Three books for three castles

‘Flats and Cottages’ 

By Eoin Ó Broin & Mal McCann. Published by Merrion Press.

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‘In Safe Hands’ 

By Mick O’Connor. Edited by Caoimhín Mac Aoidh. Published by Mick O’Connor.

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‘Tommie Potts - the Sorrowful and the Great’ 

By Seán Potts. Published by the Irish Traditional Music Archive. 

For those of you with seasonal book tokens to use and with an interest in all things Dublin I can recommend three excellent books that evoke our capital city’s past and speak to the present and future.

Eoin Ó Broin’s ‘Flats and Cottages’, with photos by Mal McCann, is an innovative look at the legacy of public housing designed by Dublin Corporation architect Herbert Simms. In a relatively short space of time in the 1930s and ‘40s Simms led a drive to provide decent, well-designed homes for Dublin’s working class, many of whom were still living in slum tenements that had changed little since the 1913 Lockout.

Flats were built in schemes dotted throughout the city centre and houses were built in new suburbs. Eoin traces Simms’s battle to get the schemes approved and completed - 17,000 homes in all. The architecture was designed to foster communities as well as to provide homes for families. And this is the strength of the book as Eoin talks to today’s residents of the flats and houses built in that era. They all speak of the sense of community and, even where social problems exist and where refurbishment of the buildings is badly needed, most want to stay.

Simms worked tirelessly to fulfil Dublin’s great need for housing and in fact he worked himself into an early grave. Forgotten for a long period, his contribution is now at last being recognised. The book is an excellent piece of work, beautifully produced, and is another strong argument for a transformation of government housing policy to one based on public housing, real affordability and building communities as well as homes.

Buy   ‘Flats and Cottages’ 

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It was in the Liberties that some of the largest of Simms housing schemes were built and that ancient part of Dublin was also a well-spring for traditional Irish music in the city. Mick O’Connor’s ‘In Safe Hands’ is a most comprehensive history of traditional music in Dublin. It is a ‘must have’ for all lovers of the music and ranges far beyond the capital.

Baile Átha Cliath has always been a cultural cross-roads and brought together musicians from all parts of the country. The first major revival of the music at the start of the 20th century coincided with the years of revolution and revolutionaries such as Thomas Ashe and Éamonn Ceannt, to name but two, were also musicians and promoters of the tradition.

• Éamonn Ceannt, 1916 leader and traditional musician

Dublin as a crossroads was also vital in the ‘30s and ‘40s when there was very little recording, broadcasting or commercial performance of the music. It was in homes and club rooms that musicians met, taught, exchanged tunes  and styles, both preserving the tradition and innovating. From such roots grew the tremendous health and strength of the music today. It is indeed in safe hands, thanks in great part to Mick O’Connor and his generation of musicians. This book has been much of Mick’s lifetime in the making and is a treasure trove of our culture.

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One of the musicians of that mid-century era whose influence has grown long after his passing is the Dublin fiddle player Tommie Potts. His mesmerising interpretations of traditional tunes were unique, born out of a deep passion for the music. ‘Tommie Potts - the Sorrowful and the Great’ by Seán Potts is an intimate portrait of a great artist.

Tommie Potts was elusive; he disliked recording and session playing and it was only a relatively small community of musicians who truly appreciated his art during his lifetime. The music that he did record is now cherished as a core part of the tradition and its influence continues to grow. This book recounts the interaction of younger musicians and collectors with Tommie towards the end of his life and is a fascinating look at the development of the music as well as a wonderful picture of Tommie Potts himself. Great credit is due to Seán Potts and the Irish Traditional Music Archive.

• Tommie Potts around 1940