File:Grafton Street (7006456244).jpg

Grafton Street in Dublin, long before pedestrianisation was even a twinkle in Dublin Corporation's eye. Check out the tags for the car registrations that are clear enough to read - the only one I'm unsure of is either ZD 6822 or 9822.

Niall McAuley very kindly rounded up the dates for ZC, ZD and IH registration plates: IH 1 to IH 9999 (Dec 1903 - Jan 1952); ZC 1 to ZC 9999 (Mar 1937 - Jan 1940); ZD 1 to ZD 9999 (Jan 1940 - Jan 1947). And Niall gave us this Street View link.

Thanks to MKSeery for this contribution: "RE date: The Ingersoll building is attributed in DIA to Robert George Hopcraft, who died in 1947.

Terry de Valera writes in 1986 Dublin Historical Record that Monument Café was one of the first café chains in Ireland (note added).

He also mentions other businesses on Grafton St in the early 1940s, from the Trinity end up: Mitchell's Café (opposite Wicklow St) - "haunt of groups of pugnacious middle-aged, very middle-class ladies", Millar & Beatty furniture shop, Knowles fruit shop, McConnell's fish merchants and poulterers, Monument Café, Roberts Café, Lambert Briens, and on the other side from the Green down to TCD: Noblett's sweet shop, and Kapp & Peterson."

Philip Ward has a very personal memory of Fannin's at no. 41 (next door to Keatinge's): "No.41 is Fannin & Co, surgical and medical supplies and chemists at that location from the late 1800s to the mid sixties. My father worked there for many years. I remember visiting him as a young lad of 10 and looking at the Leeches for sale!"

More great information in from MKSeery on Keatinge's at no. 42: "It looks like Keatinges were more than just plumbers and decorators, but scholars too! The shop appears in all the earlier Lawrence photos. A Mr Charles T Keatinge, with an address of Grafton St, was a Fellow of the Institute of British Decorators, and wrote a paper for JRSAI in 1900 entitled 'The Guild of Cutlers, Painter-Stainers and Stationers, Better Known as the Guild of St. Luke the Evangelist, Dublin'. And one more little thing about Keatinges: an advert that appears (no date but "Saorstat" mentioned) states:

   WE ARE CONTRACTORS for every kind of Building from the Foundations to the Final Coat of Paint We decorate homes in every county of Saorstat
   Select Your Wall Papers and decide on your Scheme of Decoration in our Showrooms
   42 GRAFTON STREET,DUBLIN
   J. F. Keatinge & Sons, Ltd. Phone Dublin 224
   Your smallest enquiry gets fullest attention "

Good old Thoms Street Directories also allowed MKSeery to confirm our date of Circa 1947 because he: "had a look in Thom's for this part of Grafton St. Ingersoll (No. 40) is listed in 1947 but in 1948 No. 40 is Murphy (Jewellers) Ltd.

1947 listing for block below: No. 43: Bolero Café and Dorothy Begley Confectioners No. 42: JF Keatinge, contractors for building, plumbing and painting. Gregg School Ltd: Civil Service and Commercial Training School No. 41: Fannin and Son Surgical Instrument Makers, medical booksellers and chemist. WE Scholl and Son, Manufacturers of Electromedical apparatus. No. 40: Ingersoll Watch Co (in 1948 this was Murphy (Jewellers) Ltd.) No. 39: Monument Café. Irish Telephone (New System) Co. Ltd. No. 38: McConnell Ltd Fish Poultry Game Fruit and Provision Merchants. No. 37: Monument Creamery. Margaret Gibson, dressmaker. The Parkside Press Ltd., Publishers. No. 36: Levett and Frye Ltd, Grocers and Wine Merchants."

Date: Circa 1947