Famous Dubs

[Bo]

Abraham Stoker (born 8th of November 1847- died 20th of April 1912) was an Irish writer, better known to the world by his pen name, ‘Bram Stoker’. Stoker, wrote thirteen novels, three short story collections, twelve uncollected stories and four works of non-fiction. However, the work he is, by far, most famous for is his novel Dracula.

Please read on for plenty of facts about Bram Stoker, his life, and his work. Life


Early life

Named after his father, Abraham Stoker, ‘Bram’ Stoker was born on the 8th of November 1847 in a place called Marino Crescent, Clontarf. This was situated in on the north side of Dublin. His father and mother (Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornely), had seven children, of which Stoker was the third.

The facts about Bram Stoker and his childhood are fairly easy to find, but there are a few mysteries. An example of this would be the long-term illness Stoker suffered from, as a child. What illness it was, is unknown to this day, but it was severe enough to leave him bedridden from birth, to the age of seven. During this time, his mother would ‘entertain’ him with horrifying stories. These stories were drawn from her experiences with the cholera epidemic she grew up during, in the north-west of Ireland. Many of these stories involved the living being mistaken for the dead; possibly meaning these stories helped inspire Dracula.

Despite the length of the illness, once Stoker recovered, there was no lasting impact on his health. He even went on to excel as an athlete during his time at Trinity College, in Dublin. Stoker also distinguished himself by holding two positions. These were, ‘auditor of the College Historical Society’ and ‘President of the University Historical Society. He remains the only student, in Trinity College history, to hold both positions.

Career

Stoker became interested in the theatre during his time as a student, due to his friend, Dr. Maunsell. After he began working for the Irish civil service, he became a theatre critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. After writing a favourable review of Henry Irving’s production of Hamlet at the Theatre Royal in Dublin. The two became friends, and Stoker ended up becoming the business manager of Irving’s Lyceum Theatre in London. This was a position he would hold for twenty-seven years. This resulted in him moving to London, in 1878, with his wife, Florence Balcombe. In 1879, the couple’s only child, a boy, was born. He was christened, Irving, Noel, Thornley, Stoker.

Stoker’s association with Irving would also open the door into London high society for him. This resulted in Stoker rubbing shoulders with other notable literary names, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Death

After suffering a series of strokes, Stoker died on the 20th of April 1912 at number 26, St. George’s Way, London. As with the illness he suffered in his youth, it’s not entirely clear what he died of. His death certificate lists the cause of death as ‘Locomotor ataxia’, which is believed to refer to syphilis. However, some biographers attribute his death to overwork. Writing


Obviously, what Stoker is most famous for, is being a writer. Stoker wrote a large body of work over the course of his life, including novels, short stories and non-fiction. Below, you’ll find a wide selection of facts about Bram Stoker, and his collection of writing.

Novels

Dracula

Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ is one of the most noteworthy pieces of fiction ever written. It would end up completely defining how the subject of vampires was viewed by popular culture. Published in 1897, Stoker had spent the previous eight years researching European folklore and vampires. In 1890, Stoker visited the English costal town of Whitby, which is believed to have partly inspired the story.

Dracula is, what is known as, an ‘Epistolary Novel’; which is a story told through letters and other documents. In the case of Dracula, the story is told through diary entries, letters, telegrams, and fictional newspaper clippings.

The impact of Dracula on popular culture cannot be understated. It has been the inspiration for a huge number of novels, stories, plays and films. The first was ‘Nosferatu’, directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, while Stoker’s widow Florence was still alive. She sued for the adaption being made without permission, and not paying royalties. She won the case, but several copies of the film survived the order to destroy them. Eventually, ‘Nosferatu’ would eventually be considered a cult classic.

The most famous film adaption of Dracula would be the one starring Bela Lugosi, made in 1931.

Novel list

• 1875- Primrose Path: A moralistic tale about the evils of drinking, told over ten chapters.
• 1890- The Snake’s Pass: An eighteen chapter romantic adventure story. It tells the tale of an Englishman who falls in love while on holiday in west Ireland.
• 1895- The Watter’s Mou’: Another romantic adventure, with a protagonist in the coast guard. He finds himself duty-bound to stop his girlfriend’s father from smuggling on the eastern coast of Scotland.
• 1895- The Shoulder of Shasta: A romance story about a woman from San Francisco who falls in love with a mountaineer she meets in Northern California.
• 1897- Dracula
• 1898- Miss Betty: A historical romance set in Georgian era England.
• 1902- The Mystery of the Sea: An adventure romance with supernatural elements.
• 1903- The Jewel of Seven Stars: A horror story about an attempt to resurrect an Egyptian queen.
• 1905- The Man: A romance story set in England and Scotland.
• 1908- Lady Athlyne: A romance story set in America and Europe.
• 1909- The Lady of the Shroud: An adventure story about a young man who inherits a large amount of money.
• 1911- The Lair of the White Worm: A horror story about a giant white worm which can transform itself into a woman.

