Page updated 3/9/2018.
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Devenny’s Irish Tours
A little bit about Devenny’s Irish tours here: www.southantrimlivingmemories.co.uk/tourism
Red Island Holiday Camp, Skerries, Co.Dublin
Unknown publisher, postally used 1949.
Holiday camp constructed in the late 1940s and early 1950s by the Quinn family. Closed in the late 1970s and demolished a few years after. Most of the site is now a public park.
It offered a range of facilities typical of holiday camps at the time including 250 rooms accommodating around 500 guests weekly. During it peak activity in the 50’s and 60’s, it employed over 110 people with most of its guests coming from the North of England with the remainder from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. From the late 60’s the camp went into decline facing competition from cheaper holiday destinations abroad and the Troubles in Northern Ireland also caused a substantial drop in visitors from the UK. archiseek.com
Cobh, Co.Cork
Cobh, once famous as the last port of call for transatlantic ocean liners has in recent times become a stopover for cruise ships. This card by Mac Publications of Killarney was posted in 1988.
Strictly for the domestic holidaymaker? My only memory from my one and only visit to the Camp – on a school day-out in the 1960s – was of queuing for everything! I never went back, but thousands did for many years. These days the camp is a refugee centre.
Two 1960s John Hinde cards.
The American Bar – probably an official card.
Bray Seafront in bygone days.
Since the railway arrived at Bray in 1854 the town and seafront has been a popular day out for Dubliners; it still is but on a much reduced scale.
Card by Valentine’s postally used in 1939.
Hotel Architecture from the Soviet Union?
Two examples of ghastly 1960s hotel architecture. The Galway Ryan is no more than one would expect from a hotel chain which made a virtue of being cheap, but what’s the excuse for the Berkeley Court office block? The Berkeley Court was built on the site of Trinity College’s Botanic Gardens.
Both cards by John Hinde Ltd.
Promoting Northern Ireland
I’m not sure of the date of this card by E.T.W.Dennis, but I imagine it was published during the “Troubles”, and the happy, pleasure ground image masks the grim reality of the situation that pertained.
Lough Neagh by John Hinde. The largest lake in the British Isles, approximately 20 miles long and 9 miles wide. According to legend the lake was formed when the Irish giant, Finn McCool, scooped up a portion of land to throw at his Scottish rival – he missed and the earth landed in the Irish Sea thereby creating the Isle of Man.
Fishing in Fermanagh
This 1980’s John Hinde card would have the angler packing their rods without delay!
Irish Postcards 