Ireland's Genealogical Gazette (October 2015)
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ISSN 1649-7937 Cumann Geinealais na hÉireann “Twenty-fifth Anniversary—October 25th 2015” Ireland’s Genealogical Gazette (incorporating “The Genie Gazette”) Vol. 10 No. 10 www.familyhistory.ie October : Deireadh Fómhair 2015 25th Anniversary in Family History Month How fitting it is that we’re lic Ownership & Right of celebrating ‘Family History Access to a Genealogical Her- Month’ with an increased itage’ as the cornerstone of the presence at the Back to Our Society since 1997, the Society Past event at the RDS. This has been to the fore as a pio- event has become the single neering advocate for those biggest genealogy event held undertaking family history each year on the island of research. This has included GENEALOGY Ireland. However, this year drafting Parliamentary Ques- we’re also celebrating a mile- tions and Bills for both Houses HERALDRY stone in the history of Irish of the Oireachtas (Irish Parlia- genealogy. On October 25th ment). The Society is an inde- VEXILLOLOGY 1990 a new genealogical or- pendent not -for -profit volun- ganisation was born in Ireland tary heritage organisation with SOCIAL HISTORY and over the years, it was an Irish and international widely acclaimed and recog- the exception of December. membership and it is an incor- Heritage Matters nised as ‘Ireland’s most active Collecting items for the Socie- porated body with charitable genealogical organisation’. ty’s archive started right away status. It is a Nominating Body Book Reviews From its foundation, the Soci- and quickly outgrew its accom- for Seanad Éireann and has ety’s aims were expansive and modation in the home of co - received a Grant of Arms from Open Meetings ambitious and, more im- founder, first Cathaoirleach and the Chief Herald of Ireland. As portantly, it had a strong ad- Archivist, Frieda Carroll, FGSI, a registered charity in Ireland, News & Events vocacy objective right from (pictured above in 1996 with the the Society is funded by its the start. Campaigning for Society’s first President, Denis members’ subscriptions and better services and greater O’Conor Don, a man with one kind donations from the gen- access to records was a found- of the oldest recorded lineages eral public and from those with ing principle and one which in Europe ). Through the hard Irish ancestry overseas. Mem- has stood the passage of time work and dedication of the of- bership is open to all interested over the past twenty -five ficers and especially, the won- in genealogy, heraldry, vexil- years. The founders set forth a derfully supportive Members, lology, social history and relat- hugely ambitious set of aims the Society has fulfilled and, in ed subjects. This October is the www.eneclann.ie and objectives, including the many ways, surpassed the ambi- Society’s 25th anniversary establishment of a genealogi- tious expectations of its found- which makes ‘Family History cal archive and research cen- ers. The Society in living up to Month’ rather special for us CONTENTS tre. Unlike similar organisa- its enviable reputation as this year. A great achievement tions in Ireland at the time, ’Ireland’s most active genealog- and for this we sincerely thank monthly open meetings were ical organisation’, continues to our Members (past and pre- “To Hell or Monto” 2 to be held right throughout the sent), family, friends and sup- strive for innovative ways of Précis of the Sept Lecture year which, by 1993, in- promoting the study of genealo- porters right across Ireland and creased to two per month with gy. With the ‘Principle of Pub- around the world. Irish DNA Atlas Project 2 Member Discounts International Congress in Sydney, Australia Care for Your Records 2 Stan Zamyatin, CEO, of Vexillol- 2017 that Ireland should win through al Flag Day' commemorating the Irish Lives Remembered ogy Ireland, a branch of this in this international bidding process first flying of the Irish tricolour by Society, represented Ireland at the with votes promised from many of Thomas Francis Meagher in Wa- James Scannell Reports .. 