Dublin Characters Real and Fictional

Essential

Hi, The ones I know are Johnny Forty Coats; Mixer Reid; Molly Malone; Dicey Reilly; Lugs Brannigan; Bang Bang. Can anyone add to the list?:pac:

Spiritoftheseventies

the diceman

admiralofthefleet

big thread on it here

Spiritoftheseventies

then there is Christy Sweets who hands out sweets to Dublin players after the hurling and football games in Parnell Park.

Rashers

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

big thread on it here

Ah but they're talking about present day characters. I thnk the OP is talking about the characters of old. Am I right Essential?

One or two I remember were Wagon Wheels who once chased me (I was a kid) from the top of Gardiner Street down as far as Memorial Road beside the Custom House where I managed to lose him. If you called out "Wagon Wheels" he would come after you for some reason. He could be fearsome looking too so I'm glad he never caught me.

The OP already mentioned Mickser Reid. Mickser worked in the old Royal and when it was being demolished to make way for the eyesore known as Hawkins House, Mickser worked on the demolition. After that he worked as a nipper on the building of the aforementioned eyesore... and I don't know what happened him after that.

Perhaps I should mention that Mickser was, in terms that would be used today as Vertically Challenged.... but we just called him a dwarf.

A lot of the oul characters that were around in my childhood would have been men who came back from the war (WW2) not quite the same young men who went off to war.

RoyMcC

You historians might enjoy this portraiture of Davy Stephens, the Kingstown Newsman http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/page6.html

Spiritoftheseventies

Pete Shortt, another one. Used to sell In Dublin on Grafton Street. And then there was yer one who did her prayers on O'Connell Street.

kumate_champ07

brendan behan

jimboh

'Hoyer Kelly' the original character which James Plunkett had to base his Rashers Tierney character in the Strumpet City novel. The name derives from the fact that he said 'Hi Yer' if he passed you by, sometimes without even knowing you. A tall and gaunt, friendly man wearing hobnail boots, walked the streets with a small dog with a rope as a lead. He was a vagrant, but his neighbours of Corporation Buildings (off Talbot Street) looked after him, by giving him scraps of food and tea. He died tragically when the hut he was sleeping in caught fire. Both he and the dog perished. My late mother made the connection having watched the Strumpet City series on television in 1980. Ironically the dogs name was Rusty.

jimboh

Essential wrote: »

Hi, The ones I know are Johnny Forty Coats; Mixer Reid; Molly Malone; Dicey Reilly; Lugs Brannigan; Bang Bang. Can anyone add to the list?:pac:

"Hoyer Kelly"

jimboh

"Hairy Lemon" This was a name I heard as a youngster in Dublin passed on to me by my then pals. The name has no biased meaning to any individual. It was simply attributed to old men of the then 1960's. These men were simply homeless and could be seen foraging in dustbins. Usually dressed in ragged clothes and bearing long grey beards hence the name "Hairy Lemon" but they were in the main, harmless people. But as youngsters, were in awe and terror of them. Often our parents would warn us (to get us all to bed early) "You better watch out or Hairy Lemon will get you" I don't hear much of that name in these current times. But those poor men can still be seen doing the same things I saw all those years ago. Dublin hasn't changed much, anyway that was my understanding of the slogan "Hairy Lemon"

Max Power1

NecroThread man, known colloquially as Jimboh

Corsendonk

"Cyclone" Bill Warren or Siki, ex boxer and probably the first and only black man that Dubliners of the early 20s-40s ever seen in real life. Apparently he always carried a paper bag under his arm and advertised Nugget Boot Polish around the city. He seems to have become a forgotten charactor in Dublin history.

gerryg80

jimboh wrote: »

"Hairy Lemon" This was a name I heard as a youngster in Dublin passed on to me by my then pals. The name has no biased meaning to any individual. It was simply attributed to old men of the then 1960's. These men were simply homeless and could be seen foraging in dustbins. Usually dressed in ragged clothes and bearing long grey beards hence the name "Hairy Lemon" but they were in the main, harmless people. But as youngsters, were in awe and terror of them. Often our parents would warn us (to get us all to bed early) "You better watch out or Hairy Lemon will get you" I don't hear much of that name in these current times. But those poor men can still be seen doing the same things I saw all those years ago. Dublin hasn't changed much, anyway that was my understanding of the slogan "Hairy Lemon"

I thought "Hairy Lemon" referred to a dog catcher around dublin in the 50s/60s. As referred to in the song "The Mero" by Pete St. John

Muas Tenek

Don't forget Mary Dunne "The Dancer" She used to dance in the middle of O' Connell St (where the Spire is now) and sing hymns and tell you that Jesus loves you.

Skinback

Muas Tenek wrote: »

Don't forget Mary Dunne "The Dancer" She used to dance in the middle of O' Connell St (where the Spire is now) and sing hymns and tell you that Jesus loves you.

