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Author of The Bombing of Dolphin’s Barn to give talk in local library

By Martha Gberevbie

Eoin Cristóir Bairéad, the author of “The Bombing of Dolphin’s Barn”, is giving a talk in the Dolphin’s Barn Library on Wednesday 25 May.

In his book, Bairéad tells the story of the bombing that rocked the Liberties six months before the North Strand bombing took place.

The bombing occurred on 31 May 1941 in Dolphin’s Barn, a place Bairéad describes as “a fairly respectable middle class area”, and is told from the viewpoint of the Corporation.

It was bombed in January 1941, during World War II, by a German aircraft, despite the fact that Ireland was officially a neutral state at the time.

The area responded very well to the bombings and in the aftermath of the bombings ARP Precautions gave out maps, lists and gasmasks to the residents.

The corporation however, didn’t know how to deal with compensation claims arising from citizens who were determined to ensure that they received sufficient compensation for their grievances.

It is important to highlight that, miraculously, there was no one killed or seriously injured in the Dolphin’s Barn bombings.

Mr Bairéad said he also included the bombing of Belfast in the book because “no one else seemed to have covered it”.  He said it helps to establish a historical background because it occurred in between the bombing of the North Strand in Dublin and the bombing of Dolphin’s Barn.

In the course of Mr Bairéad’s studies he had to write either a long essay or a short book for his professor, Professor Gillespie.  He chose the latter, on the topic of the Dolphin’s Barn bombings, because his first house was in the Dolphin’s Barn area and his daughters were born there.

The talk, which is the first of its kind on this topic, will begin at 6:30pm on Wednesday May 25 in the Dolphin’s Barn Library.

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