Recently I commented upon the fact of some of our hotels introducing Irish on to their menu cards. Strolling along Rathmines road a day or two ago, I made note of more progress. In place of the old D.C.W.W. on some of the iron traps of the water mains the single word Uisce was stamped.
It is possible now to trace three stages in the development of Rathmines as an urban centre through these little covers. The oldest of them are marked R.T.W.W., then comes the later D.C.W.W., and now the latest Uisce.
Talking of the Water Works, this department seems to make more use than any other of the public services of Irish. All its new lorries and 'bus-like cars are named in Irish, even some of its pneumatic drills.
There is one particular job attached to this service which, to me at least, has a very old-world air. Almost every night I see one of the inspectors going his rounds, seeking waste of water. He carries a rod, one end of which fits over the mains tap under the pavement doors I have already mentioned; the other end of the rod forms an ear-piece, and there is an air of mystery in the way the inspector deposits his storm-lamp, opens the trap, puts his rod in position, and bends attentively over with his ear glued to the rubber earphone.
I remember that during the complete black-out he was an even more mysterious figure, with his lamp bobbing beside him, a feeble lamp to throw light on the pavement. I would not have been at all surprised to hear him cry: "Three o'clock and all's well."
The Irish Times, July 29th, 1940.