McKeown, Patrick – Detective Sergeant

On Monday 16th August, 2021, a Dublin City Council honouring Detective Sergeant Patrick McKeown and Detective Garda Richard Hyland 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. 

Patrick McKeown was born on 9th April, 1901, and came from Clea, Keady, County Armagh. He joined An Garda Síochána on 13th July, 1923. He was appointed to Detective Branch on 22nd September, 1933, and promoted to Detective Sergeant on 25th September, 1939. He was single. Detective Sergeant McKeown also served at Blackrock and Dun Laoghaire.

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

Mendicity Institute Garrison

On the afternoon of Sunday, 24th April 2016, a Dublin City Council plaque commemorating the Easter Rising’s Mendicity Institution garrison was unveiled on a pillar outside the oldest working charity in Dublin.

Established in 1818, the Mendicity Institution creates opportunities for “people experiencing homelessness, isolation and marginalization to live better lives”. It is located at Usher’s Island, Dublin 8.

The plaque was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh, with historian Dr John Gibney and Deputy City Librarian Brendan Teeling also speaking at the ceremony.

On Easter Monday in 1916 the Mendicity Institution was seized by a small garrison of Irish Volunteers led by Seán Heuston, with orders from James Connolly to occupy the building for a short period and delay the advance of British troops along the north side of the River Liffey. With a force of less than thirty men, Heuston’s garrison held the Mendicity Institution for two days, before surrendering on Wednesday morning. One member of the garrison, Peter Wilson, was killed on this day, while another, Liam Staines, was badly wounded at an earlier stage and died two years later. Heuston was later executed at Kilmainham Gaol for his role in the Rising.

Those wishing to learn more about the life of Seán Heuston and the Mendicity Institution’s role during the Easter Risng, should consult John Gibney’s book 16 Lives: Seán Heuston (O’Brien Press, 2013).

Submitted by historian in residence James Curry.

Murdoch, Iris – philosopher & writer

photograph of commemorative plaque honouring Iris Murdoch.

This plaque honours philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch, who was born on Blessington Street, Dublin, on 15 July 1919.

Locate this plaque on Google maps.

This plaque is located temporarily in the Blessington Basin and will be erected at 59 Blessingotn Street in due course.

Read Iris Murdoch’s biography from the Dictionary of Irish Biography

The plaque was unveiled on 11th July 2019, to mark the 100th anniversary of her birth.

O’Carroll, Richard – City Councillor & Irish Volunteer

On Wednesday, 27th April 2016, a Dublin City Council plaque commemorating labour councillor Richard O’Carroll was unveiled at O’Carroll Villas, Cuffe Street, by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh.

In attendance were relatives of O’Carroll, who spent the last years of his life living at the Bricklayers’ Arms Institute on Cuffe Street, as well as representatives of the Building & Allied Trades’ Union.

An able and forthright councillor who was a bricklayer by trade, O’Carroll was a committed trade unionist and Irish revolutionary. During the 1916 Easter Rising, he was part of Thomas MacDonagh’s Jacob’s Factory Garrison and was mortally wounded by Captain J. C. Bowen-Colthurst on 26th April after his capture. He was subsequently brought to Portobello military hospital where he died on 5th May. O’Carroll was survived by his wife Anne and their seven children, the youngest born shortly after his death.

On 26th April 2016 the Members’ Room at City Hall was renamed the Richard O’Carroll Room, with a bronze plaque unveiled that also commemorates Dublin City Councillors and Aldermen who were either participants in the Easter Rising (William T. Cosgrave, Sean T. O’Ceallaigh and William Partridge) or imprisoned afterwards (Thomas Kelly, Laurence O’Neill, Patrick T. Daly and Patrick V. Mahon).

Those wishing to learn more about the life of Richard O’Carroll should read the 2016 article by Dublin historian Donal Fallon for the Come Here To Me website.

Submitted by historian in residence James Curry.

O’Connell, Patrick – footballer

Photograph of Dublin City Council plaque honouring Patrick O'Connell

On the morning of Friday, 5th June 2015, a Dublin City Council commemorative plaque honouring footballer and football manager Patrick O’Connell was unveiled in Drumcondra. The plaque is located at 87 Fitzroy Avenue, where O’Connell lived during his youth, and was unveiled by his grandson Mike O’Connell and Dublin Central T.D. Maureen O’Sullivan.

Patrick O’Connell led a remarkable footballing life. Beginning his professional career with Belfast Celtic, he moved to England in 1909 and played for Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City and Manchester United over the next decade. O’Connell emigrated to Spain in 1922 and coached Racing Santander for seven years, before leading Real Betis to their sole La Liga championship in 1935 and helping to save FC Barcelona from bankruptcy during the Spanish Civil War by bringing them on a tour of Mexico and New York.

