The decade of the 1960s was characterised by worldwide economic boom, the rise of population after the war, ‘the Baby Boom’, and the emergence of Civil Rights movements. Student movements came to prominence around the world, culminating in the events of 1968.
Ireland also benefited from the economic boom and developing economy as policies of protectionism were abandoned and the country was opened up to international trade and industry. RTÉ television began on the last day of 1961.
The 1960s also saw the end of censorship in Ireland, and the provision of free post-primary education. The Civil Rights movement began in the North of Ireland, and the start of the ‘troubles’, which continued to the end of the century.
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Situated on a bay on the east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 census, it had an urban area population of 1,173,179, while the population of the traditional County Dublin as a whole was 1,347,359. The population of the Greater Dublin Area was 1,904,806.
There is archaeological debate regarding precisely where and when Dublin originated, with a settlement established by the Gaels during or before the 7th century CE,[17] and a second, Viking, settlement, following. As the small Kingdom of Dublin, the city grew, and it became Ireland’s principal settlement after the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire and the sixth largest in Western Europe after the Acts of Union in 1800. Following independence in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland in 1937.
Dublin is a contemporary and historical centre for Irish education, arts and culture, administration and industry. As of 2018 the city was listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as a global city, with a ranking of “Alpha minus”, which places it as one of the top thirty cities in the world. (Wikipedia)
Take a look at these fascinating photos from National Library of Ireland to see what Dublin, Capital of the Republic of Ireland looked like in the 1960s.
Capel Street, Dublin at 9.30 am, June 28, 1960Filming at Westland Row Station, now Pearse Station, in Dublin, June 24, 1960New houses being constructed, Templeogue, Co. Dublin, 1961Store Street, Dublin, September 1961The late lamented Theatre Royal on Hawkins Street in Dublin, April 1, 1962Garda directing traffic, O’Connell Bridge, Dublin, 1963O’Connell Street, Dublin, June 1963This is American model Linda Ward (later O’Reilly) posing, Dublin, circa 1963A bunch of fascinated boys, and their equally engaged alsatian dog study something in the River Liffey at Upper Ormond Quay, Dublin, 1964A nun with a most remarkable (and slightly dangerous-looking) veil/head dress waiting for a bus outside the Rotunda Hospital on Parnell Street, Dublin, 1964A very direct stare from a woman shopping on Moore Street, Dublin, 1964Mystery shoppers in Moore Street, Dublin, 1964Protest against evictions from tenement buildings on York Street in Dublin, 1964The Martello Tower in Seapoint with the children in fine fettle, 1964The Heiton McFerran shop on the corner of Tara Street, circa 1965A half-demolished Nelson’s Pillar on O’Connell Street, Dublin, March 8, 1966An Evening Press newspaper seller does a brisk trade on O’Connell Street, Dublin on the day after Nelson’s Pillar was blown up, March 9, 1966Ornate arch and gateway, Charlemont House, Parnell Square North at 116 St James’s Street, Dublin, 1966“The Irish House”, Winetavern Street, Dublin City, Co. Dublin, 1968A young nun walking Holy Communion girls past no. 3, Halston Street, Dublin on the feast of Corpus Christi, June 5, 1969Busiest boy in Dublin, 1969Children under a sign designed to protect them on the Pigeon House Road, Ringsend, Dublin, 1969Derby Square in Werburgh St. facing the old labour exchange Jurys car park built on it now, 1969Dublin’s Marshalsea Barracks, 1969Fruit seller with a very cheeky grin, Dublin, September 1969Little boy putting money in nun’s collection tray, Dublin, 1969Returning to Dublin’s 1932 urinals today (installed in advance of the 1932 Eucharistic Congress). This one was on Eden Quay, Dublin, and you can just catch a glimpse of Liberty Hall behind the tree, September 1969Secondhand (pre-owned!) shoe stall at Cumberland Street Market in Dublin, 1969The Parnell Monument at the junction of Upper O’Connell Street, Parnell Street and Cavendish Row, Dublin, 1969The Parnell Monument, Dublin, July 1969These two young entrepreneurs had set out their “stall” in front of St. Catherine’s Church on Thomas Street in Dublin,1969
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