GaietyTheatre.ie
    The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre on South King Street in Dublin, Ireland, off Grafton Street and close to St. Stephen's Green. It specialises in operatic and musical productions, with occasional dramatic shows.

    History

    In April 1871, the brothers John and Michael Gunn obtained a 21-year license to establish "a well-regulated theatre and therein at all times publicly to act, represent or perform any interlude, tragedy, comedy, prelude, opera, burletta, play, farce or pantomime". The brothers built the Gaiety Theatre on South King Street for £26,000. Designed by architect C.J. Phipps,construction was completed in just 28 weeks. The Gaiety was opened on 27 November 1871 with the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland as guest of honour for a double bill which included the comedy She Stoops to Conquer and a burlesque version of La Belle Sauvage. The Gaiety was extended by theatre architect Frank Matcham in 1883, and, despite several improvements to public spaces and stage changes, it retains several Victorian era features and remains Dublin's longest-established, continuously producing theatre. Patrick Wall and Louis Elliman bought the theatre in 1936 and ran it for several decades with local actors and actresses. They sold it in 1965, and in the 1960s and the 1970s the theatre was run by Fred O'Donovan and the Eamonn Andrews Studios, until - in the 1980s - Joe Dowling (former artistic director of the Abbey Theatre) became director of the Gaiety. In the 1990s, Groundwork Productions took on the lease and the theatre was eventually bought by the Break for the Border Group. The Gaiety was purchased by music promoters MCD (in turn owned by Denis Desmond and his wife Caroline) in the late 1990s. The new owners undertook a refit of the theatre,with the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism contributing to the restoration fund.

    Use[edit]

    Performers and playwrights associated with the theatre have been celebrated with hand-prints cast in bronze and set in the pavement beneath the theatre canopy.[9] These handprints include those of Luciano Pavarotti, Brendan Grace, Maureen Potter, Twink, John B Keane, Anna Manahan, Niall Toibin and Brian Friel.[4] The theatre played host to the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, the first to be staged in Ireland, during the Gaiety's centenary year.[10] Clodagh Rodgers (a contestant in that particular contest) later presented her RTÉ TV series The Clodagh Rodgers Show from the theatre in the late 1970s. The Gaiety is known for its annual Christmas pantomime and has hosted a pantomime every year since 1874.[11] Actor and director Alan Stanford directed both Gaiety productions of Snow Whiteand Sleeping Beauty. Irish entertainer June Rodgers starred in the Gaiety pantomime for years, until she began to headline the equally established Olympia Theatre panto. The Gaiety's pantomimes have included Irish performers that appeal to home grown audiences, including a number of Fair City actors.[citation needed]
     
  • Beautiful and poignant collection of four of the 1916 Easter Rising Rebel Leaders who were executed by the British Crown Forces at Kilmainham Jail a few weeks later.Featured here are Padraig Pearse,Thomas Clarke,James Connolly and The O'Rahilly(not executed but who was killed in action at the GPO). Thomas James Clarke ( 11 March 1858 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish republican and a leader of the Irish Republican Brotherhood from Dungannon, County Tyrone. Clarke was arguably the person most responsible for the 1916 Easter Rising. A proponent of armed struggle against British rule in Ireland for most of his life, Clarke spent 15 years in English prisons prior to his role in the Easter Rising, and was executed by firing squad after it was defeated.

    Early life

    Clarke was born at Hurst Castle, Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, England, opposite the Isle of Wight, to Irish parents,Mary Palmer and James Clarke, who was a sergeant in the British Army. In 1865, after spending some years in South Africa, Sgt. Clarke was transferred to Dungannon, County Tyrone, Ireland, and it was there that Tom grew up.

