Alfie Byrne

Alfie Byrne, Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1930-9, 1954-5
photo scan: Little Museum of Dublin

I'll really have to give the Corpo a rest after this one.

Yesterday it was Dublin Lord Mayor, Laurence O'Neill. Today it is Dublin Lord Mayor, Alfie Byrne.

O'Neill is all but forgotten these days, despite his huge contribution to the city and the nation. Alfie is unforgettable, the shaking hand of Dublin, the face of the city at the 1932 Eucharistic Congress, and lots more besides. The dapper looks and the waxed moustache also helped in giving him a very distinctive look.

John Holohan

First an introduction from the Ballsbridge, Donnybrook & Sandymount Historical Society who teamed up with Pembroke Library to bring us the talk on Alfie by David McEllin.

David McEllin

David has written about Alfie in a chapter entitled "Legendary Lord Mayor Alfie Byrne" in Leaders of the City: Dublin’s First Citizen, 1500–1950, ed. by Ruth McManus & Lisa-Marie Griffith, (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2013).

I think he has in mind to do a biography at some stage. He made the point that while there are bits written about Alfie, there is no full biography and there is still a lot of work to do before this can be produced. For someone as well known as Alfie this may appear surprising, but so far nobody has taken up the challenge.

In addition to his terms as Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alfie had been an MP (1915-18), TD (1922-28, 1932-56) and Senator (1928-32). His Wikipedia entry gives a good initial broad sweep of his public life. Oddly, it only records three children, though we learned today from his son that there were eight in the family.

Alfie "welcomes" papal legate to 1932 Eucharistic Congress

I have commented myself on Alfie's involvement with the 1932 Eucharistic Congress and in particular his visit to the Pope the following year when he pledged the loyalty of all of the citizens of Dublin to his Holiness. I know the Pope is supposed to claim jurisdiction over all baptised persons, and I'm sure this upsets the Protestants among us, but pledging the loyalty of Dublin's Jewish Community to His Holiness went a bit far in my opinion.

Alfie also appeared in numerous cartoons and, among others, David showed this one by Gordon Brewster relating to the 1933 general election where Alfie appears as the independent coconut.

My own interest in Alfie comes from my grand uncle Patrick J Medlar who served with him on the Corporation. They were also both involved in the Royal Liver Assurance Company, where I'm told Alfie was a trustee, and I know Patrick was an agent. Patrick's brother Larry here tells a story about himself and Alfie at a Royal Liver meeting in England.

Postcard from Alfie to Patrick Medlar
after Alfie lost the mayoralty to Kathleen Clarke.
Both Alfie and Medlar are in the picture, either side of Dev

Another connection with Alfie for me was my grand uncle John Burgess who campaigned for him and I have a suspicion that Alfie could have been involved in getting John the job in the Corporation some years after he returned wounded from WWI.

Letter from Alfie's son Alfred P to John Burgess,
also conveying Alfie's regards

Move over, Alfie!

Alfie Byrne and Big Jim Larkin stood against one another for a Dáil seat over 7 general elections between 1927 and 1944.

In 3 of those (1927, 1937 & 1943) they were both elected. In the other 4 (1932, 1933, 1938 & 1944) Alfie won and Jim lost.

Rivalry between them was intense and at one stage Alfie sold a pub to finance his campaign.

As you'll see from the above, Alfie had the last laugh.

But now Alfie is finally losing his seat to Jim. While Jim is being celebrated all over during this year commemorating the 1913 Lockout, Alfie's seat, at the corner of the Clontarf Road and Alfie Byrne Road, where it has been for the last 20 years, is to be removed by the City Council because of repeated vandalism.

You can hear Larry Medlar talking about Alfie and Big Jim here. The recording is from 1978 when Larry was 90 years of age and it was made by his son in law Dave.

The Royal

The fourth in a series of five lunch-time lectures on Alfie Byrne's Dublin: Dublin in the 1930s was given by Conor Doyle on Dublin's Theatre Royal in Dublin City Hall on 23 October 2012.

Conor is the son of Chick Doyle, the famous International badminton player in the 1950s and 1960s. He is a nephew of Noel and Ursula Doyle, who performed in the Royal, and godson of Jimmy O'Dea, to whom Ursula was married. So he was more than qualified to do this talk and he told it like a family story, a theatre family, that is.

And there wasn't a dry eye in the house when he was finished.

That was hardly surprising. There was something about the Royal that didn't apply to the other theatres in my time. It was the people's theatre. Dubliners felt a sense of belonging when it came to the Royal, and its passing was like a death in the family. It is the line in Pete St. John's song Dublin in the Rare Old Times that chokes me up every time.

The final version of the Theatre Royal was built in 1935. It was huge, with seating for nearly four thousand people. It attracted a host of international stars in its day. It was barely on the road when WWII broke out and that put an end to the international stars for the duration of the war. But this gave a huge opportunity to a host of Irish performers, who never looked back, even when the international stars started coming again after the war was over.

Conor had a raft of photos to show and stories to tell, and there were more contributions from the audience after the lecture proper. Some of these stories can be heard in the NearFM radio programmes referred to below. For others you will just have to wait and see if Mary Clarke, our city archivist, can persuade Conor to repeat his lecture in the future.

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A few personal notes.

This is Connie Connell, one of the Royalettes, who married my mother's cousin Paddy Medlar.

And this is Phyllis Conroy, also one of the Royalettes, who married Paddy's brother John.

I was always a great fan of Jack Cruise, one of the stars of the Theatre Royal. He also did seasons in Butlins in the 1950s, which is where he gave me this autographed copy of his stage character, John Joe Mahockey

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Conor, along with Aine Clancy and Susan Tomelty, has produced a four-part, four hour long, radio documentary on the Royal for Near 103.3FM, a Northside community radio station headquartered in Coolock.

Check out an earlier lecture in the Dubliners: One City, One Book series earlier this year.

And you might like to follow up on Alfie Byrne, or on an aspect of his participation in the 1932 Eucharistic Congress, or see the seat in his honour at the junction of Alfie Byrne Road and the Clontarf Road (on the Northside).

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