3 26th International Congress of the 40 or so National Delegations terford City in 1848”. This idea is Vexillology in Sydney, Australia, present in Sydney. As part of the already gathering support amongst Culture Night 2015 from August 31st to September programme, one participant from our Teachtaí Dála (MPs) and 4th 2015. This event coincided each country took part in the Aus- Senators. The focus on the Nation- GSI Lecture Programme 3 with the 24th FIAV General As- tralian National Flag Day ceremony al Flag in the events commemorat- sembly. During the General As- that was organized in the centre of ing the centenary of the 1916 Diary Dates 4 sembly Stan made the required Sydney. Stan said of the ceremony, Easter Rising would most certainly preliminary bid to host the Inter- “I was very proud and happy to highlight the need for an annual Local History Studies 4 national Congress of Vexillology represent Ireland and to fly our ’National Flag Day’. Stan also (ICV) in Dún Laoghaire in 2021. national flag. I was so moved by the distributed around seventy infor- Parking at DFEI He was competing against ceremony that I got the desire to mation packs to delegates, includ- Ljubljana, Slovenia, nevertheless push for our own National Flag day ing a copy of ‘Flagging Ireland’. Free Research Advice 4 he is confident when the formal back at home in Ireland. The idea is Brining the ICV to Ireland in 2021 Index to the “Gazette” bid is presented in London in to make 7th March the 'Irish Nation- would be a great achievement. Monthly Newsletter of the Genealogical Society of Ireland ISSN 1649-7937 PAGE 2 IRELAND’S GENEALOGICAL GAZETTE (INCORPORATING “THE GENIE GAZETTE”) VOL. 10 NO. 10 “To Hell or Monto” ‘To Hell or Monto’, by Maurice Curtis, published by cally in recent years though various developments. McDermott Street, and Lower Gardiner Street. Long The History Press Ireland. This remarkable and en- The era of Hell ended in the late 1800s with the resto- before efforts were mounted in the 1920s to close grossing book looks at a time when Dublin had two ration of Christ Church Cathedral and general im- down its numerous brothels, the area had become a notorious red -lights called Hell and Monto. Now prior provements around the area with the red -light activities area of complete lawlessness full of vice and crime to reading this book I was aware of Monto as many moving onto Monto but wonders if many of the cur- with streets and laneways stinking of horse manure years ago I took part in an Old Dublin Society summer rent residents of the area around Christ Church Cathe- and alcohol. The author deals with the numerous tour of that area led by Terry Fagan so it was revela- dral are aware of the colourful and illicit activities people who operated in the area and the various tion to discover from this book that Dublin had an that took place in the past... if not, this excellent book activities that took place within in and devotes a earlier red -light district known as Hell located around reveals it all. As the district known as Hell began to fascinating individual chapter covering events there Christ Church Cathedral. According to the author, Hell decline the world’s oldest profession simply moved during the 1913 Lockout and during the War of was located along the streets and alleyways at the to new locations which included parts of the Liberties Independence with special mention of two public front and back of Christ Church Cathedral and extend- and other suburbs. In 1838 the DMP made 2848 houses that played a key role, Shanahan’s which was ed from Cork Hill, Copper Alley / Fishamble Street, arrests for prostitution peaking at 4784 is 1856, falling used as a safe house and Hynes’s where an informer, John’s Lane East, St. Michael’s Hill / Skinners Row to 1672 in 1877 and reaming at around 1000 mark up reporting on men on the run hiding out in Monto in (now Christ Church Place), Winetavern Street, and to to the early 1890s reaching a low of 494 in 1899. safe houses was shot dead by a squad sent to elimi- Cook Street. The area took its name from the cluster Benburb Street, originally Barrack Street, was another nate him. Its worth nothing that Liam O’Flaherty’s of ale and wine houses, brothers and gambling dens in notorious red light area with taverns and brothers novel ‘The Informer’, which was later turned into a the shadow of Christ Church Cathedral, where the sale serving the needs of soldiers based in the Royal successful Hollywood film in the 1930s, is set in of alcohol was carried out from its vaults. Over the Barracks, later Collins Barracks, and now the Museum Monto. The end for Monto came in 1925 when the next 100 pages the author provides the reader with a of Decorative Arts and History. Across the River police mounted a massive midnight raid on the area, fascinating insight of what life was like in this area, Liffey another notorious area was near St. Stephen’s arrested prostitutes and their clients, and closed down who lived there including the names of some of the Green which included York Street, Mercier Street, the brothels. But it did not end or solve the problem famous madams who operated there and the prostitutes and Cuffe Street where many ‘disorderly houses‘ as many of the prostitutes moved to other parts of the who lived there, and those engaged in criminal activi- were reported to be located.