Pictured: The elegant staircase of Pembroke Hall.
City of Dublin Education and Training Board, current residents of the historic Pembroke Town Hall in Ballsbridge, held a 1916 commemoration on the 15th and 16th of October to showcase their fabulous home.
Entitled: The Clerk’s Tale and Other Stories, the two-day free event was open to the public and featured performances of a new play written by Sharon O’Doherty, period music from Kylemore Music Centre and a Talk and Walk by historian John Holohan.
The town hall was built in 1880 at a cost of £3,000 on land donated by the Earl of Pembroke, with the building to house the 15 commissioners elected by local land owners. They were to represent the township of Pembroke which included Ringsend, Irishtown, Ballsbridge, Sandymount and Donnybrook.
The structure was designed by Edward Carson who chose a gothic style to give the appearance that the building was older than it was. It had extensive stabling for the commissioners’ horses, stained glass windows designed in London, and ornate chairs in the boardroom from renowned cabinet maker James Hicks, who has several pieces in the National Museum.
Pictured: Art Deco furniture details on chair.
The Clerk’s Tale, which was performed by the second year students at Inchicore College of Further Education, told the story of Joshua Manley, the town clerk in 1916, and gave his eyewitness account of events.
Saturday’s opening was attended by De Valera’s grandson, Éamon Ó Cuív, as well as renowned historian and TV presenter, John Bowman. But perhaps the highlight of the two days was the wonderful and authentic spread laid on by the cookery students at Colaiste Ide – a recreation of a 1916 buffet. The Victoria sponge, pork terrine and potato and chocolate cake all went down a treat. And the delicious cheeses certainly proved it wasn’t all doom and gloom for our ancestors.
By Paul O’Rourke
