The cinema in Lucan

mikefitznyc · 24-03-2012 1:02am

There was an old house in there too, I used to pass on my way down to the bus stop at BP every day, and then, on past BP, there was a turn right up to the Spa Hotel/Leixlip etc, and a left past Crowe's Corner and the golf course. Wish someone had thought to take photos of that whole area, there used to be swampy marshland at the bus stop after the BP too. I'm getting way too obscure here though!

stoneill · 25-03-2012 6:30pm

r3nu4l wrote: »

I always called it the Lock road too but referred to the wooded area as the hollow

And the No-Name club or "The Social" in the Hollow?

bohsboy · 29-03-2012 12:06am

What about "Mackers" up the back of Airlie Heights? Some carry on up there. Then there was the cornfields over at Hillcrest. The Community Centre used to seem miles away from AGP.

Ah nostalgia.

Little Alex · 29-03-2012 2:39am

mikefitznyc wrote: »

There was an old house in there too, I used to pass on my way down to the bus stop at BP every day, and then, on past BP, there was a turn right up to the Spa Hotel/Leixlip etc, and a left past Crowe's Corner and the golf course. Wish someone had thought to take photos of that whole area, there used to be swampy marshland at the bus stop after the BP too. I'm getting way too obscure here though!

Right, whilst we're at it...

The old house was originally a residential house. The Ma was telling me - because we were talking about it only a few weeks ago - that the people who owned the house had an orchard and used to sell bags of apples. At some stage after that it became the offices of an engineering or construction company.

After that was the BP garage. There used to be a really glamorous-looking lady that worked there back in the 80s, back in the unglamorous 80s. I remember myself and two others finding a fiver one day and going in to the BP to spend our money like lords. We even bought a ten box of Major! :pac:

Next to that was where the Annadale Restaurant was until recently. Billy Byrne's Garage used to be there too. Before Annadale opened the house there was abandoned for years. There was an orchard there too. Next to that was some sort of a warehouse. We used to call it "The Warehouse" and that's where we smoked our Majors that we bought with the fiver we found that day. Across the road fro that was Crowe's Corner, where Santa famously arrived one year by helicopter. Then there was that marshland that went as far as Lucan Golf Club. There was a pathway from there up to the back of Woodview. The "bridge" across the stream was a left-behind concrete sewage pipe.

In fact there was lots of left-behind building site rubbish... there was an old digger in "The Warehouse", another one in the field between Woodview and the fruit and veg place, beside the big, fallen tree. Everyone's clothes lines were made from forgotten scaffolding poles too!

There was also the roof beams left from the knocked down chicken factory which was there before Woodview was built, where the old bus stop used to be.

bohsboy wrote: »

What about "Mackers" up the back of Airlie Heights? Some carry on up there. Then there was the cornfields over at Hillcrest. The Community Centre used to seem miles away from AGP.

Ah nostalgia.

Macker's Barn, at the back of De Burra.

Nostalgia would break your heart, alright!

mikefitznyc · 24-04-2012 6:16am

Alex, thanks for the info, really took me back! It's a shame how there are no photos available of Lucan from that era, or at least those parts of lucan. As for that girl in the BP, good Lord, I remember her alright. She'd an English accent, or at least, a posh Irish one(!), and drove a sporty black car. I was about nine or so, think I must've gone to the BP about fourteen times a day at one stage.

The_Conductor · 09-06-2012 9:06pm

Heroditas wrote: »

Isn't the butcher shop down in the village still run by the Collins?
The one beside Power and Smullen....

Yes- Niall- Joe's son, runs it. Its a real gourmet butcher to be honest- expensive, but so so good! Its the only place in the region that sells Kelly's of Ballina Black and White pudding........ Its so dangerous going in there

The_Conductor · 09-06-2012 9:23pm

We were from the other end of Lucan- and didn't go to Goobay's (or Goobase as we liked to call it) all that often. Before Hemrycks was a snooker hall- it was a supermarket too, back in the 70s and early 80s. Ann Hemryck was the person who introduced me to the joys of Nutella chocolate spread- 30 years ago!

We had the fruit farm- up the Clonee Road- which I'm embarassed to say featured on quite a few school tours, along with episodes of 'Ear to the Ground' and Radharc.

I'm actually living in one of the duplexes where the cinema used be- and it was also where I saw my first film- ET in my case, back in 1982. I think I saw it 4 or 5 times in the cinema.

McCormacks was originally run by old Mr. McCormack- before his niece Mrs Williams took over. Her son still lives there (I think he is a famous opera singer).

