Desmond Moore, who died recently, was a journalist of calibre. Probably his biggest legacy to us was the way in which he, as a serious student of the history of Dublin, was able to bring his knowledge to the readers of newspapers, to the people, in a way which never over-popularised or over-dramatised or over-sent imentalised that history, but made it readable, reliable and with a quiet distinction of its own. Likewise on TV.
He was a Dubliner born, and he loved, you could say, every brick in the place. As a journalist he wrote, of course, of other places and other things, but fundamentally his legacy to us is books, especially Dublin's Yesterdays, which gives vignettes of our history in memorable form. When the Evening Press appeared on September 1st, 1954, a short item with the label "Yesterdays" was headed: "A Woman's Curiosity". It told how a window of a house in Harcourt Street, Dublin was bricked up by the renowned Sir Jonah Barrington because his wife, Lady Barrington, was accused of watching the activities of Lady Clonmell, wife of the Chief Justice of Ireland, in a house and garden across the street. (After two centuries the bricks were removed.)
In 1965 the Cultural Relations Committee of Ireland commissioned from him a booklet on Dublin. Other contributors to this series included Lloyd Praeger, Austin Clarke and Maurice Craig. He was a past president of the Old Dublin Society, which was very dear to him, and was elected an honorary member of the Royal Hibernian Society in recognition of the interest his writings had evoked in the history and architecture of Dublin.
He was versatile too. In the Evening Press he often stood in for "The Night Reporter", in which Terry O'Sullivan gave an account of the previous night's occasions. Likewise, he stood in for columns on life beyond the city. In all he contributed more than 2,000 Yesterdays in eleven years.
Later he moved to the Independent Group and roamed the country on behalf of the Sunday Independent for about 15 years. He wrote fiction too, and also published Off-Beat Ireland. He had a quiet, engaging manner and people spoke freely and trustingly to him.
He was a generous man, and his wife, who was so much part of all his efforts, was, too. Des thought nothing of transporting a family who did not own a car to a cottage they had taken for a month in faraway Connemara. His wife, Patricia, likewise was a great favourite with children of relatives and friends. They retired to land near Pat's family not far from Portlaoise. He died suddenly at Home.
D.G.