1968 - what was it like at the Grove?

Heya Brendan,

Welcome to the site.  Keep posting and add your comments to the other threads as well.

Cheers,

Mel.

Aries, thank Cecil for the compliment ...maybe I'll make a reunion now that I know about them. I was going back to Dub almost every year for a while. Couldn't find any of the old friends. My local was the Horse n Hound but didn't always drink there. I kinda made The Dollymount Inn/House more of my local.

Eejit, thanks for the offer, PM on the way...By the way I wanted to use that name until you stole it....LOL

Roundabout, I kinda forget the names of all the streets there (Even though I go back regularly)...But if Mc Cauley is in the back of Ribh Road headin' toward the roundabout that's it. He was a milk man way back when. Yes, he was a nice bloke...nicer than us....LOL He was actually more me brother's friend.

Muller, I admit the Harmo lads were no Saints...but at The Grove we acted like Angels. Never got in trouble there but as mentioned earlier , not so lucky at St. Pauls.

I don't remember Marion.

I remember The Englishes very well..Basil?, And Johnny Johnson. After I left I heard they were all in jail and that Johnny Johnson got murdered. I escaped their rath, prob cause I lived right there...and they actually gathered right on the railing of our house.

I was never in with that gang though so I was lucky enough to survive the era. I was the peaceful type.

I guess I was more of The Grove Type....Peace n Love...LOL

As you all suggested I've been perusing the other Topics and leaving my mark where I saw fit.....Some BLOODY GREAT MEMORIES there.

So far I'm only up to page 12 in the Jokes...Jazus , there are some great ones in there.

Howya Brendan.

Unfortunately...........or fortunately ( depending on your disposition ) The Dollier is no more as you may be aware.

Sold to a developer two years or so ago,and nothing done with it.

Rumours that the self same developer was going to reopen it as there will be no developing in the medium term.

Oh............and welcome to the madhouse

BrendanFella wrote: Jazus, I was in The Dollier on my last trip home. I thought it was pretty genious of 'em how they solved the "No smoking issue"..BRILLIANT...previously I had sat outside on their "Patio" but me younger bro said I'd be sitting there by meself as he was going "inside"... The Ocean Front ain't a great place for outdoor drinking late in the year....LOL I was drinking in there before I left and right up to about 3yrs ago on my visits....I'll miss it.

Bren welcome to "GroveWorld",yeah the  smoking area in Dollier was great,spent many a weekend down there as a teen,was the meeting place at xmas for all the mates who were home on hols,it holds good memories,sad to see it gone,and the grub wasnt bad either... 

Rolo wrote: Oh yeah Sean,you are spot on, the grub was massive. In fairness to Leo,he knew how to drag the punters in with good value food. Not a fan of the place as a boozer though. Not a patch on HBs.

Rolo,Leo Fitzgerald was a shrewd businessman,and he made a fortune when he sold up,so you cant blame him for taking the cash,and the smoking ban seemed to affect their trade,even though they had a good smoking area

l do drink in HB's myself,normally on Sundays,or after the Dubs games,will have to keep an eye out for you,

maybe see you on the 5th in Slaughtered Lamb ?

If Derek Farrell is the Derek who used to stand in for our regular Premier milkman Paddy Brophy then I used to help him out at weekends collecting milk money and delivering milk in Marino when I was 12 years old.

It is a very small world indeed in some of these posts, ancient memories resurrected - I hope Derek is well - he was a really nice and generous guy and a cool one at that! When everyone else had shortish hair he had a stunning head of 'Marc Bolan' hair - like Tommy later on in Pat Egan's Sound Cellar.

Just to clarify a few things....

I was reading the news clippings here about The Grove burning down. Any reference I made to St. Paul's was when The Grove was still in St. Annes and had no connection w St. Paul's.....St. Paul's was a seperate thing. We had a hard enough time getting in there and then to be picked on by The Rugby players or whatever was reason enough for a fight. (I think most of it was cause the fellas didn't like us talkin' to "their" women")....lol

Back at The Grove everything was peaceful, fun, and all about the music n the girls. 1967-1971...great years....I was reading about The Music too so all you that loved Led Zep, so did we..it just wasn't our first music there....more like Dave Clark Five, The Kinks etc. But we did go on to love the same music as it was introduced to us.

A special Thanks to Cecil and Derek  for the new unheard of stuff to Ireland which later became part of the norm....(Derek belonged to some American record club and got sh*t nobody ever heard)

Jazus, I almost forgot PURPLE HAZE by Jimi Hendrix, When that song comes on the radio it brings back the whole ERA.

Jazus Roundabout, Tell Derek to drop a copy off at my sister's in Edenmore 'n she can pay to mail it to me....LOL

Do they still deliver milk over there? I remember as a kid gettin' up at 4am to deliver milk on a horse n cart 'n then going to school....yaaaawn!

Later there was bloody murder w the milkmen when they switched to trucks. The bleedin horses knew the route and knew exactly which houses to stop at. Didn't even have to get back on....horses would know...bloody great. Ask Derek if he was pissed then?