irishtimes

The New Arrivals were: Coypu rats, each of which is as big as a full-grown cat. A very rare Malayan monitor and "Lincoln Murphy" a new baby kangeroo. There are pictures of all three too.

Sharon Corbet Well done Sharon, what a name for the Kangaroo!! Don't like the sound of Coypu Rats!

Sharon Corbet I would say that Mason had great fun showing that photo to friends and family with its well centered if confusing headline!

Some interesting background to Thomas Holmes Mason (1877-1958) -

"... Thomas Mason's son, Thomas Holmes, was born in 1877. The grandfather of today's company chairman, Thomas H was a remarkable man. He worked alongside his father in the company until the latter's death in 1913, at which point the company was called Thomas H Mason. Stan explains how the company, under his grandfather's direction, made a "dramatic move with the technology of the time". "In the late 1890s he introduced photography to the business in the form of picture postcards. We went on to become the biggest producer of picture postcards in Ireland, right up until the 1940s, when the price of silver, a major component in developing solutions, rocketed because of the war." He takes a book from a glass case - Thomas H Mason's book The Islands of Ireland, published 1936. "My grandfather was interested in archaeology, ornithology, historical sites on the islands off Ireland, interests which brought him all over the country with his full-plate camera. He built up a huge and very fine collection of pictures which, unfortunately, were destroyed by fire in 1963. There's a vast collection of his picture postcards in the Civic Museum, however." ... ... "

From - www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/saga-of-a... (2003)

From the Irish Press on Tuesday, 4 July 1933...

TURF PLAN'S VALUE TO ARCHAEOLOGISTS ROTARY LECTURE That the Government's turf scheme should result in the discovery of articles of archaeological value, was claimed by Mr. T. H. Mason, M.R.I.A., in the course of a lecture on "Archaeology in Ireland", at the weekly meeting of the Dublin Rotary Club, in the Metropole Restaurant, yesterday [Monday, 3 July 1933]. Those engaged in the work of drainage of the bogs and of cutting turf should at once report to the National Museum, Dublin, or to the local Gardaí Síochána any structure or objects, however small, of artificial nature, which they discovered in the course of their work... He believed that the number of bronze age finds during the next ten years would far exceed the discoveries of the past 30 or 40 years...

And given current news, it's not just bogs hiding bronze age finds.

The Duke of York(George Frederick Ernest Albert, grandson of Queen Victoria) was later to become George V on the death of Edward VII in 1910.Tourist authorities attempted to capitalise on the Royal Visit in an attempt to encourage tourism.

I served in Viet Nam with the present owner of the Adare Manor !!! No Name Dropping; Please !!!

I love old photos and this is a nice example.

The Manor House is a short distance East of the village: OS 25" link

Irish News, New Zealand Tablet Rōrahi XXV, Putanga 22, 1 Whiringa-ā-nuku 1897, Page 9: On Saturday, August 28th, their Royal Highnesses will proceed to Killarney House, the seat of the Earl and Countess of Kenmare, where they will remain for three days, and will make a short trip to Valencia. From Killarney their Royal Highnesses go to Adare Manor on a visit to the Earl and Countess of Dunraven. On leaving Adare their Royal Highnesses will travel to Killaloe, and go by special steamboat to Banagher, proceeding by rail to Baronscourt, the seat of the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn, where they will stay for three days, and a large garden party will be given at Baronscourt in their honour. So all going to plan, this was around September 1st 1897.

My grandfather was an inspector on the trams, but I have a feeling he started out as a conductor. A bit of a stretch, but it might even be him centre frame. Great photo.

Google Street View

In the foreground are white lines painted on the cobblestones, or they could be white stones set into the road. Is this a first for these old NLI photos?

blackpoolbeach Early pedestrian crossing as in our Cork photo with the running lady?

Couldn't find any mention of the name Retz in the census for 1901 or 1911, but have found the phone number for George Retz, Pork Butcher, in the 1913 phone directory.