Leinster House..Not That One but the Pub in Irishtown

Having completed our public-house tours of the Stags Head, Dame Court, the pubs of Sandymount, Ringsend and Rathmines plus our history nights in O'Reilly, Sandymount for their 100th celebration, the Yacht in Ringsend for their culture event and most recently in Murphys of Rathmines for their 220th birthday, we begin a series of posts on the pubs of Irishtown, culminating with a history night in The Vintage Inn on Wednesday October 25th 2023 at 7.30p.m

‘Sean Lemass stood up in Leinster House and pleaded for support of Irish political prisoners.’

 

In the mid-19^th century Richard Brady built a terrace of four houses and named them Leinster Terrace, Irishtown. Numbers one to three were houses while number four was opened as a public house. Today the terrace is no more having fallen into disrepair in the late 19^th century and demolished to make way for St. Matthews Girls national school that was opened in 1903. In 1854 Brady sold the terrace as he intended to emigrate. In 1858 the pub at 4 Leinster Terrace was put up for sale with Arthur Torkington of Dawson appointed as the auctioneer. It was purchased by Edward Walsh but by August 1866, the Dublin Evening Post reported Walsh was insolvent,

‘Edward Walsh, Cook-street, city Dublin, web and tape manufacturer, and linen and cotton yarn merchant, sometime of Irishtown, county Dublin, vintner.’

This had been brought about by a slander court case in June 1865. The Dublin Evening Mail reported,

‘Patrick Hughes v. Edward Walsh. In this case the action was brought to recover damages for oral slander, libel, and malicious prosecution. The defendant complained that the plaintiff said of him, a I was at loss to know his residence or else should have issued summons against him for passing a bad shilling on my wife." Also, that the defendant spoke and published of the plaintiff, "You are forger and swindler; you passed bad shilling on wife and, further that the defendant caused a summons be issued against the plaintiff, and therein charged him with having feloniously uttered a base coin to the wife of the defendant, which summons was heard before a magistrate, and dismissed. The plaintiff alleged that by reason of the defendant's conduct and proceedings towards him he had been injured in his reputation and claimed £500 damages. The plaintiff is a commercial traveller, and the defendant, a publican, carrying on business at Irishtown. The defendant pleaded that he did not speak or write the words in the defamatory sense alleged, and that he did not do the acts complained of maliciously. The Jury found for the plaintiff on all the issues. Damages £20.’

It was purchased by Joseph Lemass and later run by his brother John (Sean). They renamed the pub as the Leinster House. Joseph Lemass was born in May 1839 to Peter and Ellen Lemass who lived on North Anne Street.  In April 1866 Joseph married Eliza Bowness.

In 1868 his name was attached to a petition for the release of political prisoners many of whom had been arrested following the failed 1867 Fenian rebellion. The Lemass family also had a lucrative side line operating the catering franchises for events including the popular Metropolitan Regatta held in Ringsend on the River Liffey. Joseph died in 1874 and the pub was put up for sale. The pub was now listed as 57 Leinster Terrace or Irishtown Road as the area expanded and new houses were being built. Joseph Lemass died on 8 October 1885 when he was 46 years old, his wife Eliza died the following March, she was just 39 years old and they left seven surviving children without parents. John Lemass died on April 10th 1916. Their cousin Sean Lemass, a veteran of the 1916 Easter Rising would become Ireland’s 4th Taoiseach serving the highest level of Government from June 1959 to November 1966. He was also the father in law to Charles Haughey another future Taoiseach. He died in 1971. 

The pub was purchased by Michael Lenehan. With the lease coming to an end in 1890, Michael Lenehan purchased the pub across the road from his known as The Eagle Tavern, known today as the Vintage. Without the need for two pubs, the pub at 57 Leinster Terrace was abandoned and fell into disrepair, listed in Thoms Directory in 1898 as vacant. The terrace of four houses were emptied and the terrace demolished. The land was purchased by St. Matthews Church of Ireland parish whose church was just across the road. In 1903, the St Matthews Girls national school was opened to compliment the boy’s school that was located on the corner of Church Avenue.

Throughout the latter part of the 19^th century following the introduction of new public house licensing laws in 1850, there was fifteen premises licensed to sell alcohol in the Irishtown area, that was the trio of streets Irishtown Road, Bath Street and Pembroke Street.

