When the three newly-restored Dublin Bay 21s fulfilled the dream of Fionan de Barra and Hal Sisk by racing last Tuesday, they did so off a coastline much-changed since they last sailed on the bay in 1986. Admittedly the unmistakable and rather elegant Poolbeg smokestacks had been in existence since the 1970s, but even so the buzz around the bay - despite the pandemic restraints - now has a different feel to the mood of the 1980s. Yet it’s a comparison to our lead photo from the 1950s with this second photo from last Tuesday evening which talks most eloquently of a completely different world.
The Irish economy was almost paralysed in the 1950s, with a nadir being reached in 1956 when some of the best boats in Dun Laoghaire were sold off to dollar-waving Americans. As for those who were getting by with the help of old money or an established and virtually indispensable profession, after a day’s sailing there were few if any televisions to go home to for an evening’s entertainment, and with one or two honourable exceptions, opportunities for exciting dining-out were very limited. Yet for the favoured few, life could be very agreeable indeed in an uncrowded and unhurried country, in which you only needed to apply for a driving licence in order to get one without a test of any kind, it was generally accepted that most car drivers - particularly nervous ones - actually drove much better with some pints of stout on board, and it was of course the case that smoking quality cigarettes was good for preventing lung infections.