This building forms part of the Mother Redcaps complex, constructed as a shoe factory for James Winstanley c.1875 and remodelled for use as a large indoor market and public house complex in 1988. Archaeological excavations held on the site in 2006 revealed deposits ranging from Hiberno-Norse to post-medieval, indicating the long history of occupation at this location.
A friend of mine described Back Lane as just another ugly backstreet but it features buildings of interest such as Tailors’ Hall, after 300 years, the oldest surviving Guild Hall in Dublin.
The building It is protected under Section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1994 and is a designated Heritage site under the Heritage Act 1995.
Building began in the first decade of the eighteenth century. It is of considerable architectural and historical interest. It had a variety of different uses, including a meeting place for the Tailors’ Guild and other Guilds, it was used for entertainment, teaching, as an army barracks and a court house.
Tailors’ Hall is best known for the series of important meetings held there in 1792 organised by the Catholic committee. These came to be known as The Back Lane Parliament.
The owner describes this pub as a “Dublin Landmark Reimagined” … “Welcome to The Lucky Duck, an elegant neighbourhood pub and cocktail bar where we are making the old new again.”
The building has been vacant for at least twenty years and while I went to Kevin Street College, nearby, I cannot remember the name that it operated under but according to some of my fellow students it sold the cheapest pint in Dublin (I never knew if that was a recommendation or a warning).
I am not an expert when it comes to Dublin Pubs but to the best of my knowledge The Lucky Duck was originally to be called The Dutch Billy, after an architectural style of building that was once common in Dublin but when it was realised that the name might be considered to be a reference to William of Orange that idea was dropped.
Note: Dublin’s Dutch Billys [Gable fronted houses] were reputedly named after William of Orange, and their arrival in Dublin is generally attributed to an influx of French Huguenots after 1685 and to Dutch and Flemish Protestants fleeing persecution after 1690.
I have noticed in old photographs of the building and advertisements that it is spelled ‘Faussagh’ but elswhere it is ‘Fassaugh’ … are there two different spellings?
This pub was also known as Matt Whelans and I also believe that it may have been known as the Fassaugh House Pub when the gangland killing took place in April 2010.
A FADED GUINNESS SIGN OUTSIDE THE KINGS INN PUB ON BOLTON STREET
Guinness was founded in 1759 but didn’t publish its first ad until 1794.
Guinness stout is made from water, barley, roast malt extract, hops, and brewer’s yeast. A portion of the barley is roasted to give Guinness its dark colour and characteristic taste. It is pasteurised and filtered.
Until the late 1950s Guinness was still racked into wooden casks. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Guinness ceased brewing cask-conditioned beers and developed a keg brewing system with aluminium kegs replacing the wooden casks; these were nicknamed “iron lungs”. Until 2016 the production of Guinness, as with many beers, involved the use of isinglass made from fish. Isinglass was used as a fining agent for settling out suspended matter in the vat. The isinglass was retained in the floor of the vat but it was possible that minute quantities might be carried over into the beer. Diageo announced in February 2018 that the use of isinglass in draught Guinness was to be discontinued and an alternative clarification agent would be used instead. This has made draught Guinness acceptable to vegans and vegetarians.
THE BACK PAGE PUB ON PHIBSBOROUGH ROAD – THIS FELLA RONALDO IS A COD
A female friend of mine, from Vietnam. once asked me what was a cod and when I told her that it was a fish she became very upset but did not explain why. A few weeks I saw the graffiti on the wall of the Back Page pub on Phibsborough Road which was across the road from where my friend lived. Knowing that she was a fan of Ronaldo I then understood why she had been upset.
According to Eamon Dunphy: “Ronaldo is a disgrace to the game. His petulance, temperament, throwing himself on the ground. It was a disgrace to professional football. This fella Ronaldo is a cod.”
In case you don’t know – Éamon Dunphy (born 3 August 1945) is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella Maris. Since retiring from the sport, he has become recognisable to Irish television audiences as a football analyst during coverage of the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and international football on RTÉ.
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