Old Greystones

MyPerfectCousin

drag0n79 wrote: »

There must be hundreds of those nail pictures lying in attics all over Greystones!

So that's where that came from!

GEORGEWEB

Good ol Master Begley....I think he was related to the famous musical Begley family from Dingle..."Cooney & Begley" used to play with Christy Moore at gigs....i wonder does he still wear the Dark Brown: suit,cardigan, waistcoat, shirt and tie
Whatever happened to the donkey that was tied to a post in the field up the road from st kevins (same side of the road- just at the traffic lights)...it was in there for years.....there is about 6-8 bungalows in that field now

SBB ina shui

Ah Loves Supermarket...AKA 'The Shopping Basket'....walking in there with 15 pence and coming out with ~20 cream eggs in the pockets of the parker jacket.....they were deep pockets....and Bull Hayden pulling up outside on the back of a Honda 70 and helping himself to a bale of briquettes,a quick salute and off down the road...good auld days alright...
What about Peter Ryan's,behing Bocellis Restaurant,where we used to get the bait for fishing on the South Beach...the days you might get a ~2lb codling or a nice Salmon Bass....quality.You need a boat to get that sort of fish nowadays...
The Flemings of Rathdown Park,The McNiffs of La Touche Park,Nial Paskins,Nicky Langan and The Lenihans....made the Mafia look like schoolboys in a choir.....and The Top Men in Grattan Park....such laughs we had.....the AFC and The Machine Andy McDonald....lethal sweeper....the original 'Machine' where it all started....
Chasing rats with the Black Widows down the old dump (Darcy's Field as we know it now or new it.....The Marina to be.....
Granny Grummich on The New Road......vever know why the called it that,it's been there for years....
The Blowhole up towards Bray Head....some laighs when the scuttle was passing underneath...
The Mods and the Rockers....AC/DC badges on the green army jackets...
Frank Clarke and the bowl haircut......ah stop....memories coming back....

Claymation

sagat wrote: »

Reading this board for a number of months from the shadows, interesting to see a lot of the activity is coming from new residents but surely there must be a number of us floating around who remember the Greystones of old. Lets reminisce about the days gone. Hands up if you remember:

Buying the paper at Murphy's
Groceries at O'Donohues
Watching Pieter Muller play rugby for Greystones
The Golf Club burning
The Woodlands for that matter
Waiting for somebody to return a flick you want to see to Video World
When you could buy a record on that same block
The knitting shop before the pet store
Queueing 3 maybe 4 hours to see Batman at the Ormonde cinema.
Quinnsworth selling make your own Pizza's and the entire town eating them
Remington Steele filming Taffin at Brady's hardware
The Cherry Blossom was the height of exotic cuisine
Buying Friday's dinner from the fish factory
When the shuttle to Bray was more regular and reliable than the Dart today
When Eugenes was Eugenes
Getting nothing but petrol from the Esso station besides the complimentary check of your water and oil
The backwards clock in Jokers
Lautrex succeeding Cabannas
Evans Hardware
When the summer festival included outdoor concerts at the harbour
When you couldn't as much as fart in the town without everyone knowing about it.
Sweeneys amusements getting a fancy makeover only to look like the same old kip merely a month later
Street Fighter 2 at same amusements
Walking home from Bary after missing the last bus along the cliff walk or train tracks if you were brave(stupid) enough
The diving board and raft on the south beach
When the rocks on same beach looked like mountains
The LaTouche hotel in its glory
The LaTouch shop in its glory, toys, sweets, C64 games
Butcher Shops
Practice wall at the old tennis club
The original Copper Kettle
Pitch and Put where there is now park and Ride
Some funny American game in the park by the Burnaby
...and so much more.

So lets hear about the times, places and characters that marked the Greystones of old. Pictures would be the icing if anyone has old ones. As for you blow-ins, keep reading as you may be amazed and amused with what your new home was once like.

What a fantastic thread! I could spend the day on here.

The guy who ran the tiny shop at the train station was Tony (don't have his surname) but he was a great guy. You could buy individual cigarettes from him (I think 1.5p each), not that I did. We used to hang around and chat to him for hours bumming Macaroon bars and cola bottles. I remember the day Spangles came in. Oh, the excitement. Nowadays, if your parents thought you were hanging around chatting for hours to an older guy (he was probably 35!) there'd be a court case. I think he chucked it in when Eugene's came along.

