Late last year, and into 2017, I had the pleasure of working on a project entitled ‘Around The Table’, which was part of Dublin City Council’s National Neighborhood project. In different parts of the city, people looked at different aspects of life and community there and produced interesting things, ranging from songs to theatrical efforts, all in conjunction with local groups.
In the area I worked, Dublin Central, we focused on the history of food. From East Wall to the Markets area, Dublin Central is strongly bound to the story of food production in the city, and the story of foods arrival and departure. We interviewed dockers, chip shop workers, slaughterhouse staff, street traders, market workers and more besides for what became a beautiful oral history production.
A digital PDF of ‘Around The Table’ is available online from here. Any serious history of food in Dublin can’t come from the newspaper archives alone of course, but has to be drawn from the memories and experiences of those who have worked in the field of feeding Dubs. It is a piece of social history I think we captured well, and thanks to those who agreed to me sticking a recorder in front of them.
Dockworker Pat Behan describing exotic food on the docks of Dublin. (click to enlarge)
Cadbury’s worker Pat Glynn. (click to enlarge)
Remembering the Andreucetti chipper and ice cream shop, which became a loved part of the East Wall Community. (click to enlarge)
My thanks to Jennie Moran and Ida Mitran (responsible for the beautiful illustrations in the book and more besides), photographer Jeanette Lowe and Bernadette Larkin for all their work on this project.
