It is quite hard to come across snapshots taken in pub interiors prior to the 1980s – possibly because of how dark they were. This image was rescued from a skip on Lennox Street, Dublin by my friend Garry O’Neill and given to me a few weeks ago. It has certainly seen lots of wear and tear and I love it all the more because of this! The creases crisscross the group and this makes the image even more appealing to me. Most collectors would pass such a battered image but I find that the changes that happen over time add to rather than detract from the object.
The older men are wearing hats and nearly all are wearing shirts and ties. Were they workmates, neighbours or related to one another? I wonder who kept this photo for over 40 years? The figure on the right of the image is looking at rather than being part of the group. Kevin Kearn’s oral history of Dublin pubs gives a great sense of what they meant to their regular customers. The Portobello area around Lennox Street is really interesting and includes the Bretzel bakery; the Irish Jewish Museum; numerous pubs; bedsits and, of course, was home to the fictional Leopold Bloom.
Jacolette: 
Lovely photograph.
I think Mr Bloom lived on the Northside though didn’t he?
Hi Tadhg, Thanks for checking out the blog and the comment. He lived with Molly on Eccles Street in later life but is supposed to have been born at ’52 Clanbrassil Street’.
Love this picture! Just this morning I was planning to blog about a photo of my grandmother taken in Dublin around 1910-1915 I am only guessing. It is printed on a postcard and I can’t read the studio name – it looks like King’s or else there is some other letters before the ing’s. I am currently googling to see if I can find the name of the studio where it may have been taken.
Jackie
P.S. there is a US blog that a woman publishes where she rescues old photos from thrift shops etc and tries to find their owners.
http://forgottenoldphotos.blogspot.com/
Hi. I like your blog. I just linked it to mine at http://www.junkshopsnapshots.blogspot.com
If you like what you see can you add a link to mine?
regards
John Toohey
Hi John,
Love your site – I am looking forward to checking out the archives this weekend. I have put a link to it from mine. I hope to put up another post tomorrow – 1932 Irish Olympic team!
Bye for now, Orla.
For some reason I look at this photo and see stained glass. You can almost mentally disassemble the shot and have individually interesting shots.