I actually played rugby with Pieter Muller - he was definitely the longest in the showers, but a bit disrespectful shall we say of those with deep tans in a pre-Apartheid South African way. It was great, none of the rest of us had to tackle - he just cruised along their backline and crushed whoever it was who hadn't let go of the parcel by the time he got there.

Scuffles. Brilliant.

Being able to hear my brother's tennis court tirades as you cycled over the hump-back bridge at Mooney's.

Having Mrs. Mooney run through your entire collection of older brothers (in my case 6) before getting to your name.

Getting busted nicking a Fry's Chocolate Cream in Flynn's aged 7. Put me off nicking until I was 13, it did.

Claims in the Brothers being settled in the field off Church Lane - I've still never been more terrified in my life

Skinny Dipping on the South Beach after Cabanas.

Getting chased around the Burnaby after robbing orchards. Granny Fitzgerald, anyone?

Cathcing the 'rare pear' in the 'Cool Pool' Sweeney's. With 'Smoke on the Water' playing loud.

Playing pinball for an hour off 10p while my mate got through pounds on the slots.

How did nobody die on the 13th hole?

Definitely lived off the Quinnsworth make your own pizza

Anyone remember Br. Murphy (tiny fella, used to cycle around the town with a dalmatian dog) - small but lethal. Somebody's auld fella came down and boxed the head off him in the hallway on one occasion. He used to coach hurling in the CBS, but it died off when he left.

78 concurrent games of football in the yard with teachers walking up and down in the middle of the pitch. And everyone knowing exactly what was going on in their game.

The seagulls feeding off the thrown away sandwiches on top of the shelter.

Brother O'Flaherty - again, how did nobody die? Picking you up by the earlobe or, worse, the bit of hair beside your ear.

Every day two lads out of 6th class got off early at lunchtime to make the tea for the staff. Br. O'Flaherty asks one of them one day 'Do you like sugar?' 'Yes, brother'. he proceeds to empty the contents of a 2lb. bag down the young fella's throat. To the other young fella, 'Do you like sugar?'. 'No, brother'. Some stuff you look back on and ask yourself, 'did that really happen?'

Speaking of not dying - the lads who used to dive off the back wall of the Men's. You wouldn't see it in Mexico.

Silver Stream was the Nursery school beside St. David's. There was Sr. Maria (scary) and Sr. Thecla who'd give you a sweet if you polished the desks.

There was a disused hall/church on Hillside Road that everyone thought was haunted.

The CSSM - bless their hearts. Mr. Batty. The built-up mound of sand to provide a stage/altar on the South Beach. Going from Sardines to Sprats to Sharks. All that free child minding for the summer and entertainment and nary a convert out of it I wouldn't think.

Ah, nostalgia - it's not what it used to be.

SBB ina shui

And that same Brother O'Faherty had us lined up after lunch in 'The Big Yard' ....a couple of prayers and then....a seagull flew in from out of nowhere and **** all down his right arm,all of the top part of his arm was destroyed...Dara Flemming started laughing first...and ten 120 young lads had their moment.....as if God was giving us all a laugh...it was our moment...remember it as clear as day...I think Dara got the leather for laughing first.....Square Head we used to call the Brother O'Faherty......

..and Master Barry,when he used to pick his nose and roll it in cellotape and then flick it on the round table during class.....or when he was teaching us how to hurl....he used to pick his nose before showing you how to hold the hurly,your hurley

Brother Horgan teaching us how to play the tin whistle,trips to The Gaeltacht,magic....

Duncan McNiff teaching us how to make copper bombs at Halloween.....getting all the ingredients in Roches Chemist....

The Rugby Club Disco's...when Vincent kept a gap between yourself and the girl you were dancin' with....working down the kitchens with Margaret....what a lady,and Mrs Lennon,another lady.....preparing meals for 40 hungry rugby players....some laughs....

The St David's School discos......bettter not go there!...oh we ent alright.....and the Valarie Lynch would look at you...nice 1 Jay.....

borrowing apples from O'Callahans orchard at the bottom of la Touche Park.....

John Flynn the legend,Swanner,Mr. Mead....

to be continued.......

mikechiswick

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Photo taken outside of Holy Rosary Church, Greystones in the mid 1950s.
Do you recognise any of these guys in their St. Kevins blazers ?

back row from left .MichaelMcGowan Kenny Lynch Bru mooney Gerry deithrich Tony Kelly. back row. Eugene Barry Noel Whiston Noel Gaskin Vincent Ovington. 1954 I think

gaznet

Brilliant thread...


