IT'S THE same in every town and city in Ireland, indeed throughout the so-called developed world: old shops and streetscapes have given way to the new, functional yet characterless. Donnybrook in south Dublin is a perfect example of this irreversible tide of transformation.
For many years, Furlong's newsagents on Morehampton Road, close to its junction with Marlborough Road, was an informal social club for the great and the good of Donnybrook. A small, narrow shop stocked with a vast array of newspapers and magazines, it was presided over for many years by Gerry Callanan, a fount of local information, always a mischievous twinkle in his eye. His family, too, including his wife, Máire, presided over the convivial proceedings.
One of the many people whom I used to bump into there was Derek Mooney, then beginning his ascent of the heights of RTÉ, its mast at Montrose clearly visible from the street outside. Often, in Furlongs, from chatting to one of its regulars, one heard the latest scandal surrounding Donnybrook's often nationally known personalities, and it all added to the frisson of excitement. At one stage, the Callanans also had the post office a little further along Morehampton Road.
After Gerry Callanan retired and gave more of his time to the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club just down the road, the shop lay derelict for a number of years. Just recently, however, the old shop and the florists next door have been converted into a branch of Boots the chemists. The new shop is shiny, modern and efficient, very smart, yet utterly devoid of any character. Des Brady's pharmacy close by, there for years, has undergone a sea change to survive the new competition.
Near this spot was once the Panorama Travel shop; in those days, you popped into a travel agent and booked your latest trip, as we did on various occasions. Now of course, it's all done online, with none of the personal interchange across the counter. These days, there isn't a retail travel shop in Donnybrook; the Donnybrook Travel shop just off the Main street has been transformed into a print shop.
Another big change in Donnybrook has been the disappearance of the family grocer. Nylands was an old-fashioned grocery store, almost next door to Furlongs. Only recently, Anne Casey, one of the Nyland family, died. At the other end of Donnybrook, Stynes grocery shop was another old "institution" that tried in vain to adapt to new trends. Today, the place is a Balti restaurant. Across Donnybrook Road, the Spar supermarket, for so long the domain of the Woods family, is now a 24-hour affair. A little up the road from Stynes was Cunninghams, an old fashioned radio shop, a lingering relic of the original wireless era.
Yet another old-fashioned shop that disappeared into the ether was O'Connors hardware shop on Morehampton Road, filled with every kind of gadget and widget for the house and garden; you could rummage around happily for hours. Almost next door was a bakery shop, Quinlans, renowned for the succulence of its cakes.
Garages and petrol stations have been obliterated, too. The Morehampton petrol station, near Furlongs, has long since closed down, as has the filling station next door to Madigans pub, itself on the list for redevelopment. Breens garage had a wonderfully dozy dog that kept a lazy guard on the pavement outside; today, what was once a garage, filled with antiquated machinery, is an über chic modern office.
Pubs, too, have reinvented themselves. Kielys pub, which got its first licence in 1739, once had an upstairs art gallery, giving rise to the quip that this was one of the few places in Dublin were art was above drink.
These days, there's a restaurant in place of the art gallery, while Kielys has transformed itself with its all-day food and big screen TVs for sport and it has wi-fi. Down the road, Longs pub also modernised itself.
Happily, McCloskeys pub has remained as it was, with a lovely, warm atmosphere, even if it is now doing melts on the menu.
A few shops have kept going through the years. Roy Fox, the greengrocers, is still going strong, despite the recent demise of Des Donnelly. Molloys, the game and fish shop, is still there and in an amazing makeover, Donnybrook Fair, there for countless years, has done a complete transformation. For long, it was owned by Winifred Murray and it was a rather staid but incredibly useful mini-supermarket. These days of course run by Joe Doyle, it's the height of sophistication, aimed at the moneyed classes, with all kinds of exotic foods that you never knew you needed.
Another shop that's been going for years is Lyk-Nu cleaners in the mall. A remark made by the Liverpool poet Roger McGough has always stuck in my mind: one day, whizzing past on his way to RTE, he spotted Lyk-Nu flashing past and thought "Ah, Donnybrook' s Chinese restaurant".
Donnybrook a century ago bears no resemblance to the Donnybrook of today. From the time when I first got to know Donnybrook well, in the mid- 1970s, change has been relentless, yet somehow, through all the constant sweep of closures, openings and refurbishments, Donnybrook has managed to retain some of its impermeable village atmosphere, even though it badly needs somewhere like the old Furlongs, where people could simply wander in and while away the time in a good old gossip.