Evie Hone

Eva Sydney Hone – better known as Evie – was born at Roebuck Grove, Clonskeagh, Dublin on 22 April 1894. She was the youngest of four daughters of Joseph Hone, a director of the Bank of Ireland, and Eva Hone (née Robinson), who sadly died only two days after Evie’s birth. Roebuck Grove is now known as the University Lodge since the property was bought by University College Dublin (UCD). She was related to the noted 18^th century Irish artist Nathaniel Hone.

Evie Hone

She was educated at home, but after contracting poliomyelitis at the age of twelve she was sent to Switzerland for specialist treatment. Although her condition improved it was not a total recovery and she was a semi-invalid for the rest of her life. It is all the more amazing that she overcame this restriction to become a painter and later a successful and internationally recognised stained-glass artist.  In 1913 she went to London and studied at the Byam Shaw School of Art and the Central School of Arts and Crafts under Bernard Meninsky. In London she became friends with Mainie Jellet, before they went to France and studied with cubist painter Albert Gleize, making them pioneers of the modern movement in Irish painting.

She returned to Dublin and lived in Lucan, and by the early 1930s she had become interested in stained-glass. In 1933 she joined An Túr Gloine, and one of her first pieces was ‘The Annunciation’, in Taney church, Dundrum, Co. Dublin. Her work was well received and in 1939 she was commissioned to produce a piece, My four green fields, for the New York World Fair which won first prize. It is now in Government Buildings in Dublin. Another piece that brought international recognition was her east window in Eton College chapel, Windsor. It was completed in 1952, covers over 900 square feet and comprises more than 40,000 pieces of glass.

My four green fields

In 1954 was elected an honorary member of the RHA. She died 13 March 1955 while entering her parish church at Rathfarnham.

Marlay Park

Marlay Park is one of Dublin’s biggest parks, and at 210 acres there is plenty to see and do. Set in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, in Rathfarnham, you can enjoy many interesting walks through leafy woods or take in bubbling rivers that feed into ponds where swans float serenely past. If you are looking for a place to ‘get away from it all’ then you should spend some time in Marlay Park – it’s a must see.

If you go down to the woods today….

The property was originally bought by Thomas Taylor in the early 18^th century and the house he built on it was called ‘The Grange’. In 1764 David La Touche acquired the property and he set about developing the house and extending it. La Touche was the first governor of the new Bank of Ireland, and he named the place in honour of his wife Elizabeth Marlay. The house is a fine example of Georgian architecture and features a fabulous ballroom, an oval-shaped music room and wonderful plasterwork by the renowned Michael Stapleton.

The property was sold in 1925 to Robert Ketton Love for  £8,325, and his son, Philip, a racehorse breeder, won the 1962 Epson Derby with Larkspur.

With so much space available there are tennis courts, football pitches, a cricket pitch, par-three golf course, children’s playgrounds and miniature railway that is run by the Dublin Society of Model and Experimental Engineers. And the park  is also the official starting point of the Wicklow Way, a 132km trail that works its way southwards through the Wicklow Mountains before finishing at Clonegal in County Carlow.

The rather lovely ornamental garden, has much to see and enjoy, and the water features are a real treat.

By the pond…time for reflection

Beside the house is the Craft Courtyard where you can sit and  relax over a coffee after all your walking. There are a number of shops where you can find pottery, weavers, jewellery, embroidery and copper work. The famous Irish stained-glass artist Evie Hone had a studio here in the 1950s, and a Farmer’s Market is held here every Saturday and Sunday.

John Millington Synge

John Millington Synge, poet, folklorist and leading figure in the Irish Literary Revival of the late 19^th century was born on the 16^th April 1871 in Rathfarnham, County Dublin. He was the youngest of eight children and his father was John Hatch Synge, a wealthy barrister who came from a family of laned gentry in Glanmore, County Wicklow.

JM Synge

His father died in 1918 and was buried on his son’s first birthday. Soon afterwards his mother took the family on the short journey to Rathgar where they lived beside her mother’s home. The little boy was educated at home before attending the Royal Irish Academy of music where he studied violin, piano, music theory and won a scholarship in counterpoint. He entered Trinity College in 1889 and graduated three years later before travelling to continue musical studies in Europe. However, due to his inherent shyness he was unable to deliver convincing musical performances and he opted for a literary future. So, in 1895 he moved to Paris and enrolled to study literature and languages.

