St. Annes

They go hand in hand,right?

The Grove on a Saturday night,St. Annes on a Sunday, (maybe St.Annes on a Saturday night,too-with a flagon before the Grove) or maybe you would meet someone on Saturday night and arrange to go for a walk on Sunday.

The park is certainly worthy of a mention,a part of (most of us) our growing up,too.

Arthur Guinness (who was a miller before he was a brewer) bought lands in Clontarf known as Heronstown and Blackbush when his famous stout took off. He was very fond of the area,so much so he decided to use Brian (patriot of the Battle of Clontarf) Boru's harp as his logo.

He married Olive White (from Muckross House in Kerry) and they lived in Thornhill,the large house which once stood at the top of Mansion Avenue,now demolished but some blocks from the house still lay scattered around the park. Arthurs son,Benjamin Lee Guinness and his wife Elizabeth decided to name the estate St. Annes (St. Anne was the mother of Mary) after an ancient holy well near one of the ponds. 

The amenities in the park all have names,even though we know them by something else.

The Old Pond is in fact called Crab Lake Water,the Tower Bridge beside the new pond is called Annies Bridge (after Benjamines first born),the new pond itself is actually called The Sunken Garden, and St. Annes' river is called the Nanniken.The Grove itself (or St. Pauls) was originally known as Sybill Hill,and was sold to Arthur Guinness in 1870.

Lands purchased by the Guinness family,which much later were sold to Dublin Corporation for housing,offer their names to the streets there. For example,All Saints Road is named after the church Olive had built in the grounds,Nanniken Avenue after St. Annes' river.Wades Avenue,after Sarah Wade sold her land to the Guinness family.

Maryville Road,after the townland of Maryville,bought by Arthur Guinness in 1878,and Vernon Avenue,after Lord John Venables Vernon sold the original Thornhill site to Arthur Guinness.

Ok-history lesson over...who will lift the mood with their stories of St. Annes?

Lovely story T.

Must say I love the Park too.( Great Thread Martin, good on ya.)

From the summer evenings when all the lads would play football just in front of the mound where the house used be, to the sunday afternoons when meself and herself would take the obligatory post Grove stroll.....................doesn't get any better.

Nowadays I'm so lucky, still live close enough to be a regular visitor, small fella plays all his home games on pitch nine.

Have wonderful memories of St. Annes.

Just thinking, we all must have passed each other loads of times without knowing it.

The larks were great. I remember one particular good lark where Dave Fanning compered. (Met you at that one,Mel)

You couldn't top Sunday afternoons in the summer.The walk up manion avenue,kicking a ball or throwing a frisbee in front of the mound with the gang.The guys would bare their chests and the girls would sit and make daisy chains.

Did you know there was (still is) a tunnel runnng underground from the present Howth Road to Clontarf,under the avenue.On December 24th,1943 the then unoccupied house burst into flames and gutted Thornhill. No one seems to know how or why. What is known is that gun running went on in the tunnel,by (then) Sinn Fein supporters,and possibly members so there was possibly a parimilitary agenda to the fire as the empty house was used as a munitions store.

The only survivng piece from the house was a sculpture of a recling marble figure callrd the Shepherd Boy,which was bought by a Dublin solicitor,John Burke for £28. It is now kept at Iveagh House.

Funny thing is,when we'd go knacker drinking in the park,I don't think I ever drank Guinness...

Do any of you remember Manresa House in Clontarf; gosh I had the greatest memories of that.  Each summer they had a big festival there and we were always brought.  I hope I have the spelling correct.

I could not agree more that local history would have been fantastic to learn.  Our communities were steeped in history and the interest would have been fantastic.  Of course growing up beside the park we knew of the tunnels alright.  Some of the lads used to venture into them and bring out gas masks and the likes.  I believe there is one near the clock tower.  They filled them in some years ago due to the danger.  My brothers and sisters remember well the day they took the mansion down and I clearly remember playing on the huge marble stones from the mansion that were put in the green railing in St. Anne’s.

Some years later they built all kinds of wooden play objects.  I remember a maze that was built over behind the band stand.  Do you remember the old hippy garden behind the mound?  When I think of the dangers that face the kids today and then think back to how we played for hours and hours in around the hippy garden all through the deep woods there.  I remember a few of the gang getting into the tower that is on the hill in front of the old pond.

I am the youngest of eight and I remember being brought to the park with my sisters I must have only been around 4 or 5.  They would join all their gang on the mansion road and lay on the grass beside the mound just like we did years later.  I can remember their long hair and their bell bottoms.  My brothers used to take me for walks early on a Saturday morning to see the wild life – fantastic memories I must say.

This is Thornhill,the Guiness family home,as it stood in the 1870's,at the very top of Mansion Avenue. (the 'mound').

Those pictures are fantastic! I had a long chat with a guy a while ago out on the Irish Emigrant about the park and he was trying to find some info on it - Floydman (Martin) if you have a link I would appreciate it so much.

I can give you a bit of info from a very young Childs standpoint! We used to walk the length of the river in our bare feet from the tennis court all the way up to the Howth Road! Oh yuck.  We once built a dam in the river at the back of the tennis courts and captured a bunch of water and the lads would swim in it! Again Yuck!  We had our favorite trees we would climb and our hideout at the back of the tennis courts along the river where first kisses took place. Finding a good tree where you could get a swing going and that would take up weeks of pleasure.

I remember when they put in the soccer pitches beside the river, and running through the hills of dirt there before it was all leveled out for pitches.

Our sports day would be held in the field just beside the mansion road.  I remember walking across the fields one day with a giant Australian cigarette in my mouth feeling so cool with my friends only to spot my Mother in the distance.  I nearly ate it! She beat me in syllables all the way home.  Then made me apologies to my uncle for robbing his cigarettes off the mantle!

Robbing the daffodils to give to your Mother for Mother’s Day!

Oh Gosh Floydman you have brought so many memories back to me with this topic, you can tell now it was my home away from home! 

http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/safaripark/eagles/16/stannes/st annes.htm

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Great thread Floydman - and super photos - pity the house was let go to rack and ruin and finally pulled down. I remember the ruins when I was a child - enjoyed cycling along the magical hidden world of the Nanniken years later, with all those phoney Greek Temples and Roman ruins, also remember winning a goldfish at a Manresa House garden fete when I was 8, latest experience was a visit with my family last June to the beautiful Rose Gardens (another hidden jewel) after a high tide swim at a sunny and warm Dollymount Strand, followed by a drink in the remaining walls of the old Norman keep inside Clontarf Castle ...