INCHICOREH I S T O R Y

Inchicore is located 3.5 km from Dublin city centre. Its location at the edge of the city means that its devel-opment has and will continue to be critical as the city inevitably

expands outwards.

There is a particular history with the evolu-tion of the place which can be traced in paral-lel with the evolution of the city

INCHICORE

Change is inevitable, it is how we

plan for it that makes a difference...

We want to explore the current condition of the area of Inchicore as a piece in the fabric of the wider city

A particular history lies hidden iunder the current urban profile

In 1659 Inchicore was still a rural townland with mostly arable land and a sparce population but its location was close to the progressive industrial pockets of Chape-lizod, Islandbridge and Kil-mainham and the main road to the west of Ireland.

In 1660, the monarchy was re-

stored in England when King Charles II took the throne. He appointed James Butler, Duke of Ormand, as his Viceroy in Ireland. Dublin became more prosperous in these years and the laws against the Catholics were relaxed. It was around this time that the Royal Hospi-tal in Kilmainham was estab-lished.

B E G I N N I N G S

The infrastructure of the canal opened up the area to new industries includ-ing the Harcourt Flour Mills, the Mount Shannon Flour Mills and the Golden-bridge Paper Mills (which later became Brassington’s Saw Mills). The paper mill was on the north side of the canal near were the canal crossed the River Camac and was powered by the wa-ters of the little river. They developed a special relationship with the Canal Company, who issued notes to pay their employees. The Goldenbridge Pa-per Mill provided the paper for making

these notes.

100 years later Brassington took over the premisies as a saw mill.Following the establishment of the In-chicore Railway Works in 1846, coal was brought by barge from the Port of Dublin to a jetty on the Fourth Lock and transported to the Works on a sin-gle track railway line. The railway works grew in size and employed over 2000 people at its peak. It established the terraced houses for its workers and turned Inchicore into an Industiral town .

I N D U S T R Y

The Grand Canal was con-structed between 1756-1804 and opened in 1779. It was the first major change in the landscape of the area and the greatest civil engineer-ing achievement of the cen-tury. It gradually rises two hundred feet (70m) above James’s Street Harbour to the highest point in County Kildare. Numerous locks and bridges were built along the route, the third of these was at the top of the Tyrconnell Road to take the Naas Road

across the canal. It became known as the Black Horse Bridge, named after the inn adjacent to it, or The Third Lock Bridge.

At this point on the canal the Camac River also had to be crossed. A stone aqueduct was built to carry the canal over the river.Today the Red Luas line runs parallel to the canal with a stop also named after the inn.

THE GRAND C A N A L

I N C H I C O R ER A I L W O R K S

The first rail line in Ireland was from Dub-lin to Dun Laoghaire and was opened in 1834. At this time rail lines were private companies at competed with each other. The Great Southern and Western Railway established the Inchicore works in 1846 to service and build its locomotives.

Sancton Woods, the architect how de-signed Heuston station designed the first building in the works which was the run-ning shed. In 1846 GSWR established the first part of its line which ran to Carlow, and within a year the employees went from 39 to 251.

In 1851 Inchicore south had a population of 656 with 96 houses almost all built for the works. In 1896 there were 1600 men employed to maintain and operate 331 en-gines, 234 tenders, 908 carriages and 7242 wagons. At its peak the works employed over 2000 men and housed about a quar-ter of the families in 147 houses. The works contributed to the growth and development of Inchicore and brought

The Works was self sufficent. Every thing tht was needed could be designed and constructed there, from the wheel barrow to the locomotive.Steam, gas, and oil engines drove the plant machinery and a supply of good water

came from the canal nearby.

In 1952 60 diesel rail cars were introduced. CIE was the first national railway in Europe to abandon steam traction. By the fifties diesel locomotives were being made in the works.

The work now primarly consists of the manufacture and upkeep of railway stock.The railway produced more than just trains during its time of production. During the Wars it produced armoured plated rail cars to patrol the rail lines and also produced grenades and other weapons.

The railway estate and terraces were con-sidered private land, and up untill recently there was a gate at the entrance of the ter-races. Dublin Coproration would not come in and collect waste and it had to be col-lected by the residents and dropped at a collection point.

