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STANDING TALL IN the centre of Dublin city are the houses of Henrietta St, once grand Georgian buildings which tell a tale of a changing Ireland.
Earlier this week, Phyliss Radburn (84) stood in the front room of 14 Henrietta St, her dusky scarf highlighting her lightly pinked cheeks, bright from the cold. The room was bare, the walls pockmarked and scarred, the large fire grate empty.
Radburn, however, radiated warmth and excitement. It was here, in this bare room with its clattering echo, where she lived for more than a decade as a child, and her return – arranged by family members with the help of Dublin City Council – had come as a surprise.
She had lived at 14 Henrietta St from the age of two to 13, when the family moved to Whitehall.
In the days approaching her visit back to the room she had once shared with her parents and sister, she was unable to sleep due to the anticipation.
Radburn, who now lives in the UK, recalled the layout of her former home for TheJournal.ie:
(Video TheJournal.ie/YouTube)
Exploring the rest of the house, which is under the ownership of Dublin City Council, were members of Radburn’s family, including her sister, Rose Bergin (along with husband Francis, daughter Jane and her husband Fergal Donnelly) who was born after the family moved from Henrietta St. Radburn was 13 when they moved to Whitehall.
Also there were Radburn’s daughters Elaine Radburn and June Warfield, her grandchildren Laragh Lever and Ciaran Warfield, and great-grandchildren Riain and Odhran.
“The street was my playground”
Henrietta St. Pic: Wikimedia Commons
Henrietta St once was home to hundreds of people, all occupying the former houses of well-off families – mainly connected to the law profession, given Kings Inns’ location at the top of the street – who abandoned their large dwellings when they began to move to the suburbs at the turn of the 19th century.
By the 1880s, 14 Henrietta St had become a tenement.
As the owners of the homes left, and the economy experienced a downturn, the Georgian buildings were turned into tenements, with large families occupying single rooms. Slum landlords moved in and the palatial mansions became home to the poor.
Radburn lived with her family at 14 Henrietta St in the 1930s, while her sister lived on the other side of the road in the 1960s.
There is not a lot of amount of information available about the families that lived in Henrietta St, save some details in census records. DCC is trying to build a picture of life there throughout the years, and families like Radburn’s are helping to fill in the gaps. With Radburn’s daughter and son-in-law avid amateur historians, there is already lots of information to pass on to the council.
Life in the tenements was basic, but it was not easy. Disease was rife due to overcrowding, and the conditions in some of the homes were deplorable. In the 1890s, the first initiatives began to tackle tenement problems and create new homes for people, and the 1913 lockout only served to highlight the chronic issues that tenement life meant for people in poverty.
By 1960s Ireland, tenements were on their way out, with public housing schemes being created in order to replace them.
For children like Radburn, there was no other life to think about than the one they had, and she has fond memories of a childhood spent on Henrietta St.
“The street was my playground,” said Radburn. Here, she reminisced about some of the games that she and her friends played:
(Video TheJournal.ie/YouTube)
Radburn was able to make this journey back to her old home thanks to Charles Duggan, Heritage Officer at Dublin City Council, which recently held the Dublin Tenement Experience in 14 Henrietta St.
To see his observations on the secrets within the homes, click here.
Such a beautiful street. A shame that the houses are falling apart, but yet, they’re stunning even in their decrepit state.
It’s a disgrace that the Henrietta St houses are being let fall apart and decay. Surely the city fathers and mothers should do something to stop the rot and keep this historic and very beautiful street alive!
Many of them have been restored in fact. But you know yourself the fuss which would be made if large sums were spent on restoring such houses instead of building new social housing or improving the roads etc. etc.
Yes it is an amazing street, like time stands still!
Great story, I’m an inner city kid and I know my granny would have loved to read this and recall stories of her youth …. They didn’t have much but all their stories are filled with laughter!
Why do you resent Dublin so much? Most of the Dublin people are children of country parents who were not lucky enough to inherit a family farm or business. They are your sisters and brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles. Those who were tenement dwellers streamed in from the countryside during the famine. We live in a small country with a very small population. Let us live together without jealousy, resentment and snide remarks. Up Dublin! Up the Countryside! Up the Diaspora !