Spanish students everywhere - and the kicking they used to get
Gordon
Flasher
Tipex thinners in the lane beside the tennis courts before School -thanks Mrs Mooney
Bavaria 'green' at the shelter on the south beach
Paddy Brocken collecting money at the beach parties...
Being scared ****less of John Nolan - milkman...
Always fighting with lads from Newtown
Talking to Anto at St Davids during the summer cause there was f-all else to do
Going to Cabannas when i was 14 and getting in - sub note... Dav Caufields white suit.
Batesey breakdancing in PnR
Bods house for cards - amazing how he managed to get about 50 people into his sitting room - also the day Spread knocked the radiator off the wall
Hourse & hound bar when the coalmen arrived for pints after work - all you could see were eyes and the odd tooth...
JR down the harbour
Free smokes at the shopping basket for every 10p spent.
Kindlestown park houses getting a makeover
When the South Beach didnt have grass growing on it.



keep em coming

Gaz.

drag0n79

mikechiswick wrote: »

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Photo taken outside of Holy Rosary Church, Greystones in the mid 1950s.
Do you recognise any of these guys in their St. Kevins blazers ?

back row from left .MichaelMcGowan Kenny Lynch Bru mooney Gerry deithrich Tony Kelly. back row. Eugene Barry Noel Whiston Noel Gaskin Vincent Ovington. 1954 I think

Nice curls Mike! Judging by the names, the families are still around Greystones, the guys above, their kids & grandkids.

FlyingPenguin

sagat wrote: »

Reading this board for a number of months from the shadows, interesting to see a lot of the activity is coming from new residents but surely there must be a number of us floating around who remember the Greystones of old. Lets reminisce about the days gone. Hands up if you remember:

Buying the paper at Murphy's
Groceries at O'Donohues
Watching Pieter Muller play rugby for Greystones
The Golf Club burning
The Woodlands for that matter
Waiting for somebody to return a flick you want to see to Video World
When you could buy a record on that same block
The knitting shop before the pet store
Queueing 3 maybe 4 hours to see Batman at the Ormonde cinema.
Quinnsworth selling make your own Pizza's and the entire town eating them
Remington Steele filming Taffin at Brady's hardware
The Cherry Blossom was the height of exotic cuisine
Buying Friday's dinner from the fish factory
When the shuttle to Bray was more regular and reliable than the Dart today
When Eugenes was Eugenes
Getting nothing but petrol from the Esso station besides the complimentary check of your water and oil
The backwards clock in Jokers
Lautrex succeeding Cabannas
Evans Hardware
When the summer festival included outdoor concerts at the harbour
When you couldn't as much as fart in the town without everyone knowing about it.
Sweeneys amusements getting a fancy makeover only to look like the same old kip merely a month later
Street Fighter 2 at same amusements
Walking home from Bary after missing the last bus along the cliff walk or train tracks if you were brave(stupid) enough
The diving board and raft on the south beach
When the rocks on same beach looked like mountains
The LaTouche hotel in its glory
The LaTouch shop in its glory, toys, sweets, C64 games
Butcher Shops
Practice wall at the old tennis club
The original Copper Kettle
Pitch and Put where there is now park and Ride
Some funny American game in the park by the Burnaby
...and so much more.

So lets hear about the times, places and characters that marked the Greystones of old. Pictures would be the icing if anyone has old ones. As for you blow-ins, keep reading as you may be amazed and amused with what your new home was once like.

How about Pharaoh performing in the Stables?
Buy 5 pints of Hunters Cider in the Stables and get a free sweatshirt. My mum often wondered where they came from
Attending Junior School in Silverstream on the sea front
The May Garden Fete on the Hockey pitch where St David's is now built
The Murder of Mrs Meldon on Killincarrig Road
The snow of 1982 when Greystones was cut off for 3 days. The gofl course never recovered.
We went down the 13th from the very top of the old 18th in Nicko Avery's Dory dinghy. Those 2 bumps at the bottom nearly killed 8 of us!!
Meeting the "talent" off the 5.15 train on a schoolday.
Buyng the groceries in "The Rendevous"
When the Huggards and Fogartys lived over Watson & Johnston
Didn't Watson & Johnston have an Alpha Romeo franchise too?

pixbyjohn

Do you remember Jerry Fallon on the wheel of fortune at St. Davids garden fete. " Roll up roll up everyone's a winner "

pixbyjohn

The Milkman in Greystones for years, the late great John Nolan

pixbyjohn

Name this class

pixbyjohn

Philomena Quinn (TINA ) and her dad Jack. What was the year ?

mikechiswick

drag0n79 wrote: »

Nice curls Mike! Judging by the names, the families are still around Greystones, the guys above, their kids & grandkids.