The History of Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium

Over the years I have written a  number of historical articles on the area I live in and these next couple of weeks will have a small selection of those articles.

The History of Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium.

Every Saturday night between 8pm and 10pm the place to be in Dublin is greyhound racing at Shelbourne Park. Located on South Lotts Road which itself dates back to 1721, the stadium has become a mecca of sports and gambling. But while today those guests sitting in the park’s excellent restaurant see it associated solely as a greyhound venue, it has a very colourful sporting past.

Just like its Northside cousin Croke Park, the stadium originally began life as a soccer ground. Originally a derelict site, it became the home of Shelbourne FC pre-season in 1913. A trial match took place on August 16^th when Shelbourne played a Leinster League select eleven. At that time Shelbourne played in the all-Ireland Irish Football league and their first league match was a one all draw with fellow Dubliners Bohemians. The ground was operated by the Shelbourne Sports Company Limited and many various fund raising activities took place in the first couple of years to pay for and extend the facilities at the ground. In March 1914 the club played Manchester United while on May 23^rd a fifteen mile challenge race was run featuring Irish international running sensations Charlie Harris and Paddy Fagan. A track around the pitch was used for Wednesday trotting and whippet racing. Trotting on a Friday would cost one schilling admission while to enter your pony cost £1 but there was a prize of £30 if you got through the qualifying rounds.

Over the following decades Shelbourne’s home venue was also used by the Football Association of Ireland following the establishment of the Irish Free State and the split from the IFA in Belfast, as home of both semi finals and finals of the FAI Cup including an enthralling final in April 1929 between Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians. Shelbourne remained at the ground until the 1948/49 season when Shelbourne’s last match against Waterford ended just like their first in a draw.

In September 1921 the then titled President of Ireland Eamon DeValera officially opened a Fete that featured seven a side Gaelic football tournament. Billed as the ‘best of outdoor and indoor attractions’ the indoor featured Irish dancing Feis, a Ceili and a cinema.

As a greyhound venue it was Ireland’s second after the opening of Celtic Park in Belfast. Greyhound racing began on May 14^th 1927 in front of ten thousand spectators packed into the venue. The National Greyhound Racing Company Limited, the forerunner of Bord Na gCon and the Irish Greyhound Board was the brainchild of Kerry native Jerry Collins, Paddy O’Donoghue, Patsy McAlinden and Jim Clarke.

But the early days of greyhound racing was not without its difficulties. A riot broke out in September 1927 when two dogs Galbally Lass and Skeango racing in the semi final of the Civic Cup stopped mid race and savaged each other. The crowd expected a blue flag denoting a ‘non race’ but to their dismay the 6-4 favourite Gone For Sure was declared the winner. The ‘mob in the cheap enclosure invaded the ground trampling wire and person and attacking the judges box’. Police from nearby Irishtown police station restored order.

 

Hockey arrived in March 1924 when Ireland beat England in a 3.15pm tip off to win the triple crown, a year later 1/6 would gain you admittance to the Ireland v Scotland encounter.

In 1934 another new sport arrived when thousands arrived by ferry from Britain to watch the inaugural Perpetual Challenge Cup match between Warrington and Wigan in rugby league. The match was sponsored by the Hospital’s Trust and Wigan overcame their opponent thirty two points to nineteen. Alas despite its proposed annual status, this was the only rugby league match played at the south Dublin venue.

On July 9^th 1937 promoter Joe McAllister organised a boxing tournament featuring flyweight contender Jim Warnock. Warnock won his bout but lost a belt eliminator to Peter Kane two weeks later in a fight held at the home of Liverpool, Anfield.

In 1950 a new sport arrived, the thrill of the speedway. Motor bikes were speeding around the course in a sport that was now attracting both spectators and American riders eager to earn a living. The sport initially stayed four years at Shelbourne Park promoted by Ronnie Green. It returned in 1961 for a season and a further two years in 1970/1971. Although mostly made up of American riders The Shelbourne Tigers captained by seventeen year old Ronnie Moore matched many of the big teams from across the Irish Sea drawing thousands to the south side venue.

In recent years greyhound racing has shared its space in Shelbourne Park with show jumping. The ‘Jumping In The City’ event organised by the Irish Greyhound Board as a way of utilising their venues in Limerick, Cork and Dublin on days when their stadia were empty.