JM Synge’s home in Rathfarnham, Dublin

He met WB Yeats the following in a hotel in Paris, and he suggested that he should travel to the Aran Islands and write about what he experienced there. Over the next few years, he did just that, and in learning the language spoken by the locals, he was able to write incisive, dramatic works. His play In the Shadow of the Glen, formed part of the bill for the opening run of the Abbey Theatre from 27 December 1904. But it was his masterpiece The Playboy of the Western World that was remembered by the audience and the public. On its opening night, 26^th January 1907, riots broke out and continued on following evenings. The play was ridiculed by just about every commentator and it caused more riots when it was performed later that year in America.

Plaque at Synge’s home in Rathfarnham, Dublin

Synge, who had always been a frail type, died from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on 24^th March 1909 in Dublin, and he is buried in Mount Jerome cemetery.

‘Marvellous’ Marlay Park

My Garden of Eden, in the south of town

A must for walkers, a joy all year round

With swans on the lake

Squirrels on the take

And bubbling water, such a pleasant sound

Running on…

Marlay Park is in Rathfarnham, South Dublin

A Song for Now

I was in Spain when the coronavirus was beginning to spread like wildfire. That put an end to any chance I had of playing the planned gigs, and thankfully I managed to leave the day before the Spanish lockdown was put in place. A few days after I returned to Dublin I developed flu-like symptoms and was very worried. All the more so since I found out that a friend on the flight home had tested positive for the virus and spent time in ICU. Thankfully, I was okay and my friend made a full recovery. It was a scary and surreal time and I knew that I had to write about my experience.

I wanted the lyrics of Time Will See This Through to reflect the hope that I had when I was ill and what we all need now. After the song was recorded my friend, Brendan Hayes, shot the video in the beautiful Marlay Park, Rathfarnham. The place has been a lifesaver for me as I live nearby, and have happily spent many hours walking its peaceful tree-lined pathways.

Stay Safe, Everyone

Berni Philbin, (Dublin, June 2020)

St Enda’s, Rathfarnham – Pearse’s school

Pearse and flag.

The great house, The Hermitage, was built in 1780 for Edward Hudson, a successful Dublin dentist in 1780, and over the following years the grounds were laid out. There are forested areas where a fine selection of local flora and fauna is found, along with a number of follies, a hermit’s cave and a faux dolmen and Ogham stone.
In 1910 Padraig Pearse, who had opened his school St Enda’s (Scoil Eanna) in Cullenswood House, Ranelagh in 1908, decided to move ‘to the country’ when he visited St Enda’s Park. This was due to his interest in both teaching Irish (he was adamant about pupils being bilingual) and that they should have a strong interest in nature. The curriculum and teaching methods were very popular and soon attracted many students. However, with Pearse’s growing involvement in republican matters, the school’s prospects soon began to suffer. Only a matter of days after the fighting ended, he and his brother Willie, along with Thomas McDonagh (assistant headmaster and signatory of the Proclamation of Independence) were executed for the part in the Easter Rising. Without Pearse’s direction and energy the school, inevitably, went into decline. It was run for a time by their mother who, with the influx of funds after the executions, was able to buy the property. However, due to the falling numbers of pupils the school closed its doors for the last time in 1935. Following the death of Pearse’s sister (Margaret Mary Pearse) 1968, the ownership of the property was transferred to the State.

The Hermitage and renovations

Recently, the building has been extensively renovated with many of the rooms now on show as they were in Pearse’s time, namely; his study, the sitting-room, art gallery (with a number of sculptures by Willie Pearse) and a pupils’ dormitory. A large, timber three-legged table upon which Robert Emmet was decapitated is an interesting, if little publicised and macabre, item of historical interest. Outside, the gardens, courtyard restaurant, paths and bubbling fountain are a perfect place for a walk and quiet reflection. It’s a hidden gem!

Execution block