Only one missing now, Bru Mooney

mikedragon32

Fecker banned permanently.

Folks, this is a fantastic thread, particularly as someone who has lived here for almost 7 years.

I appreciate that the thread is attracting a lot of newbies, but please, when posting be mindful of the fact that there is a charter on this forum and it must be adhered to. Boards.ie may be held liable for anything posted.

When mentioning individuals please be sure that what you're posting isn't in any way libellous or malicious. Also, when posting images of people without permission may be a very grey area, especially if not already in the public domain.

youknowwho

Does anyone remember when Mr Kelly the farmer on Blacklion would drive his heard of cattle through Applewood to the Abattoir, and the odd one or two would stray of the beaten track with a little help from the local kids.
When the estates could have bonfires at haloween.
The La Touche toy shop on the main street.
The Hair dressers next to the station.
Getting of school to be alterboy at a weddding or some poor sod's funeral.
Scouts and cubs in St Killians Hall, and Dessie the caretaker, who was also the caretaker in St Laurences.
Hurley in the back field above Laurences.
The old fishing competitions outside the beach house.
the old freight train that made its twice daily trip through the town.

drag0n79

youknowwho wrote: »

Hurley in the back field above Laurences.

With Con O'Suillebháin? And the blue helmets?

The lads went out to hurl while the girls stayed in and knitted

drag0n79

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Philomena Quinn (TINA ) and her dad Jack. What was the year ?

Did Tina used to sing at the summer festivals?

pixbyjohn

drag0n79 wrote: »

Did Tina used to sing at the summer festivals?

She sang at a few of them from the stage (truck trailer ) at the harbour.

pixbyjohn

Any caddies here from the past when Michael Coffy was the caddymaster at Greystones Golf Club and he got 6 old pennies out of the caddy's "fee"

Every year there was a caddy's golf match, Oliver "Ton" Frawley of Crow Abbey won it a few times.

pixbyjohn

When St. Patrick's school was on La Touche Place Road, where new apartments are being built now. The new school was built in the Bog behind the Bridge and Health centre.

SBB ina shui

The Turnpike....handy for a trip home for lunch or a holding hands session with your latest missus....the lane down to Castle Clare nursing home...for a bit of the other maybe....

Pascal down the old Shell Station.....gentleman

Sandra O'Neill on the New Road.......maybe I'm on my own on that one...the nicest looking red head in the country.....well in John Galvin....

Donncha McGowan (Smith) on Rathdown Road,the only man who could throw an egg ~200 yards at Halloween time,and still hit his target....

String Wynn.....

The Moodys on Rathdown Hill....

If I had a penny (cent) for every character I knew in Greystones....

Joe Sweeneys for Pac Man and Defender....Ronan's current wife was a beauty back then...well in Ronan Sweeney...

Johnny McGrain doing the horse commentry in where Danns is now....part of The Old Beach House...

I think Jerry Fallon always asked us when we were coming down to start playing rugby...gas,his daughter and the Irish Dancing....brilliant...

My four legged Legend 'Patch',the Lynch's dog 'Bite', the most placid animal...Lord Have Mercy on Philip 'Flea' Lynch....

The Greens of Crowe Abbey.....all True Legends.....

Mick McGowan with the tartan threads and Doctor martin boots in Saint Davids.....70's,when punk rock was doing the rounds....

The Vickers,The Broughans and The Monaghans.....Animal Lennon.....Noel Scully....all Legends....

I feel a reunion coming on.......

Saturday 20th in the Beach House......anyone game ball....

Horatio_78

drag0n79 wrote: »

With Con O'Suillebháin? And the blue helmets?

The lads went out to hurl while the girls stayed in and knitted

God that's gas - forgot all about that. Sometimes it would be on the lower field and sometimes up over the style in the upper field. Con had some wicked facial whiskers back then!!