    Irish Republican Brotherhood

    Wicklow granite memorial dedicated in 1987 in Manorville, New York at the site of his 60-acre farm.
    In 1878, at the age of 20, he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) following the visit to Dungannon by John Daly, and by 1880 he was centre (head) of the local IRB circle. In August that year, after a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) had shot and killed a man during riots between the Orange Order and the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Dungannon, Clarke and other IRB members attacked some RIC men in Irish Street. They were driven back, however, and Clarke, fearing arrest, fled to the United States. In 1883, Clarke was sent to London, under the alias of "Henry Wilson",[5] to take part in the Fenian dynamite campaign advocated by Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, one of the IRB leaders exiled in the United States. British authorities were already following those involved, aided by informants, and Clarke was arrested in possession of dynamite, along with three others. He was tried and sentenced to penal servitude for life on 28 May 1883 at London's Old Bailey.He subsequently served 15 years in Pentonville and other British prisons. In 1896, he was one of only five remaining Fenian prisoners in British jails and a series of public meetings in Ireland called for their release. At one meeting, John Redmond MP, leader of the ParnelliteIrish National League, said of him: "Wilson is a man of whom no words of praise could be too high. I have learned in my many visits to Portland for five years to love, honour and respect Henry Wilson. I have seen day after day how his brave spirit was keeping him alive ... I have seen year after year the fading away of his physical strength". Following his release in 1898 he moved to Brooklyn in the United States where he married Kathleen Daly, 21 years his junior, whose uncle, John Daly, he had met in prison. Clarke worked for the Clan na Gael under John Devoy. In 1906 the couple moved to a 30-acre (120,000 m2) farm in Manorville, New York, and bought another 30 acres (120,000 m2) there in 1907, shortly before returning to Ireland later that same year. In Ireland, Clarke opened a tobacconist shop in Dublin and immersed himself in the IRB which was undergoing a substantial rejuvenation under the guidance of younger men such as Bulmer Hobson and Denis McCullough. Clarke had a very close kinship with Hobson, who along with Seán MacDermott, became his protegé. Clarke supported the striking members of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union during the 1913 Dublin Lockout and refused to sell copies of the Irish Independent, a newspaper owned by union-busting industrialist and press baron William Martin Murphy, at his tobacco shop.

    Irish Volunteers

    When the Irish Volunteers were formed in 1913, Clarke took a keen interest, but took no part in the organisation, knowing that as a felon and well-known Irish nationalist he would lend discredit to the Volunteers. Nevertheless, with MacDermott, Hobson, and other IRB members such as Eamonn Ceannt taking important roles in the Volunteers, it was clear that the IRB would have substantial, if not total, control, (particularly after the co-option of Paidraig Pearse, already a leading member of the Volunteers, into the IRB at the end of 1913). This proved largely to be the case until leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, John Redmond, demanded the Provisional Committee accept 25 additional members of the Party's choosing, giving IPP loyalists a majority stake. Though most of the hard-liners stood against this, Redmond's decree was accepted, partially due to the support given by Hobson. Clarke never forgave him for what he considered a treasonous act.

    Planning the uprising

    Following Clarke's falling out with Hobson, MacDermott and Clarke became almost inseparable. The two of them, as secretary and treasurer, respectively, de facto ran the IRB, although it was still under the nominal head of other men: James Deakin, and later McCullough. In 1915 Clarke and MacDermott established the Military Committee of the IRB to plan what later became the Easter Rising. The members were Pearse, Ceannt and Joseph Plunkett, with Clarke and MacDermott adding themselves shortly thereafter. When the old Fenian Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa died in 1915 Clarke used his funeral (and Pearse's graveside oration) to mobilise the Volunteers and heighten expectation of imminent action. When an agreement was reached with leading Marxist James Connolly and his Irish Citizen Army in January 1916, Connolly was added to the committee, with Thomas MacDonagh added at the last minute in April. These seven men were the signatories of the Proclamation of the Republic, with Clarke as the first signatory. It has been said that Clarke indeed would have been the declared President and Commander-in-chief, but he refused any military rank and such honours; these were given to Pearse, who was more well-known and respected on a national level. Kathleen Clarke later claimed that her husband, and not Pearse, was first president of the Irish Republic.

    Easter Rising

    Death Certificate of Thomas Clarke
    Tom Clarke 1916 commemorative plaque at the junction of Parnell Street and O'Connell Street, Dublin
    Clarke was located at headquarters in the General Post Office (GPO) during the events of Easter Week, where rebel forces were largely composed of Irish Citizen Army members under the command of Connolly. Though he held no formal military rank, Clarke was recognised by the garrison as one of the commanders, and was active throughout the week. Late in the week, the GPO had to be evacuated due to fire. The leaders gathered in a house in Moore Street, from where Pearse ordered the surrender on 29 April. Clarke wrote on the wall of the house, "We had to evacuate the GPO. The boys put up a grand fight, and that fight will save the soul of Ireland."He was arrested after the surrender. He and the other commanders were taken to the Rotundawhere he was stripped of his clothing in front of the other prisoners. He was later held in Kilmainham Gaol. He was court-martialled and executed by firing squad, along with Pearse and MacDonagh on 3 May 1916. Before his execution, he asked his wife Kathleen to convey a message to the Irish people: "My comrades and I believe we have struck the first successful blow for freedom, and so sure as we are going out this morning so sure will freedom come as a direct result of our action...In this belief, we die happy."