Live, love and enjoy this fabulous little island of ours.
Check out Facebook “Henrietta Street, the Jewel in the Georgian Crown”. Amazing page on all things Henrietta street with many former tenants telling their stories and uploading old pictures.
Thanks Dolores! Great recommendation.
You’re welcome
It’s very shameful that we’ve allowed this street – one of the most significant – to become so derelict and dangerous. It needs a massive regeneration project to restore it to its former glory.
I’m from Limerick City, and there is a Georgian architectural heritage there similar to Dublin’s. Dublin and Limerick are the only two cities with large scale Georgian districts. In Limerick too the wealthier merchant classes who inhabited the houses moved to larger homes on the outskirts and over time the Georgian area fell into dereliction. That said, it’s not beyond renovation, and if the local authority and goverment so decided, we could have an absolute gem of a residential area at the heart of the city centre. Thankfully, there are some very positive moves being made in this regard.
Terry Fagan has written new book about the tenements. He also does walking tours of Dublin.
I lived in gardener st in the 50 and played the same games ,WE did not come from the country we were all born in Dublin, Exchange St Malborough, St .Gardener ST then moved to Finglas ,we were one of the first in a bran new house on ballygall parade ,and thought it was in the country marvellous.
i was born in gardiner st with my sis joan turner we moved to finglas with 4 other siblings but always went to town to visit relatives in sean mc dermot st and northumberland st the people of dublin city were the best
I was born in one in Bridge Street, its long gone but I remember it well. We lived on the first landing which was reached by a magnificent granite staircase and it is a pity that so many of these great buildings were lost but I guess the wrong people were managing the City then.
My da lived there In the 60′s before moving to Whitehall
Hats off to Na Piobairi Uilleann for bringing a few of the buildings on Henrietta Street up from the swamp.
Great cultural venue on the north side. Pipers will move them. Pipers dot IE
A lovely story Aoife but I am sure Mrs. Radburn would like to be addressed as Mrs. Radburn or Phyllis Radburn rather than just Radburn. That is not a nice way to address such a nice lady.
Hi – using surname only is ‘house style’ here. It’s not a reflection of the level of respect towards people, it’s simply the way all people are referred to and it’s not an uncommon thing for publications to do. Though I may use Mrs Radburn in my personal capacity, our style is to refer to the person by their surname.
Hope that clears things up,
Aoife
All the affluent people left there went to Rathmines and Rathgar and built similar houses.
Great stories , I remember the tenements.
Oh! Dublin May seem to get an unfair share of news/airtime – maybe cause it has the biggest share of the population???
Beautiful….
Wat a lovely story :)
My nanny was born here in 1920 her parents lived there in 1911 when they got married nanny is Catherine ogilby now carberry grandads family also lived here
Phyllis had 5 other relatives living in henrietta Street with her. It would be interesting to see if you guys are related in any way. Her maiden name was Foy.
Hi Jacqueline,
Phyllis’ maternal grandmother Mary Margaret ENNIS was a CARBERRY before marriage.
The 1911 Census has Mary living at No.14 along with her husband Patrick ENNIS and their year old daughter Jane (Phyllis’ mother). Mary’s siblings and her own mother Frances – all tades people – also lived there and Phyllis has very clear recollections of her grandmother, aunts and uncles living in the house while she was growing up.
The 1901 Census shows Mary’s mother Frances CARBERRY living in No.14 along with husband John and four sons (James 24, Francis 17, Joseph 6 and John 4) and three daughters (Frances 19, Mary 15, and Christina 12).
So a long line of CARBERRYS are linked to No.14 – which one was yours ? :)
Fascinating to hear this first-hand account. Chris Corlett, author of ‘Darkest Dublin’, is giving a talk on the subject at the Little Museum on Wednesday evening, for anybody interested in learning more.
What a fantastic piece on a lovely lady. Love to see more on this and subjects similar. Well done Aoife.
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