The village green was done up by South Dublin Co. Co. a few years ago- we had a great laugh over it- anyone from the area knew it belonged to the Presbeterian church- and they did indeed assert their ownership when the job had been done. Lol.....

We used go to Gilmartins for conkers- up behind Weir View, and dry them in the hotpress for a forthnight before damaging each other's fingers in the school yard. Marbles- I remember one kid's father was a mechanic and gave him a box of the most ridiculous ball bearings. We were so pissed when he won everything off us all. Wonder where he is now.....

Its great reminising about Lucan- it really was a lovely little village to grow up in, its a pity its been destroyed by poor planning (and rezoning) decisions......

We never did get the library there- where Carey's Newsagent is either

mattjack · 27-06-2012 12:20am

Nice thread folks, I,m from Lucan too and the first film I saw in the Grove cinema
was Moonraker and I saw a rat there too, I can remember fights in the cinema too.

Lumbo · 27-06-2012 11:40pm

mattjack wrote: »

Nice thread folks, I,m from Lucan too and the first film I saw in the Grove cinema
was Moonraker and I saw a rat there too, I can remember fights in the cinema too.

Only one rat?????? Lucky you.

I remember going to see Rambo, as advertised. The Care Bears movie came on instead. There was nearly a riot in the place. They done that sort of stuff all the time.

Billy de Bollix · 30-08-2013 1:19am

Jeeze lads I know its been a long time since someone posted on this thread!!! but talk about memories! I was born in the house behind the cinema! next door to Sadie's Lucan printers and I remember looking at the kids swimming off the weirs out the top windows. I also worked for Barney and Triona in the CO-OP in the eightees. My memories of Cormacks were climbing down beside Toolans Bookies into the Demesne along the Griffeen and finding all the spinners, Floats and giving them back to Mrs Cormack and she used to let us take whatever new spinner we wanted...unless we found a great one! Gallivanting down St. Eds and getting home to find my Da could mysteriously know I was there?!!! Great childhood hanging around the village! They have destroyed it with greed now...Lawlor and the rest of them shower should have done time for the dodgy dealings for Lucan alone. Its full of poxy housing estates that all look the same and have no character. Hey does anyone remember the travel agents on crowes corner? The bridge would now be on top of where the orig buildings used to be?

The_Conductor · 30-08-2013 6:42am

Hi Billy- do you remember the second fruit farm on the Clonee road- aka the one across the road from St. Catherines? That was my families. I'd forgotten about Barney and Triona in the Coop- and all those rows of bottles of sweets behind them. McCormacks was run by Mrs Williams, a niece of the Old Mr. McCormack. Her son is still living there- I believe he is a quite famous opera singer. Remember Mr. Noonan in the boys school- thats his son Paul in Bell X1. A few old families are still around too- Matt Farrelly and his amazing car repair business in Lucan Heights (and Clane), Toolans (several of them are still around), Old Mr. Carey is still in the Newsagent (though I doubt he'd like to be called 'Old'), McDonald Brothers- the estate agent is now run by Barry and Emma- the next generation of McDonalds etc etc etc. The village is not what it once was- indeed in the morning and evening its a rat run for people avoiding the toll bridge- but there are still a lot of the old characters around- and if you stop to talk- you'll discover quite a few original Lucaners, who have over time made their way back to the village.

Billy de Bollix · 30-08-2013 12:22pm

Hey ye Conductor! I remember your fruit farm well!! In fact so well that I took my new girlfriend (now my wife) up there on one of our first dates to pick strawberries....needless to say your delicious strawberries were not the only dessert I got up there that day! I know Matt and Josephine Farrelly very well! He had the garage up beside you circa 1989/90 after his move from the old Texaco garage beside Ma Reilly's. An absolute gentleman, and no tales of dodgy mechanical work or dealings either. The whole family in fact were lovely. You know I know you and you would know me...but lets leave that there! Did you guys own the square build "new" house beside the farrelly garage? It was new and had little velux windows...then suddenly it was abandoned? I have been up to the "Germans" to get my dogs hair cut a couple of weeks ago and I noticed all the bungalows and farm houses up off the lower rd/ bleach green hill are abandoned... such a shame. Even the one before you go up the hill from weir view on the right that had the horse riding paddock. Saddens me....Conductor, I dont look at the world with rose tinted glasses but...we did have a great little childhood in that town didn't we? Hey do you remember Gerry Cosgrove travel agants with his tattoos all over his body and head!?

The cinema in Lucan

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