One of the most interesting and picturesque bits of old Dublin that I know is that cluster of white-washed cabins by the side of the River Tolka, near Richmond Bridge, on the main road at Drumcondra.
Here is a village comparable to the old Claddagh at Galway over which artists used to rave. This Dublin Claddagh is alongside a main artery of the city traffic. The neat little houses are grouped in the form of a square, and in the centre is a graceful shrine before which candles are sometimes burning or flowers are placed. I have been told that the shrine was built after a drowning accident when the Tolka overflowed.
For many years these low-lying little houses suffered from frequent flooding. It was a recurring task of "Alfie" Byrne, when he was Lord Mayor, to arrange for shelter, bread and blankets for families driven out of their homes by the rising river.
The laying-out of a park, the widening of the river, and the creation of a swimming pool have, fortunately, put an end to those floods. There is a piquant incongruity in this old-time village set down in the midst of the city, with buses and motors whizzing by, while a great flashing neon sign hangs in the sky above, lighting up the little windows and the white-washed walls.
The Irish Times, August 9th, 1940.