She was actually a perfectly normal person off duty so to speak.
You could see her now and then having tea in the Central Hotel with nothing odd about her at all, chatting away with her friends.
Should'nt talk about her in the past tense though because i'm sure she's still hale and hearty.

Stench Blossoms

Skinback wrote: »

She was actually a perfectly normal person off duty so to speak.
You could see her now and then having tea in the Central Hotel with nothing odd about her at all, chatting away with her friends.
Should'nt talk about her in the past tense though because i'm sure she's still hale and hearty.

"Mad Mary" we used to call her.

One of the papers did an article about her about a year ago.

Cameron Poe

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

then there is Christy Sweets who hands out sweets to Dublin players after the hurling and football games in Parnell Park.

I worked with him for a summer when I was in school. Gas man.

Rashers

jimboh wrote: »

"Hoyer Kelly"

A big man who served some time in the Irish Guards (British army). Later he lived in Corporation Buildings where he died in a fire.

I remember him well.

Degsy

Then there was "Holy Mary"..real name i didnt know,who walked about the place carrying a wooden crucifix draped in a tricolour ribbon shouting about religion.

There was also this crazy woman,i'm pretty sure she was english who would wear a sort of cowl and spend hours writing on hoardings about Israel/Palestine and other stuff i could make no sense of.
Her sentences could be five or six feet long and would take up entire hoardings.

There was a bloke in around 1990 who sat in a deckchair outside the GPO with a display of carrots and flowers in jamjars on the ledge beside him..when a friend of mine asked him what he was doing he said he was looking for a wife!


My grandfather went to school in O'Connels and was telling me about a charcter called "Rusty Razors"..he used to cut the hedges in the area near the school and had a bright red beard. For some reason he took umbrage at being called Rusty razors and would chase anybody who said it,pair of shears in hand.

orl677

Sorry to butt in on the reminiscing with a question but..

Has anyone spotted the following character around over the last few months, i've seen her a few times myself, twice up around Dorset street and once walking down O'Connell Street.
Its a woman, maybe late 30s, who looks, hmm i'd say content in her own world. Im not being mean now when I refer to her at all, im simply intrigued. She wears (im not joking) PINK, head to toe. Same outfit everytime i've seen her. She was wearing a pink wooly hat, pink jacket, top, trousers, leg warmers, runners.. quite a sight to behold I must say. For some reason I would just be fascinated to know anything about her, fair play to her and her love of the colour

u140acro3xs7dm

orl677 wrote: »

Sorry to butt in on the reminiscing with a question but..

Has anyone spotted the following character around over the last few months, i've seen her a few times myself, twice up around Dorset street and once walking down O'Connell Street.
Its a woman, maybe late 30s, who looks, hmm i'd say content in her own world. Im not being mean now when I refer to her at all, im simply intrigued. She wears (im not joking) PINK, head to toe. Same outfit everytime i've seen her. She was wearing a pink wooly hat, pink jacket, top, trousers, leg warmers, runners.. quite a sight to behold I must say. For some reason I would just be fascinated to know anything about her, fair play to her and her love of the colour

Could be Mick Wallace!

Degsy

orl677 wrote: »

Sorry to butt in on the reminiscing with a question but..

Has anyone spotted the following character around over the last few months, i've seen her a few times myself, twice up around Dorset street and once walking down O'Connell Street.
Its a woman, maybe late 30s, who looks, hmm i'd say content in her own world. Im not being mean now when I refer to her at all, im simply intrigued. She wears (im not joking) PINK, head to toe. Same outfit everytime i've seen her. She was wearing a pink wooly hat, pink jacket, top, trousers, leg warmers, runners.. quite a sight to behold I must say. For some reason I would just be fascinated to know anything about her, fair play to her and her love of the colour

This her?

Dancor

Degsy wrote: »

This her?

Lol at the file name. That woman has been knocking around years.

orl677

Degsy wrote: »

This her?

how about that file name yeh :P.. That could well be her, I think it really could be actually.. only thing is she's quite toned down there, you should have seen her in her head to toe pink ensemble, quite something! I hope she's well

Kiri

Adding to the list would have to be .... The street photographer (when people didn't own cameras) who used to be on O'Connell street between the Savoy and The Happy Ring house,or on Carlisle Bridge ! ! ! ,, He always said "Ya get the picture now! ":) He was a refugee and lived well into his 90's Arthur Fields was his name I believe.

bb1234567

Jedward deserve a spot on this list I suppose:p

paddyandy

There was a 'lockhard' who used to play with rolled up newspapers waving them as he guided the drivers into the parking spaces on stephens' green .