Thereafter, O’Connell returned to England and spent his final years living destitute in London, where he passed away in February 1959.

In attendance at the Drumcondra plaque unveiling were former players of Manchester United (Jimmy Nicholl), Glasgow Celtic (Bertie Auld and John Clark) and FC Barcelona (Steve Archibald), as well as Martin Buchan of the Professional Footballer’s Association.

Those wishing to learn more about “Don Patricio O’Connell” can consult the 2016 book The Man Who Saved FC Barcelona: The Remarkable Life of Patrick O’Connell, written by Sue O’Connell (wife of Patrick’s grandson Mike) and issued by Amberley Publishing.

You can also watch the presentation below by Dr James Curry, Dublin City Council historian in residence, which is part of a Plaques of Dublin online lecture series.

Submitted by Historian in Residence, James Curry. 

Plunkett, Joseph – 1916 Leader

On the afternoon of Monday, 4th May 2016, a Dublin City Council plaque commemorating poet, journalist and 1916 Proclamation Signatory Joseph Mary Plunkett was unveiled at his birthplace and family home in Dublin 2.

Located at 26 Upper Fitzwilliam Street, the plaque was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh, on the centenary of Joseph Plunkett’s execution.

In attendance were several of Plunkett’s relatives, including his nephew Seóirse Plunkett, niece Siobhan Plunkett Gibney, great-grand-niece Honor Ni Brolchoin (who proposed the plaque), and Honor’s daughter Isolde Carmody (who recited some of her ancestor’s poetry at the event).

A member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood’s Military Council who devised the military plan for the Easter Rising, Plunkett was part of the GPO garrison in 1916, with Michael Collins serving as his aide-de-camp. Already dying from tuberculosis, he was executed in the stonebreaker’s yard at Kilmainham Gaol on 4th May 1916, hours after marrying fiancé Grace Gifford in the prison’s chapel. He was 28 years old.

Those wishing to learn more about the subject of the plaque should consult Honor Ni Brolchoin’s biography 16 Lives: Joseph Plunkett (O’Brien Press, 2013).

Submitted by historian in residence James Curry.

Ireland’s First Radio Broadcast

On the morning of Thursday, 21st July 2016, a Dublin City Council plaque commemorating Ireland’s first international radio broadcast was unveiled on the city’s main thoroughfare.

Located at the Grand Central Bar, 10-11 O’Connell Street, the plaque was unveiled by Denis Naughten, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Minister Naughten praised Joseph Plunkett’s foresight in recognising the power of radio, and the courage of Irish Volunteers such as Liam Daly and John “Blimey” O’Connor in erecting the aerial and apparatus necessary for the radio transmission under heavy fire.

Councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha spoke on behalf of Dublin City Council’s Commemorative Naming Committee, with broadcaster Eugene Murphy also taking part in the unveiling ceremony.

On 25th April 1916, a morse code message written by James Connolly was transmitted from what was then the Wireless School of Telegraphy, declaring to the world that a Republic had been declared in Dublin and the country of Ireland was “rising”.

The plaque was proposed by the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, RTÉ Radio and the Boys and Girls creative agency as part of the celebration to mark the centenary of broadcasting in Ireland.

Those wishing to learn more about the subject of the plaque should consult Eddie Bohan’s booklet Rebel Radio: Ireland’s First International Radio Station 1916 (Kilmainham Tales, 2016).

Submitted by historian in residence James Curry.

Rowsome, Leo – Piper and pipe-maker

Photograph of commemorative plaque to Leo Rowsome, piper

This plaque honours renowned uileann piper, pipe maker, and teacher Leo Rowsome, and is at the corner of Beltorn Park Road and Collins Avenue, Dublin 9.

Locate this plaque on Google maps.

Born into a piping family in Harold’s Cross, Leo Rowsome went on to become a teacher, pipe-maker, and performer. As a performer he played all over the world, including at New York’s Carnegie Hall.  

Joining the Municipal School of Music, Chatham Row, as a teacher at the age of 17, he went on to teach generations of uilleann pipers, including  Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains, and Liam Óg Ó Floinn. 

A founding member of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Éireann, Leo Rowsome was also one of the founders of Na Píobairí Uilleann

The Rowsome family lived at 9 Belton Park Road, Donnycarney, and Leo Rowsome’s workshop was in the back garden. 

The plaque was unveiled on 4th June 2021.