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S.S. Hare

plaque commemorating the sinking of the SS Hare in 1918

Located on the North Quays at the Sean O’Casey Bridge, this plaque commemorates the sinking of the S.S. Hare on 5th January 1918.

Locate this plaque on Google maps.

The S.S. Hare had been one of Larkin’s ‘food ships’, bringing food and other necessities from Britain for families of striking workers during the 1913 Lockout.

The ship was travelling from Manchester to Dublin when she was sunk by a German U-Boat with the loss of twelve lives.

The plaque was unveiled on 30th September 2017 by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Michael Mac Donncha.

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Hirschfeld Centre

Photograph of a plaque commemorating the Hirschfeld Centre in Temple Bar, Dublin.

Located in Temple Bar, this plaque is at the site of the former Hirschfeld Centre, Ireland’s first dedicated, full-time community centre and space for the LGBT community.

Locate this plaque on Google maps.

The Centre, funded by Senator David Norris, a gay rights activist, opened on 17 March 1979.

The plaque was unveiled by Senator Norris, and Lord Mayor Paul McAuliffe, at 10 Fownes Street, Temple Bar, on 20th June 1019.

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Hyland, Richard – Garda

On Monday 16th August, 2021, a Dublin City Council honouring Detective Garda Richard Hyland and Detective Sergeant Patrick McKeown was unveiled at 97A Rathgar Road, Dublin 6.

The plaque was unveiled by Ms Marie Hyland (daughter of Garda Hyland); Councillor Mary Freehill (representing the Lord Mayor), and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris,

Detective Sergeant Patrick McKeown, from Armagh, and Mayo-born Detective Garda Richard Hyland, were both shot during a raid at 97A Rathgar Road, on 16th August 1940.  

Shortly before 8 a.m. on 16th August, 1940 a group of five detectives, under the command of Detective Sergeant Patrick McKeown, carried out a search in Rathgar Road, Dublin, under the provisions of the Offences against the State Act, 1939.  After gaining entry to the building, the Gardaí were surprised by a burst of gunfire from behind a partition wall. 

Detective Garda Hyland managed to discharge one shot after being wounded which warned off his surviving colleagues from entering through the front of the shop. Detective Sergeant McKeown died from his wounds the following day. Another Garda, Detective Garda Brady, was seriously wounded. 

Richard Hyland was born on 26th October, 1903, in Manulla, Co. Mayo. He grew up in Maynooth, Co. Kildare, and later lived in Dublin. He joined An Garda Síochána on 9th September, 1933. Prior to joining An Garda Siochana he served as Quartermaster of ‘E’ Coy, 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade during the War of Independence. He served on the Republican side during the Civil War and was a member of the bodyguard of Éamon de Valera when he escaped from the old Hamman Hotel in Dublin during that period. Detective Garda Hyland was a married man with two children.

The decision to erect the plaque was made by the Dublin City Council Commemorations & Naming Committee. 

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Jacob’s Factory Garrison

On the afternoon of Friday, 29th April 2016, a Dublin City Council plaque commemorating the Jacob’s Factory Garrison that served in the 1916 Easter Rising was unveiled at the Dublin Institution of Technology, Bishop’s Street, Dublin 2.

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The plaque was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh, and was the third in a series of 1916 Rising garrison plaques unveiled by Dublin City Council in April 2016.

In attendance at the ceremony were relatives of members of the Jacob’s Factory Garrison, as well as a National Colour Party from the Irish Defence Forces and elected members of Dublin City Council.

On Easter Monday 1916, the factory of W. & R. Jacob’s was seized by around 100 members of the 2nd Battalion of the Irish Volunteers’ Dublin Brigade, led by Commandant Thomas MacDonagh. A few smaller outposts in the area were also established by the garrison, with the overall objective of observing and hindering British troops entering the city centre from nearby military barracks.

After learning of the unconditional surrender of Patrick Pearse and James Connolly the previous day, MacDonagh surrendered on Sunday, 30th April. He was executed shortly afterwards at Kilmainham Gaol along with the two other most senior officers from the Jacob’s Garrison, Major John MacBride and Michael O’Hanrahan.

Those wishing to learn more about the history of Jacob’s factory should consult Séamus Ó Maitiú’s book W. & R. Jacob. Celebrating 150 Years of Irish Biscuit Making (Dublin, 2001).

Submitted by historian in residence James Curry.

