What I miss about home is... the Carlisle Pier in Dun Laoghaire, it was used by the mailboat which sailed between Dún Laoghaire and Holyhead. The pier was built between 1855 and 1859 I believe, and I am told was named after the Earl of Carlisle, the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
Carlisle Pier #1
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Carlisle Pier #2
The trains from Dublin used to come into this siding. I remember it as a kid; they seemed full of potential - I always wanted to know where the people were going. The reality is they were leaving Ireland to seek their fortune over here in England.
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Carlisle Pier #3
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The terminal building is a 1960's design and was closed in 1980. The demolition began in 2009, but I am not sure if it has been fully demolished - I haven't been home in a while.
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Carlisle Pier #4
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Carlisle Pier #5
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Carlisle Pier #6
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All that is left of the Victorian age is the cast iron columns that still hold up wrought iron trusses as they look longingly over to what has replaced them. I can't help thinking that the new terminal doesn't have the same presence as the old one...
Hi Noel.
ReplyDeleteYour post and comments remind me of two things - the tram depot that used to be near where I lived in Belfast and the time I left home for these shores.
Like a lot of Victorian cities Belfast had a tram network across the city but these were replaced with buses in the 50's (long before I was born). I used to walk past the long since closed & derelict depot on a Saturday morning and along the worn tram lines. My parents told me what they were for, but as a 5-6 year old I didn't understand what trams were, after all I'd only seen buses and cars about the city. Of course with redevelopment some years after all of that was knocked down and the roads resurfaced, but it's strange how now, looking back as an adult, I feel like I lost something by not having some photographs to strengthen the vague image in my head.
As for when I moved over to the "mainland" to make my fortune (well not sure about the future bit) I took the more modern way and flew from Belfast to Heathrow. But just like a lot of people from the your childhood memories, all I had with me at the time was a suitcase and some hope for the opportunities that my new job would bring.
I'm reminded of a comment a fellow photographer once made about taking such "ordinary" documentary photographs of the buildings etc around us. They may not be the most exciting photographs for many people, esp. by other photographers but someone's got to keep these records of what's come and gone. If we don't do this type of thing, then who will?
Keep up the good work here mate.
(So when are we going to meet up for that Ruby Murray that you 'talked' about???)
David, you have hit the nail on the head. Its really important to take these photographs. Maybe just you and me are looking at them, maybe my kids will look at them in 50 years when I am kicking up the daisies, but I wish I had taken shots of the buildings and roads and parks that surrounded me when I was growing up.
ReplyDeleteThey are ordinary photographs, and no doubt there is a photographer from some agency or other taking ones that will be archived for all to see - I particularly like the work of Duncan Wylie, also born in Belfast, and love the way he photographs Northern Ireland. The photographs evoke something that gets the emotions running
I have a mountain of slides of ireland that i have yet to scan, so i hope this little blog will be going for sometime.
As for the Ruby, how about 2 or 3 weeks and then we can give Glyn a bit of notice!
Thanks for your amazing comments David. I really enjoy reading them.
Noel
Noel, I've dropped you an email re: the Ruby so let's see how we go from there.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
David
Hi Noel.
ReplyDeleteFabulous work. Mamie showed me your postcard so I started noseying :)
The Carlisle Pier is gone I'm almost sure. Will check with Dad tomorrow.
Xx
your baby cuz
Hey Mairead,
ReplyDeleteNice to hear from you! Such a shame that the pier has gone. I need to get back more often!
xx
Noel
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteI am currently investigating some old pictures (1964) from Ireland. Among them, I think I found some that were taken inside the Carlisle Pier ferry terminal. Can anyone confirm this?
The pictures can be found here:
http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000900241
http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000900242
http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000900240
Your help is much appreciated!
Hello? Anyone?
Delete