And the old brown intercoms in St. Laurences for Mrs. Fleming (aka Mrs Coveney) to holler down. Anyone notice how that woman never aged over the years??

.. and the school shops in CBS & Laurences to buy a peann luighi.

And the projectors in CBS the size of a movie camera used to teach Irish.

It's all flooding back now...

I've a few more vague memories but these might need to be clarified:
- Was there a lumber yard behind St Killians hall with a chap called Leslie?
not sure if the hall was in its yellow, red or green phase then.
- Old furniture or antique shop beside the Burnaby?
-Arcade machine in the back of Soundz?

and these I remember...
-Glenroe doing a few scenes around the town and everyone showing up trying to get in as an extra! Think Dick Moran was at the rugby club one day...
-Clowns coming into the local schools to give out vouchers when the circus was in town.
-Mrs Wynn running life-saving at the harbour & north beach.
-Hurrican Charlie hitting and the harbour getting filled up with trees blown down from Bray Head.

Brilliant memories....

sagat

drag0n79 wrote: »

With Con O'Suillebháin? And the blue helmets?

The lads went out to hurl while the girls stayed in and knitted

Remember it well but I also remember knitting for some strange reason, maybe I was injured at some point or faked it to spend time with the girls. Funny we all considered them "gross" back then but had our secret crushes.

My fondest memory of Laurences was coming back from a trip to England with half a dozen packs of the new series of Garbage Pail Kids Cards that had yet to be seen in Greystones. I was God of the playground for a single day and through some clever trading ended the day with the best collection in the yard.

What was the name of the fella who ran the Knick-Knack shop across from Mooneys? Correct me if I got the name wrong.

pixbyjohn

"What was the name of the fella who ran the Knick-Knack shop across from Mooneys? Correct me if I got the name wrong."


Was it David and Mary Spurling ?

pixbyjohn

"Was there a lumber yard behind St Killians hall with a chap called Leslie?"


Willie Redmond had a carpentry workshop at the back of Killians hall, he was a boat builder too.
Leslie Redmond later ran it and sold timber from there. He later opened a hardware in what was the Ormonde Cinema ground floor but unfortunately he closed down after a year or 2.

sportbilly

getting stuff on "appro" from The Thrift Shop...apparently TK Maxx modelled their store lay outs on this advanced retail model.

harbour monster

Greystones Fire Brigade was located in La Touche Close from 1965 to 1981. The vehicle was a Land Rover Foward Controller. It had a green canvas back that the crew were contained in. The crew were Charlie Evans, Des Archer, Jim Hayden, Jimmy Redmond, John Redmond, Derek Ferns, Patsy Greene, Paddy Doyle and Leslie Spurling. In 1981 a larger truck was purchased and they moved to a compound where the Bridge Club now stands. In 1986 the new station was built. There are still members of the Evans, Archer and Hayden families serving in the Brigade today.
The siren, referred to earlier, was from the second World War. It was stood down in 1979 and replaced by pagers. Mrs Gunning and before that Mrs Evans operated the siren and bell system. Before 1965 the brigade operated from a garage in The Watson and Johnston center. Prior to the 1950's the Council used a truck to tow a water pump and this was mostly operated by volunteers.
If anyone has more Fire Brigade history please post.

pixbyjohn

Before 1965 the brigade operated from a garage in The Watson and Johnston center.


The fire brigade was garaged in what is now Homans cafe/coffee shop

drag0n79

Horatio_78 wrote: »

God that's gas - forgot all about that. Sometimes it would be on the lower field and sometimes up over the style in the upper field. Con had some wicked facial whiskers back then!!

And the old brown intercoms in St. Laurences for Mrs. Fleming (aka Mrs Coveney) to holler down. Anyone notice how that woman never aged over the years??

.. and the school shops in CBS & Laurences to buy a peann luighi.

I was always fascinated with the intercoms. There was a switch on the side so the teacher could talk back too. That little shop in Laurences was at the back of the main hall (sports hall). Remember the plays that we used to have to put on in that hall - and sometimes a group would come in and put on plays for us.

sagat wrote: »

Remember it well but I also remember knitting for some strange reason, maybe I was injured at some point or faked it to spend time with the girls. Funny we all considered them "gross" back then but had our secret crushes.

Yeah I also remember knitting. Miss Hassett made us do it!