Short Stories

Collections

• 1881- Under the Sunset
• 1908- Snowbound
• 1914- Dracula’s Guest (Published posthumously)

Individual Stories

• 1872- The Crystal Cup
• 1875- Buried Treasures
• 1885- Our New House
• 1893- Old Hoggen: A Mystery
• 1894- The Man from Shorrox
• 1898- Bengal Roses
• 1899- A Young Widow
• 1900- Lucky Escapes of Sir Henry Irving
• 1908- To the Rescue
• 1908- The 'Eroes of the Thames
• 1909- The Way of Peace
• 1914- Greater Love (Published Posthumously)

Non-fiction

• 1879- The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland
• 1886- A Glimpse of America
• 1906- Personal Reminiscences of Sir Henry Irving
• 1910- Famous Imposters

Interesting facts about Bram Stoker

• Stoker and Oscar Wilde were students at Trinity College, Dublin, at the same time. But, when Wilde’s childhood sweetheart, Florence Balcombe, chose to marry Stoker, Wilde moved to England.
• Upon his death, Stoker was cremated. His ashes would later be joined with the ashes of his son, after his death. They are kept at Golders Green Crematorium.

[Bo]

Feel free to put your own post on this thread.

[Rashers]

Feel free to put your own post on this thread.

Bram Stoker's house is in The Crescent Clontarf. You can visit but you should let the current residents that you intend to visit.

[Bo]

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON

Arthur Wellesley was born in Dublin in 1769, the third son of the 1st Lord Mornington and Anne Hill, daughter of the Viscount Dungannon. His childhood was spend at Dungan Castle, Ireland, the family seat.

Family life changed dramatically when his father died. Arthur was 12 and just about to go to Eton. His father Garret Wesley (the family name was later changed to Wellesley) left his mother Anne and brothers with large debts and they decided to move to London, and later Brussels.

Arthur was an unpromising child and his mother thought that he was only fit for the army so he was sent to military academy in Angers, France. His early commissions were due in part to the influence of his brother Richard Wellesley, who has forging his own career in public life and did a great deal to help his younger brother.

India was where Wellington made his name. He was promoted to Major General in 1803 and achieved his first major victory at the Battle of Assaye. As he prepared to sail home his thoughts turned to Catherine (Kitty) Pakenham, the daughter of Lord Longford. They had met in Dublin society and had fallen in love but his proposal has been rejected by the Longford family.

Now returning from India with money, rank and growing fame, Arthur Wellesley renewed the proposal which was this time accepted. In the intervening years Kitty had been ill and had lost those youthful looks that had so attracted the young Wellesley.

They married in 1806 but the union was a not a success and long periods apart, especially during the Peninsular Wars (1807-1813), made the relationship even more difficult. They had two sons, whom Wellington always felt had been spoilt by their mother.

The period spent in Spain and Portugal fighting the French under the general command of Joseph Bonaparte was decisive for Wellington. Proving his abilities against Napoleon’s most capable generals led to a series of very hard fought battles where Wellington honed his strategic skills.

The war concluded at Vitoria in June 1813 and the French were forced to retreat back across the Pyrenees with the British Army following them as far as Toulouse.

Wellington’s finest moment came at the Battle of Waterloo, where he won the day at the head of a European army against Napoleon Bonaparte.

After Waterloo he retired from active service, famously saying: “I hope to God that I have fought my last battle. It is a bad thing to be always fighting.”

Wearied by years of campaigning Wellington settled into civilian life, he bought Apsley House in 1817 from his brother Richard and set his sights on making a name for himself in politics.

By 1828 he was Prime Minister, but he proved to be unpopular and Apsley House was attacked twice by the mob. Wellington had to install iron bars on the ground floor windows of Apsley House to stop the bricks breaking his windows. This is what led to him being called the ‘Iron Duke’.

Although Wellington retired from public life in 1846, he continued to serve as Commander In Chief of the armed forces. He was unable to step away completely from the limelight after serving his country for more than 60 years.

He died at Walmer Castle in September 1852 and his funeral sparked an outpouring of national grief.

[Rashers]

The graveyard where it's said he went for inspiration is at the corner if Ballybough Rd and Clonliffe Rd.
Local legend says that piece of ground holds the remains of unbaptised babies, suicides and executed.

[Vico2]

George Nernard Shaw



George Bernard Shaw was the third and youngest child (and only son) of George Carr Shaw and Lucinda Elizabeth Gurly Shaw. Technically, he belonged to the Protestant “ascendancy”—the landed Irish gentry. George Bernard grew up in an atmosphere of genteel poverty, which to him was more humiliating than being merely poor. At first Shaw was tutored by a clerical uncle, and he basically rejected the schools he then attended; by age 16 he was working in a land agent’s office.

