Portobello, Dublin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Dublin, Portobello (Irish: Cuan Aoibhinn) is an area near the South Circular Road near South Richmond Street and including Clanbrassil Street. The area was also known as Little Jerusalem because in the first half of the Twentieth century, it was the heart of the Jewish community in Ireland.
Portobello also refers to a bridge across the Grand Canal at Rathmines and South Richmond Street. Like the Portobello area of London, Dublin's Portobello was named by the British for the capture by Admiral Vernon in 1739 of Portobelo on Panama's Caribbean Coast, during the conflict between the United Kingdom and Spain known as the War of Jenkins' Ear.
Originally there was a large harbour on the canal, with an hotel, but the harbour was drained in 1948 and largely filled in. The Grand Canal is still thriving in a leisurely way and now serves as a picturesque amenity much frequented by the local population.
The area is home to the private Portobello College, as well as various pubs and restaurants and has a lively and vibrant air. The Irish Jewish Museum is located nearby on the South Circular Road, as this was formerly Dublin's Jewish quarter. Leopold Bloom, the fictional Jewish character at the heart of the James Joyce novel Ulysses, lived at 52 Clanbrassil Street Upper; a plaque commemorating this can be found on the wall of that house. The famous playwright George Bernard Shaw was born on Synge Street, in the Portobello area.
The area declined following the end of World War II, with a number of Jews emigrating to Israel, and the majority leaving for New York. Though the main Jewish population that remained in Dublin have migrated to Terenure, just three miles away, a small number still live in the area, but their own shops, schools, and small businesses no longer exist.
Altona is a local landmark, less preferred though than the red brick St. Kevin's Church at Bloomfield Avenue.
The correct name of the bridge at Portobello is La Touche Bridge named after a prominent Dublin business family.
[edit] Trivia
- At 9 o’clock on the evening of Saturday, 6th April, 1861 in Portobello Harbour, a horse-drawn bus, driven by Patrick Hardy, had just dropped a passenger on the canal when one of the horses started to rear. A brilliant light was seen to rise from the canal water and turn into a human shape. Both horses become uncontrollable with fear and backed the bus through the wooden rails of the bridge. The bus, horses and six passengers inside the bus, plunged into the cold waters and were drowned. The conductor was able to jump clear and the driver was pulled from the water by a passing policeman. The ghost of a lock-keeper, who drowned himself after being sacked for drunkenness, was blamed for the tragedy. [1]
- During the Easter Rising in 1916, the Irish Citizen Army sent a group of men to seize a delaying position at Portobello Bridge to allow fortifications to be constructed in the centre. They were led by a James Joyce (not the author) who worked in Davys’ bar near Portobello (La Touche) bridge, the bar was to be used as the outpost. When his unit burst in, the bar owner gave Joyce one weeks notice, but Joyce then told Davy he had five minutes to get out. [2]
