Old photos give a glimpse of the Falls

By Squinter

Squinter had a long and very enjoyable chat with Eamon McGonigle from La Salle Gardens, who knew Squinter’s da, and we shared some lovely stories about the old days of haulage and lorries. Eamon’s from a much younger generation than Squinter’s da (although he’s too modest to say it) but he still knew a lot about the old AECs and Fodens that were perennially parked on the road outside the boy Squinter’s home, because Eamon was in the haulage business too.
Eamon was nice enough to say he enjoyed a recent piece that Squinter wrote about how he used to get the boat from Larne to Stranraer, and he had a lot of complimentary things to say about Squinter’s late father, which Squinter was only too happy to hear.
In a later chat, Eamon told Squinter an interesting story of how he and his wife were dandering through Dublin recently when they were surprised and delighted in equal measure to come across two framed photographic prints (reproduced here) in a little antique shop. Eamon eagerly bought them and no doubt when Squinter hands them back they’ll take pride of place in the McGonigle home.
The one below on the left seems vaguely familiar to Squinter. It’s an idyllic view of Dunville Park with the fountain in full spout, the grass and shrubbery immaculately maintained by the gardener to the left, and people walking or resting on the many benches. Squinter’s not sure about the decade, never mind the year. 1920 is his best guess.

Trolleybus

The second print is nowhere near as old, but infinitely more interesting. It’s probably the 1940s and the photographer was standing at the gates of the old St Finian’s Primary School when he took it. It’s clearly an overcast day, but the sun has peeked through the clouds to light the road up. There’s a big peeler to the left, being approached by a young man in a very stylish cream suit. The trolleybus lines are visible in the road, and you can see the metal arms reaching above the bus in the distance to touch the overhead lines. Squinter is particularly struck by the two men in white overalls on the roof of the Clonard Cinema to the right; clearly, health and safety issues were not the first thing on the agenda when people arrived for work back then.
The road looks great, doesn’t it? But here’s a thing. Squinter dropped the wife and children off in town last Friday, and in bright sunshine drove back up the Falls Road and… the place looked great. The new signs that council has put over the shops have helped enormously, but it wasn’t just that – people were smiling and happy, flowers were blooming, trees were fat and green.
Yes, okay, it was 9.10am. But as somebody famous once said… wouldn’t it be great if it was like this all the time?