caps

McGlade - everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask and asked about
(Daily Herald - Thursday 02 January 1913)

Bernard McGlade. Leicester Chronicle - Saturday 05 November 1898:

At Dublin on Saturday Mr John Doyle, confectioner, recovered 20 guineas damages from Bernard McGlade, billposter, for libel and conspiracy to slander. Mr Doyle had ceased to employ a trade unionist, and as a consequence of this action the trade union employed Mr McGlade to distribute circulars through the streets exhorting the public to have nothing to do with Doyle's confectionery.

More detail in Cotton Factory Times - Friday 04 November 1898:

The plaintiff's case was that a trade union official Game to him and told him thnt as he had ceased to employ a man who refused to work unless employed by the week, and had taken on another man by the day, he must "beware of himself." The next day and on some following days a man dressed as a clown, who was in the defendant's employ, stood Opposite the plaintiff's house and handed to the people who passed a handbill with the following offensive contents : " Rats I Rats! Rats! at J. G. Doyle's, Capel-street. Scab labour at J. G. Doyle's. Outcasts of Confectioners' Trade Union at J. G. Doyle's. Down with scab labour. Exterminate the Rats ! Rats! Rats!"— The plaintiff gave the man into custody, but the magistrate said he would not punish him, as the real criminal was McGlade.

and

In the meantime though McGlade ceased to send out bills the prosecution of the plaintiff did not cease, boys being sent to the shop who shouted out to customers " Don't go in and take scab cakes and sweets,t;" and to plaintiff's girls when they went out, "rats."

1901 census Bernard McGlade of Middle Abbey Street, 44, profession mistranscribed as 'pill porter', married with 4 children, one of whom is also a 'bill porter' (although either his wife Fanny's age is wrong or they were from a previous marriage). In the 1911 census the children have flown the nest, his wife (now Margaret) is the regulation 10 years older but Bernard is only one year older.

John Spooner Thank you, John. We asked if we could find out anything about Mr McGlade, but never dreamed of a story involving a henchman "... dressed as a clown"!

Dublin Evening Telegraph - Monday 1 August 1904: "The Oireachtas, the annual festival of the Gaelic League, was opened today at the Rotunda, and will continue each day during the week." Or possibly 1910, when it opened on Monday 1st August. (Evening Irish Times - Tuesday 2 August 1910)

I got a book about bicycling in victorian Ireland for Christmas. I may be the fount of all knowledge on this photo in a week or two when I get time to read it.

derangedlemur We'll await developments then! :D

Interesting gearing ratio on the Tridem (or whatever it's called). If the first two guys don't pedal the third guy's going to have a hard time of it.

Usually known nowadays as a triplet. They were often used for pacing riding on solos. Three can go faster than 1 (3 times the power, but much less than 3 times the wind resistance). The rider being paced would stay as close behind the triplet as possible to maximise the aerodynamic advantage. They disappeared when motorcycles appeared on the scene. Nowadays 75cc 'Dernys' are used, although I've seen big 750cc brutes used on outdoor tracks. Triplet being used for pacing

I was given the chance to ride 1200 km on this triplet , but turned down the offer. The three of them made their own way to the start, and had never ridden the machine together before. It has a lot of extra ironmongery* to make the frame stiffer, but was still very 'bendy', according to Steve, who took 'my' place at the back. *The one in the picture has a double top-tube (crossbar).

If I remember rightly, it was still like that in the early '70s and would have been here: maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,712863,735325,7,9

I think that's the Albert Tower that the elephants are in front of.

From a similar picture in the Northside Pimple: "Dublin Zoo c.1950. Children stand very close, looking in awe at the large Indian elephant, Sara (1932 – 62), who was the last elephant used to give rides for children, and the smaller Ceylonese elephant Komali. The building on the right is the Elephant House or ‘Albert Tower’, which was built in 1845-6 to house a giraffe. On the death of the giraffe the elephants moved into the house. It was designed by George Wilkinson, who was also the architect for Harcourt Street Station"

Freeman's disagrees about the architect. The architect of the Albert Tower, Charles Sherrie, died "from the effects of an accident sustained by falling off a car whilst driving up from Holywood to Belfast ... He was also architect of several other important structures in this town, and at present had charge of the new Royal Theatre which is being erected in Belfast" (Freeman's April 11 1871). Admission fees for the Albert Tower in 1854-5 amounted to £1 13s 1d (AGM of the Royal Zoological Society reported in Freeman's May 2 1855). I couldn't help noticing that amongst other sources of income was "manure £14 13s 6d". I imagine elephants made a not insubstantial contribution

There seems to be some difference of opinion as to who the architect was. My quote above is from a "From the Archives" page so I've no idea when it was originally written, other than that it was sometime after 1950. It does have a few design elements also found on Harcourt street station.