    Works[edit]

    • Glimpses of an Irish Felon's Prison Life (1922: The National Publications Committee, Cork)

    Legacy[edit]

    After her husband's execution, Kathleen Clarke was elected a TD in the First and Second Dála, notably speaking against the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
  • We were very fortunate to acquire this very famous poster-The Bogs of Ireland.A collage of some very interesting toilets recorded for eternity by the renowned photographer John Morris.This poster is now completely out of print and is difficult to acquire.Makes a wonderful addition to anyone's favourite sanctuary and place of solitude! Each poster is individually numbered. Dimensions : 65cm x 45cm
  • 20cm diametre Dublin In the 1980s and 1990s, a number of areas in the Republic of Ireland held year-long festivals commemorating historic anniversaries. The country was in an economic depression at the time and these were excuses for some civic pride; the anniversaries chosen were often rather arbitrary and were chosen by the relevant local authority to promote tourism. The "Dublin millennium" was proposed by city manager Frank Feely to be held in 1988, commemorating Gaelic King Mael Seachlainn II's conquest of the Viking city of Dublin.The corporation agreed in December 1985, prompting a historian to point out that the conquest had actually occurred in 989 and to suggest the year "was chosen quite arbitrarily for the 'millennium' because it is coming up soon, not long after the Galway 500 and the Cork 800". A commemorative 50 pence piece was minted for general circulationFounding and early history of Dublin
    The Dublin area circa 800
    The earliest reference to Dublin is sometimes said to be found in the writings of Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), the Egyptian-Greek astronomer and cartographer, around the year 140, who refers to a settlement called Eblana. This would seem to give Dublin a just claim to nearly two thousand years of antiquity, as the settlement must have existed a considerable time before Ptolemy became aware of it. Recently, however, doubt has been cast on the identification of Eblana with Dublin, and the similarity of the two names is now thought to be coincidental. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duiblinn, from which Dyflin took its name. Beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The Viking settlement of about 841 was known as Dyflin, from the Irish Duiblinn (or "Black Pool", referring to a dark tidal pool where the River Poddle entered the Liffey on the site of the Castle Gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle), and a Gaelic settlement, Áth Cliath ("ford of hurdles") was further upriver, at the present day Father Mathew Bridge at the bottom of Church Street. The Celtic settlement's name is still used as the Irish name of the modern city, though the first written evidence of it is found in the Annals of Ulster of 1368. The modern English name came from the Viking settlement of Dyflin, which derived its name from the Irish Duiblinn. The Vikings, or Ostmen as they called themselves, ruled Dublin for almost three centuries, although they were expelled in 902 only to return in 917 and notwithstanding their defeat by the Irish High King Brian Boru at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. From that date, the Norse were a minor political force in Ireland, firmly opting for a commercial life. Viking rule of Dublin would end completely in 1171 when the city was captured by King Dermot MacMurrough of Leinster, with the aid of Cambro-Norman mercenaries. An attempt was made by the last Norse King of Dublin, Ascall mac Ragnaill, to recapture the city with an army he raised among his relations in the Scottish Highlands, where he was forced to flee after the city was taken, but the attempted reconquest failed and Ascall was killed.
    Skudelev II, a large Viking Age warship built in the Dublin area c. 1042
    The Thingmote was a raised mound, 40-foot (12 m) high and 240-foot (73 m) in circumference, where the Norsemen assembled and made their laws. It stood on the south of the river, adjacent to Dublin Castle, until 1685.[4] Viking Dublin had a large slave market. Thralls were captured and sold, not only by the Norse but also by warring Irish chiefs.b Dublin celebrated its millennium in 1988 with the slogan Dublin's great in '88'. The city is far older than that, but in that year, the Norse King Glun Iarainnrecognised Máel Sechnaill II (Máel Sechnaill Mór), High King of Ireland, and agreed to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law.a That date was celebrated, but might not be accurate: in 989 (not 988), Mael Seachlainn laid siege to the city for 20 days and captured it. This was not his first attack on the city.[citation needed] Dublin became the centre of English power in Ireland after the Norman invasion of the southern half of Ireland (Munster and Leinster) in 1169–71, replacing Tara in Meath – seat of the Gaelic High Kings of Ireland – as the focal point of Ireland's polity. On 15 May 1192 Dublin's first written Charter of Liberties was granted by John, Lord of Ireland, and was addressed to all his "French, English, Irish and Welsh subjects and friends". On 15 June 1229 his son Henrygranted the citizens the right to elect a mayor who was to be assisted by two provosts.[5] By 1400, however, many of the Anglo-Norman conquerors were absorbed into the Gaelic culture, adopting the Irish language and customs, leaving only a small area of Leinster around Dublin, known as the Pale, under direct English control.   Origins : Dublin Dimensions :
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