Road near Botanic Gardens (Finglas Golf Club), Glasnevin, Co. Dublin
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Where: Dublin, Ireland
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When: Unknown
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From yesterdays funeral in "God Knows Where" to today's location close to Irelands best known cemetery! If ever there was a location that has "changed, changed utterly" then this surely is it! Finglas Golf Club is no more, the roads and byroads for miles around have been altered beyond recognition. So I perhaps the first to the OSI will tell us where this is?
Before we went to the OSI however, a few spotted this similar location hunt on the Glasnevin Heritage FB page. This suggested that the golf course stretched perhaps from Bellevue (off the Tolka Valley Road) to the area of Finglas now occupied by Fairways Estate (which most likely took its name from the course). The general consensus seems to be that we are looking south - with our back to Finglas and looking roughly towards the city. The clubhouse, cottage (left middleground) and sandpit (right middleground) - all now long long gone - were likely those captured in the 1907 OSI 25" map on the Finglas Road. We also learned of some interesting connections to Taoiseach John A Costello, and events of Easter week 1916....
Photographer: Unknown
Collection: Eason Photographic Collection
Date: c.1900-1939 (though possibly before c.1920 when the club apparently closed)
NLI Ref: EAS_1804
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
Source: Flickr Commons
Views: 24211
Before we went to the OSI however, a few spotted this similar location hunt on the Glasnevin Heritage FB page. This suggested that the golf course stretched perhaps from Bellevue (off the Tolka Valley Road) to the area of Finglas now occupied by Fairways Estate (which most likely took its name from the course). The general consensus seems to be that we are looking south - with our back to Finglas and looking roughly towards the city. The clubhouse, cottage (left middleground) and sandpit (right middleground) - all now long long gone - were likely those captured in the 1907 OSI 25" map on the Finglas Road. We also learned of some interesting connections to Taoiseach John A Costello, and events of Easter week 1916....
Photographer: Unknown
Collection: Eason Photographic Collection
Date: c.1900-1939 (though possibly before c.1920 when the club apparently closed)
NLI Ref: EAS_1804
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
Info:
Owner: National Library of Ireland on The CommonsSource: Flickr Commons
Views: 24211
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glassnegative
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finglasgolfclub
glasnevin
botanicgardens
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locationidentified
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guliolopez
There's a thread from 2014 on the Glasnevin Heritage FB page about a similar search for this site. They seemingly couldn't find it on the OSI. Although the thread has a few suggestions on location...
Carol Maddock
Earliest mention in the newspapers is Friday, 7 July 1911 - a snippet about their July Monthly Meda which was 18 holes against bogey apparently. In October 1912, the hon. sec., John B. Patterson had an unemployed man - ultimately fined 5 shillings and costs or 7 days in chokey - taken to court for trespassing on the links. (Evening Herald, 25 October 1912) They had women members too, according to the Irish Independent, 10 January 1914.
aidanhodson
The Glasnevin Heritage page on Facebook has some information, indicating that it closed in 1920 m.facebook.com/GlasnevinHeritage/photos/a.182651638552178...
guliolopez
The Glasnevin Heritage FB thread suggests that perhaps it was around here - close to the junction between the Finglas Road and Old Finglas Road. An area I happen to know fairly well. And this image rings no bells at all with me. The landform behind the clubhouse could indeed well be one of the "disused sandpits" labelled on the OSI map. And would be consistent with the "road near Botanic Gdns" description. Whereever it was, seemingly Taoiseach John A. Costello was a member. And, according to his biography, he had some difficulty getting home from there during Easter week 1916. The route he describes cycling (to Rathdown Rd via North Circular Rd) doesn't really help much.
Niall McAuley
That OSI sheet, DN018-03 was surveyed in 1907.
Niall McAuley
Golf's Missing Links page says that the Fairways estate is on the site.
Niall McAuley
From the shadows, we are looking South Westish?
Niall McAuley
The cottage at left must be on the 1907 map - I think we are here, looking SW. Utterly changed in Streetview
RETRO STU
There were stone quarries between where Premier Dairies used to be and Johnstown Park. This was for quarrying calp limestone and the quarries in the pic's background appear to be of gravel. Does this contradict the Fairways area of Glasnevin being a possible location?
Bernard Healy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gnmcauley Would that put the playing area part of the golfclub (fairways, etc...) across the road from the building in the picture?
Bernard Healy
Maybe this can help in tracking down where the Golf Course was: www.clonliffeharriers.com/ch-news-item-irwin-memorial-cha... In 1932 (after the Golf Club was closed???) it seems as though the course was used for cross-country running. "In 1932 Carmichael Irwin’s friends and family donated the Irwin Memorial Challenge Cup to Clonliffe. The cup is inscribed as the “Grand National” and since its inception was run over the jumps on the country over six miles. Over those early years the race was held at Finglas golf course (Clonliffe of course did not come to Santry until 1955), the first winner was G. Kerr, the most recent winner in 2005 was N. Guiden. The first winner of the cup when Clonliffe relocated to Santry was D. Appleby in 1956, other interesting names appearing on the cup are Noel Henry in 1958, Johnny O’Leary in 1959, Lar O’Byrne winner in 1961,64 and 66, George McIntyre 1967 and 68."
Niall McAuley
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bernardhealy Maybe the golf course was on both sides of the road? Common enough, Golfers Crossing...
Niall McAuley
A commenter on the Facebook page linked above suggests it was near Bellevue, which is just behind my guess.
sharon.corbet
There are a few mentions of Finglas Golf Links in the BMH accounts of the Easter Rising that may help a little: "We proceeded along the canal banks and crossed into Finglas Golf Links, passing a few cottages on the way. Dawn was coming as we swung right and found ourselves on the banks of the Tolka River at a narrow point running along the new portion of Glasnevin Cemetery." From Major Patrick Colgan "After passing through the woods we arrived at the Main Road and enquired at a cottage as to Comdt. Ashe's whereabouts. We were told that he and his men had left the Golf Links about 20 minutes previously and had gone round the Ben Eavin Road which would bring them into Glasnevin village. " From Jerry Golden.
Bernard Healy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gnmcauley Right! I was wondering if it straddled the road. Assuming you have the location right, Bellevue would be on the same side of the road as the building in the picture. The 'Fairways' housing estate - which is said by some to preserve a memory of the old golf course would be behind the photographer and on the _other_ side of the road. Given that one has to find over 100 acres of land for an 18-hole golf links, I can well imagine it straddling the road. There seems to be a bit more 'space' for a golf-course on the 'Fairways' side of the road, but perhaps I'm misreading the maps.
Niall McAuley
The course could have extended to the Beneavin road. A squarish course like Elm Park would be 0.8 km, say 1 km across. A skinny course like Grange Golf Club, 1.6 km long. It is 1 km from Beneavin Road to the back of Bellevue house (as was).
O Mac
The width and many wheel marks would suggest a busy main road. Shadows tell us we're looking at from south east to south west. I suggest position is here and the row of buildings in the distance are those marked just below this position on the OSI. There is no other such wide road, in the vicinity of the quarries, shown on the 25" map
Niall McAuley
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] snap!
O Mac
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gnmcauley Ahh.. I didn't see your comment. I don't think the tin can golf house could have been anywhere else... It's a wonder the trees weren't marked on the map.
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Brilliant - thanks all. That https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] and https://www.flickr.com/photos/gnmcauley seemed to independently identify the same spot gives me enough confidence to tag this as "location identified" :) Description and map also updated!