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Keogh, Gerald – Irish Volunteer

On Monday, 25th April 2016, a plaque commemorating the death one hundred years earlier of Irish Volunteer Gerald Keogh, was unveiled at 117-119 Grafton Street (above Butlers Chocolate Café), with Councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha speaking at the ceremony on behalf of Dublin City Council.

On the second day of the Easter Rising, Keogh – a former Fianna member who lived in Ranelagh – was killed near the location of the plaque while returning to the GPO on bicycle from Larkfield House, where he had been sent on a despatch by Patrick Pearse. The bullets were fired by a soldier positioned at Trinity College Dublin, possibly the Australian-born Mick McHugh.

Keogh was initially buried on the grounds of Trinity College before getting interred in Glasnevin Cemetery. Aged 22 years old at the time of his death, the shop assistant was the youngest of four brothers to take part in the Rising.

The plaque unveiling ceremony was attended by Keogh’s grandnephew Raymond M. Keogh, and Patrick McHugh, the great-great-nephew of the soldier who may have fired the shots which killed the young Irish Volunteer on 25th April 1916.

Those wishing to learn more about the story of Gerald Keogh should consult Raymond M. Keogh’s book Shelter and Shadows. An Awakening to Our Common Identity (2016).

Submitted by historian in residence James Curry.

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Keogh, Margaret – Cumann na mBan

This plaque commemorates Margaret Keogh, one of two Cumann na mBan members to die in the fight for Irish freedom.

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The nineteen year-old printer’s assistant was shot at her home in Stella Gardens, Ringsend, Dublin, on Saturday 10th July 1921, during a series of raids by Crown forces. She died of her wounds two days later and was buried with military honours in Glasnevin.

The plaque was unveiled by Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland on 11th July, 2021, having been proposed by a group of local residents.

As well as being an active member of Cumann na mBan, Margaret Keogh was a member of the Irish Clerical Workers Union, and was the captain of the Croke Ladies Hurling Club. She had been due to play a match in Howth the day after she was shot. 

Speaking at the unveiling of the plaque on Fitzwilliam Quay, Ringsend, Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland said:  

‘Margaret Keogh was a young women who played an active part in the political, trade union, and sporting Dublin and her community. Only one of the many women who played a significant role in the struggle for Irish freedom, Margaret was one of the very few who paid the ultimate price. I congratulate the local community for proposing this plaque, and I’m honoured and delighted to unveil this Dublin City Council plaque on the street where Margaret Keogh lived.’ 

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Markievicz, Countess

commemorative plaque honouring Countess Markievicz.

This plaque commemorates republican and labour activist Constance Countess Markievicz at Surrey House, Leinster Road, Rathmines, where she and her family lived from 1911. The house became a centre for republican and labour activity and was looted by British forces in the aftermath of the Rising.

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Read Countess Markievicz’s biography in the Dictionary of Irish Biography.

The plaque was unveiled on 15th July 2019.

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Marrowbone Lane Garrison

On the afternoon of Sunday, 24th April 2016, two Dublin City Council plaques commemorating garrisons in the 1916 Easter Rising were unveiled in the city by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh.

The first of these plaques commemorates the Marrowbone Lane Garrison and was unveiled at the Eir Building, Marrowbone Lane, Dublin 8.

Locate this plaque on Google maps.

This ceremony was attended by relatives of members of the Irish Volunteer’s 4th Battalion, who occupied the South Dublin Union and surrounding buildings throughout the Rising. Also in attendance was a National Colour Party from the Irish Defence Forces.

Some of the fiercest close quarter fighting of the Rising took place at the South Dublin Union, which at the time was a sprawling complex of hospitals and workhouses. Led by Eamonn Ceannt, who would later be executed at Kilmainham Gaol, and his second-in-command Cathal Brugha, the Volunteers sought to hinder the movements of British soldiers from nearby military barracks and Kingsbridge (Heuston) Station. On Easter Monday and Thursday intense fighting took place in the vicinity which saw seven rebels, at least four civilians and more than twenty British forces killed.

Those wishing to learn more about the South Dublin Union and life of the commandant of the 4th Battalion of the Irish Volunteers should consult Mary Gallagher’s biography 16 Lives: Eamonn Ceannt (2014).

Submitted by Historian in Residence James Curry.

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Father Mathew Park

Photograph of the plaque for Father Mathew Park

Located off Philipsburgh Avenue, this plaque commemorates the location of the training grounds used by the Irish Citizen Army and the Volunteers in the period leading up to the Rising.

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It is one of several plaques erected during the 1916 Centenary year to mark the garrison sites around the city, and to honour those who fought and died during the Rising.

The plaque was unveiled on 14th December, 2016.