Sergeant

Pat Ingoldsby is a bit of a legend at this stage. Really nice chap - as cranky as a bag of cats, but can be very entertaining when the mood strikes him. His poetry can be very funny.

admiralofthefleet

anyone come across the girl that sits in mc donalds in rathmines all day chain smoking outside and looking like she is completely lost? i was sitting there a few weeks ago when a staff member dropped a tray near her.
she jumps up and says sorry about that even though what had happened had nothing to do with her
an old haggard woman with a plastic bag full with the little sachets of milk and sugar is with her a lot. 2 strange individuals but harmless all the same

Clanket

Rathmines is full of characters. The rather large woman who drags around an old school dublin trolley, dressed in shiny pink dresses, always wearing tehnicolour socks and some sort of knited hat.

The tall man who can only be described as having a funny walk. He drags his left leg as though it's a dead weight and moves his whole body in a circular motion. He moves about 10 foot a minute. Every time I see him I wonder how long it takes him to get where he's going.

There's plenty more. Spend a half hour in the charity shops and you'll see some interesting people.

Have to say I love Rathmines though. Full of all sorts

admiralofthefleet

Clanket wrote: »

Rathmines is full of characters. The rather large woman who drags around an old school dublin trolley, dressed in shiny pink dresses, always wearing tehnicolour socks and some sort of knited hat.

The tall man who can only be described as having a funny walk. He drags his left leg as though it's a dead weight and moves his whole body in a circular motion. He moves about 10 foot a minute. Every time I see him I wonder how long it takes him to get where he's going.

There's plenty more. Spend a half hour in the charity shops and you'll see some interesting people.

Have to say I love Rathmines though. Full of all sorts

i know a lot of people from rathmines and have drank in every pub there, there certainly is a lot of 'characters' in the area, some of the pubs are nut houses. i could mention names but you probably know them already. do you know the tall country fella from belgrave square that goes by the nickname 'big foot'

philstar

here's a fictional one;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D38MJpH5Vos

paddyandy

Rathmines has a great mixture of people from different backgrounds .

bb1234567

paddyandy wrote: »

Rathmines has a great mixture of people from different backgrounds .

Ye if feels like london there at times, id say about 50% or more of the people in rathmines are of some ethnicity other than white irish.Quirkey sort of area...a bit run down though..would be nice if some of the buildings were maintained better . All the georgian houses(or what look like georgian houses)along the road are in a very bad way.

paddyandy

bb1234567 wrote: »

Ye if feels like london there at times, id say about 50% or more of the people in rathmines are of some ethnicity other than white irish.Quirkey sort of area...a bit run down though..would be nice if some of the buildings were maintained better . All the georgian houses(or what look like georgian houses)along the road are in a very bad way.

I was thinking of irish backgrounds ; education, wealth ,people on the dole, counties are well represented returned emigrants and a few real looking pubs .I live in what is too working class .No mix at all .
I had a bedsit in grosvenor sq ....a tiny place which needed heating almost all the year round ...i don't miss that but old houses are cold .

Econoline Van

Anyone know the old man from the Beech Hill estate who walks round Donnybrook wearing a long beige mac and carrying a plastic bag and shouting stuff at people? I engaged him in conversation once and he told me he's from Tipp. He's harmless but I couldn't get much sense out of him. I'm curious as to his story.

paddyandy

The Streets need characters to give a place something ........character .

statss

Clanket wrote: »

Rathmines is full of characters. The rather large woman who drags around an old school dublin trolley, dressed in shiny pink dresses, always wearing tehnicolour socks and some sort of knited hat.

The tall man who can only be described as having a funny walk. He drags his left leg as though it's a dead weight and moves his whole body in a circular motion. He moves about 10 foot a minute. Every time I see him I wonder how long it takes him to get where he's going.

There's plenty more. Spend a half hour in the charity shops and you'll see some interesting people.

Have to say I love Rathmines though. Full of all sorts

there's a guy I see all the time. bout 40ish, tall, curly hair , often times wearing a fishermanhat , jeans and blazer, talks to himself all the time looking dazed and confused.

also, the GILF, really glamourous looking oul wan always dolled up.

paddyandy

In London years ago (1960s & 70s) the street characters got nothing if they had no address and there was very little else .Here in Dublin i'm told they don't have to have an address to get the welfare .

John Doe1

orl677 wrote: »

Sorry to butt in on the reminiscing with a question but..

Has anyone spotted the following character around over the last few months, i've seen her a few times myself, twice up around Dorset street and once walking down O'Connell Street.
Its a woman, maybe late 30s, who looks, hmm i'd say content in her own world. Im not being mean now when I refer to her at all, im simply intrigued. She wears (im not joking) PINK, head to toe. Same outfit everytime i've seen her. She was wearing a pink wooly hat, pink jacket, top, trousers, leg warmers, runners.. quite a sight to behold I must say. For some reason I would just be fascinated to know anything about her, fair play to her and her love of the colour

She spoke to at the bus stop last year, seemed harmless enough ha