Author: cityarchives

Fergus Concannon’s Story

I was just 2 and half at the time of the bombing of the North Strand and we lived at 4 Charlemont Parade. I remember my mother telling me I was asleep in my cot at the time of the bombing. There was a large wardrobe beside my cot which fell across the cot but only for the rail on the cot I would more than likely not be writing this now. The roof had been blown off the house and she told me she shouted up to my older brother who was sleeping in a small upstairs bedroom “what was that bang” and he replied “I don’t know? but I can see the stars”. So that is about as much as I can remember of my Mother telling me of the bombing of the North Strand.

Tags Fergus Concannon’s Story

Personal Stories

Dermot Moran’s Letter

Dermot Moran (d.2003) was living in Drumcondra the nights the bomb fell. He wrote the following letter on 1 – 2 June 1941 to his parents in Kerry in which he vividly described the sights and sounds that he heard from the bedroom window on the 30/31 May 1941. The letter was kindly donated to Dublin City Archives by the Moran Family.

Transcript of Original Letter Page 1

58, Upper Drumcondra Road,
Drumcondra,
Dublin 9.
2nd/1st June 1941,

Dear Dad,

I got your letter and was right glad to hear from ye and to learn all the news. We’ve been having pretty good weather here during the past week though last Sunday was not so very good. As a matter of fact it started pouring, and it was 8 o’clock in the evening before it cleared up. The new church at Drumcondra – Corpus Christi was consecrated that day and & ’tis many the person that got the bad drenching at it. Yesterday, on the other hand, was a really glorious day. In fact ’twas the nearest approach to Summer we’ve had yet.

Tags Dermot Moran's letter

Personal Stories

David Whyte’s Story

At the time of the bombing I was 6 years old and lived with my parents in Leinster Avenue. I was asleep with my brothers in the back bedroom, when I was woken by my family talking to each other. My father was looking out of the window which looked out towards Amiens St. We could see searchlights and then the flash and bang of guns firing. We heard the engine noise of aircraft and then a bright flash, a moment of silence and then a massive bang. The house shook and the windows rattled. The next day we tried to see the damage but we were turned away. After a couple of days we managed to get as far as the bridge over the canal. There was a crowd there and I remember a bicycle with a box at the front selling ice cream. There was a big hole in the road halfway up the hill towards the bridge. All the shops and houses were just rubble with a strong smell of smoke and dust. I hoped we would have time off school which was next to the Ivy Church, but things were soon back to normal. Does anyone know why we were bombed? I remember people saying that the railway line to Belfast or the docks was the target due to food aid being sent to the UK. The left hand side of the area leading towards the 5 ways was built on. The other side remained an empty site into the 1950s. After the bombing there was a lot of rumours and I remember the Army drilling holes in the supports for explosives to be put in the Railway Bridge over the River Tolka and carrying out manoeuvres in Fairview Park which to us kids was exciting.

Tags David Whyte's Story

Personal Stories

Maeve Mooney’s Story

Maeve Mooney

Maeve Mooney was 11 at the time of the bombing, and living in Glasnevin with her parents. Her Uncle Dick (Richard) Fitzpatrick, her Aunt Ellen and her two cousins Margaret (Madge) and Noel lived over the family butcher shop at 23 North Strand Road and were all tragically killed on the 31 May 1941. Maeve recalls the memories of the night, and stories her father later shared with her of searching for the Fitzpatrick family in Dublin’s hospitals and morgues. She also addresses various rumours about the deaths of the Fitzpatrick family which circulated in Dublin in the aftermath, and tells the eerie story of her Uncle Dick’s prize pigeons which were seen in the North Stand the morning after the bombing.

Listen to Maeve’s story here:

Duration: 00:38:21 mins

Transcript

Tags Maeve Mooney's Story

Personal Stories

Betty Keogh’s Story

Betty Keogh

Betty Keogh was 5 years and 8 months at the time of the bombing. She lived with her parents and brother in a rented room at 10 Charleville Mall. The house was completely destroyed by bombing and family lost all of their possessions, later receiving just £18 compensation. Betty talks about her memories of the night, including sheltering in the basement and at nearby convent. She also discusses the aftermath of bombing, playing in the rubble as a child, moving in with her aunt in East Wall, and her father joining the British Army.

Listen to Betty’s story here:

Duration: 00:23:17 mins

Transcript

Tags Betty Keogh's Story