The stories that made the headlines in our first edition, May 1987

The first edition of Northside People hit the streets in May 1987.

Formed by ex-employees of Dublin Newspapers – which had gone into liquidation the previous month – the paper was originally based in Dundrum Castle.

So what was making the headlines north of the Liffey back then?

The paper’s first lead story centred on a row between a group of angry parents and Portmarnock Community School. Parents voiced their unhappiness after their children failed to secure places in the school for the coming term and threatened to take legal action if the matter was not resolved.

However, the school’s principal, Pat O’Leary, laid the blame squarely with the Department of Education, saying they had warned of an acute shortage of school places in post-primary schools for many years.

He said that the school had been designed to cater for 800 pupils but now had 920, with 100 more on the way the following year.

“You just can’t get two pints of milk into a pint bottle,” he told Northside People.

Inside the paper we reported that Government proposals for a unified ferry terminal – incorporating both Dublin Port and Dun Laoghaire services – were now almost certain to be scrapped. This followed separate surveys on the proposal by the Office of Public Works and the Port and Docks Board.

We also raved about a new book written by a secondary school teacher called 'The Committments'. While our review was largely positive, we warned that the book “is written with the aid of a large measure of four letter words and is definitely not for those who are prone to offence”.

Somewhat prophetically, we concluded that ‘The Commitments’ looked set to mark the beginning of “a new and exciting spate of books dealing specifically with the Northside – not to mention Kilbarrack, home of the blues”.

We trust that Roddy Doyle was motivated by our positive review to eventually give up the teaching job and have a stab at the auld writing full-time.

In politics, we featured an interview with the former Fine Gael TD Alice Glenn, described in our introduction as “an outspoken critic of all that is lax and liberal in Irish Society”.

Outlining her opposition to the Single European Act, she warned it would impose a “secular humanist ideology” on the country and that abortion, divorce and euthanasia would be “forced upon the people of this State”.

In his ‘video scene’ column, our first editor Tim O’Brien (now a journalist with the Irish Times) reviewed new releases such as ‘National Lampoon’s European Vacation’, ‘Ruthless People’ and ‘The Supergrass’.

Our motoring page gushed enthusiastically about the new Opel Omega, with prices starting from £18,000. 

Ending on a positive note, a report on our back page confirmed that Beaumont Hospital would be open and operational by the end of the year.

Judged against today’s production standards, the first edition of Northside People looks dated, although we were all very proud of it at the time. However, lurking between its 12 modest pages were local stories about local people doing things locally. And that's a tradition we like to think we have proudly carried with us to the present day.

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When Aslan lost Christy

On joining Northside People in January 1989, one of my first acts was to introduce a music page into the paper to connect with our younger readers. Within weeks I had landed my first scoop in the form of an exclusive interview with the remaining members of Aslan. 

Fans of the Finglas band were shocked in 1988 when, at the peak of their success, lead singer Christy Dignam split from the band due to his well-publicised battle with heroin addiction. The remaining members of the band attempted to carry on without him, recruiting singer Eamon Doyle (pictured below left with Tony McGuinness and Billy McGuinness).

  

  I interviewed the 'new' Aslan in early 1989 ahead of a comeback show in the SFX. When we met in their management office near the Ha'penny Bridge, they were full of enthusiasm and praise for Eamon, who certainly looked the part of rock singer. However, it was hard to believe that they could carry on without Christy Dignam who was such an integral part of Aslan's sound. In their heart of hearts, somehow I don't think even they believed it would work.

The band trundled on for a while before splitting, going on to gig as The Precious Stones, while Christy formed Dignam and Goff (pictured below).

They eventually reunited with Dignam in 1993 for what was supposed to be a one-off show in Finglas. In Darren Kinsella's photo below, Christy is pictured during that legendary South Band Show gig with daughter Keira, now a singer in her own right. That show made them all realise that they still had the magic when they played together. Shortly after that, hit single 'Crazy World' led the band on the road to years of success, much to the delight of their fans. 