Tools, uniforms, and even the signal signs for the railway were produced here in the Inchicore works. Rail tracks were used as the support beams in some of the railway terraces and old sleepers from the railway were also used in the construction of gar-den walls and boudaries

The works had its own voluntary fire bri-gade and also its own medical wing.

Construction on the barracks began in 1810. Completed and occupied by the British Army in 1814. Named after the 4th Duke of Richmond, Charles Lennox.

The 1916 Easter Rising was one of the most important events in the his-tory of Richmond Barracks. All those arrested were taken here, including the leaders who were held in the gymnasium prior to the court mar-tial. As the executions relentlessly continued and withgrowing unease in the British Parliament, Prime Min-ister Asquith visited the Barracks on the 12th May 1916.

After the Irish Free State was estab-

lished in 1922, the Irish Army oc-cupied the barracks and renamed it Keogh Barracks after Comdt Tom Keogh who was killed by a mine in the War of Independance. The Irish Army closed the barracks in 1925.

The building came into the posses-sion of the Dublin Corporation in 1924 and was used to house Dublin families who were on the housing list, they named it Keogh Square. The emphasis was more on economics than suitability and soon degenerated into a slum. It was de-molished in 1969 and was replaced with St. Michael’s estate which has since been demolished.

R I C H M O N D B A R R A C K S

Córas Iompair Éireann was formed as a private company by the Trans-port Act 1944 and incorporated the Great Southern Railways Company and Dublin United Transport Com-pany.

It was a monopoly on transport as it started to broaden its business inter-ests into road transport. The Trans-port Act 1950 amalgamated CIÉ and the Grand Canal Company and for-

mally nationalised CIÉ, changing its structure from a private limited com-pany to a board appointed by the Minister for Transport.

Old photographs of the works show the productivity and activity that ex-isted during this time. The works em-ployed over 2000 people at its peak. All kinds of skilled trades people worked together to produce locomo-tives, carriages, and trams.

C O R A SI O M P A I R É I R E A N N

We are part of an architectural thesis group in UCD, entitled ‘Expanded Practice’. We are currently un-dertaking a reading of the landscape of Inchicore, it’s social history, architectural legacy and close rela-tionship to important landscape features such as the Cammock River and the Grand Canal.

Expanded Practice is a methodology of analysis, re-search and design that supplements the traditional design process, exploring modes of reading a place and designing architecture for it, which is associated with a more fluid set of processes and social condi-tions.

The daily methodology of our work involves consulta-tion with resources in both Inchicore and UCD. It is a collaboration, a sharing of information in order to plug this into the design process. It is of the utmost importance to the process that while practicing in an expanded field, the approach to analysis and repre-sentation is equally expanded, or expanding.

We endeavour to use as many varied methods of representation and analysis as possible in order to achieve a more expanded analysis of Inchicore. This methodology is developing as it is being applied, it is a learning and absorbing process that requires test-ing, experimentation and tweaking.

It is our hope that this analysis will contribute to the on-going discussion of how space and resource is used, in Inchicore and in a wider field.

This is a collection of thoughts, drawings, ideas , sug-gestions, interventions and history.

Visit us for a chat and some tea! Give us your thoughts or stories, learn a bit more about Inchicore’s history and development, see some old and current photos of the railway works or propose your own changes in the town.

We will be in:Common Ground, 15 Tyrconnell Road.Monday - Wednesday 10am-5:30pm (24th March - 2nd April)

Inchicore Sport and Social Club, Inchicore Square2-5pm, 5th April

See exhibition boards in Inchicore Public LibraryLibrary opening times, 7th - 17th April

We are a group of five UCD architecture students called Expanded Practice. We are doing a collaborative project with the people of Inchicore. Our goal is to generate a public discussion about how space is used in the area and what could potentially happen there to tap into its potential.

expandedpractice@gmail.com

W H OA R E W E ?

JOIN IN THEDISCUSSION!

C O N T A C T

Tear out this page, draw or write down your ideas or comments and drop them off at :Expanded PracticeCommon Ground, 15 Tyrconnell Road

Pop into our Ideas Exhibition for a chat and some tea and biscuits!

Saturday April 5th 2-5pmInchicore Sports and Social Club(Former CIE Hall)Inchicore Square

SUBMITY O U RIDEAS !