He developed a wide knowledge of music, art, and literature as a result of his mother’s influence and his visits to the National Gallery of Ireland. In 1872. his mother left his father and took their two daughters to London to follow a musical career. In 1876 Shaw resolved to become a writer, and he joined his mother and elder sister (the younger one having died) in London. Shaw in his 20s suffered continuous frustration and poverty. He depended upon his mother’s pound a week from her husband and her earnings as a music teacher. He spent his afternoons in the British Museum reading room, writing novels and reading what he had missed at school, and his evenings in search of additional self-education in the lectures and debates that characterized contemporary middle-class London intellectual activities. At first he failed as a writer, his novels were heavily criticised.


When Shaw began writing for the English stage, everything changed.. He broke away from the traditional type of plots and was always determined to avoid tragedy. One dramatic success followed another. However, World War I was a watershed for Shaw. At first he ceased writing plays, publishing instead a controversial pamphlet, “Common Sense About the War,” which called Great Britain and its allies equally culpable with the Germans and argued for negotiation and peace. His antiwar speeches made him notorious and the target of much criticism. In Heartbreak House (performed 1920), Shaw exposed, in a country-house setting on the eve of war, the spiritual bankruptcy of the generation responsible for the war’s bloodshed. Attempting to keep from falling into “the bottomless pit of an utterly discouraging pessimism,” Shaw wrote five linked plays under the collective title Back to Methuselah (1922). They expound his philosophy of creative evolution in an extended dramatic parable that progresses through time from the Garden of Eden to 31,920 CE.

The canonization of Joan of Arc in 1920 reawakened within Shaw ideas for a chronicle play about her. In the resulting masterpiece, Saint Joan (performed 1923), the Maid is treated not only as a Roman Catholic saint and martyr but as a combination of practical mystic, heretical saint, and inspired genius. Joan, as the superior being is “crushed between those mighty forces, the Church and the Law,” ; her death embodies the paradox that humankind fears—and often kills—its saints and heroes and will go on doing so until the very higher moral qualities it fears become the general condition of man through a process of evolutionary change. Acclaim for Saint Joan led to the awarding of the 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature to Shaw (he refused the award).

For the next five years, he wrote nothing for the theatre but worked on his collected edition of 1930–38 and the encyclopaedic political tract “The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Socialism and Capitalism” (1928). Then he produced The Apple Cart (performed 1929), a futuristic high comedy that emphasizes Shaw’s inner conflicts between his lifetime of radical politics and his essentially conservative mistrust of the common man’s ability to govern himself. Shaw’s later, minor plays include Too True to Be Good (performed 1932), On the Rocks (performed 1933), The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles (performed 1935), Geneva (performed 1938), and In Good King Charles’s Golden Days (1939). After a wartime hiatus, Shaw, then in his 90s, produced several more plays, including Farfetched Fables (performed 1950), Shakes Versus Shav (performed 1949), and Why She Would Not (1956), which is a fantasy with only flashes of the earlier Shaw.
Impudent, irreverent, and always a showman, Shaw used his buoyant wit to keep himself in the public eye to the end of his 94 years; his wiry figure, bristling beard, and dandyish cane were as well known throughout the world as his plays. When his wife, Charlotte, died of a lingering illness in 1943, in the midst of World War II, Shaw, frail and feeling the effects of wartime privations, made permanent his retreat from his London apartment to his country home at Ayot St. Lawrence, a Hertfordshire village in which he had lived since 1906. He died there in 1950.

George Bernard Shaw was considered not merely the best comic dramatist of his time, but also one of the most significant playwrights in the English language since the 17th century. His death was a great loss to the world of drama

[Napper Tandy]

Richard Montgomery, possibly the Dub with the most places in the USA named after him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Montgomery?wprov=sfla1

[Bo]

Richard Montgomery, possibly the Dub with the most places in the USA named after him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richar...ry?wprov=sfla1

Very interesting character, I heard the name before but never too much heed.

[Napper Tandy]

William Rowan Hamilton, mathematician

https://www.ria.ie/hamilton-did-it/who-hamilton

[Napper Tandy]

Arthur Shields, actor and patriot

https://www.storiesfrom1916.ie/1916-easter-rising/arthur-shields

[DP Kilfo]

Graham Norton was born in Clondalkin and spent then first 10 years of his life there, Read that on Dublin live,

[Vico2]

William Rowan Hamilton, mathematician

https://www.ria.ie/hamilton-did-it/who-hamilton

Very interesting Napper. Hamilton was an icon of my dad's, he talked about him regularly. When I was fifteen my brothers and myself cycled all the way to the bridge to see the equation carved on the stone. It took ages, it is a long way away from Dolphins Barn. I did not know he was buried in Mt Jerome, I used to visit a family grave there regularly, and if I had known, I could have visited his too.

[ob1kenobi.23]

To my shame I was not aware of Hamilton yet am very familiar with Robert Boyle, a Waterford man.

[Vico2]

You are probably familiar with George Boule too, he was from Cork

[ob1kenobi.23]

You are probably familiar with George Boule too, he was from Cork

I commissioned the HVAC, ventilation, heating & control systems in the building named after him in UCC.
I always thought he was English & moved to Cork.