Memories of Howth's lost hotels

I visited Howth recently and was struck by how much commercial life on the peninsula had changed. Having grown up in Baldoyle in the 1970s and '80s, I've always had an affinity with Howth, which was the posher playground of our childhood and the hunting ground of our teenage years.
My first ever job was in the St Lawrence Hotel, where I worked every weekend as a hall porter and later as a (short-lived) trainee chef.

The St Lawrence Hotel

It was tough work at the best of times but provided me with enough pocket money to keep my parents happy. It also convinced me that I definitely didn't want to be a chef! On Thursday nights, I would fill in for the regular car park attendant, Noddy, for the princely sum of £1.50 per hour. The tips were good, though, and it was well worth the 2am cycle home to Baldoyle.

The St Lawrence Hotel is sadly no more and gone with it are the memories of Saints nightclub, later Goodtime Charlie's. This was the hotel where the all-you-can-eat carvery earned legendary status in an era when dining out was a somewhat exotic experience.

Gone too is the Baily Court Hotel in the centre of the village. I have a very vivid memory of queuing outside its function room for over an hour to see In Tua Nua in their heyday, only to be turned away by the gorilla on the door. Even the fake ID didn't cut it.
My luck had improved by the time I graduated from Pobalscoil Neasain in 1987 and the Baily Court was the venue for our school graduation night.

The Baily Court Hotel

                                                                         
For some reason I recall that this hotel was originally called the Royal Hotel and was owned by the singer Joe Cuddy but I am open to correction on this. The closure of the Baily Court was another major blow to the life of Howth village when it ceased trading but I still cherish my memories of the good times I had there with friends and family over the years. It was also home to a great carvery, giving the Lawrence Hotel a run for its money.

At the beginning of the cliff walk at the opposite end of the peninsula, the red bricked Sutton Castle Hotel offered majestic views across Dublin Bay to the other side of the city. I attended some incredible functions here, ranging from fundraising nights to 21st birthday parties and weddings. It was one of the nicest places in Dublin to enjoy a quiet Sunday pint and is perhaps the most missed of all the great hotels of the Howth peninsula.

Sutton Castle Hotel

At the entrance to Howth Village, just across the railway level crossing, was the Howth Lodge Hotel. Overlooking Ireland's Eye, this was another popular venue for weddings and functions. Strangely, though, my most vivid memory of of this hotel is having to attend a Fine Gael selection convention there in the early 1990s. Located close to U2 drummer Larry Mullen's pad, the Howth Lodge Hotel was another great loss to the local landscape.

The Howth Lodge Hotel

Don't get me wrong: Howth is still a great place to visit and remains a thriving jewel in Dublin's crown. But for me and others of my generation, it can't hold a candle to the glory days when Howth's hotels offered ordinary people a rare taste of opulence.
t.mccullagh@dublinpeople.com

Hard sell by the banks scarred the landscape

It seems that the Government is to make good on its promise to demolish up to 40 so-called ghost estates.
These developments are widely considered to be scars from the Celtic Tiger years and few will bemoan their removal from the landscape. Only properties deemed to be economically unviable will be selected for demolition. In other words, estates that were built outside the commuter belts where there are few employment opportunities and inadequate services or public transport.
There was a time when gullible investors might have been tempted to invest in a three-bed semi in the middle of nowhere to add to their growing portfolio. Irish dinner parties (remember them?) were once dominated by conversations about property values. Those who didn't participate in this modern day gold rush were not just considered to be risk averse - they were nothing short of fools for failing to cash in on the boom.
But as we all know now, the boom was just a credit fuelled illusion. Wealth was judged on how much you were able to borrow, not on your ability to repay it.
I recall being pulled from the queue of a bank by a manager in the midst of all the madness. She wanted to have a quiet word about an apparent financial irregularity. According to their records, I seemed to have a mortgage on just one property (my family home). At the same time, the modest sum in my deposit account was just sitting there, doing nothing really. Clearly, this was a situation that needed to be addressed by the bank.
I was reminded of the bank's willingness to facilitate me should I feel the need to borrow for some sort of investment property.
I remember feeling slightly flattered that I should be considered so credit worthy by the bank, while at the same time a bit uncomfortable with the hard sell approach to lending.
And we all know where that got us.
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