A Ramble about Tallaght

Leo Swan There were few people about Tallaght in the 1970s with a civil aviation licence. There were also very few people driving convertible sports cars with the hood down. And unselfconsciously wearing aviator sunglasses hadn’t really caught on around Tallaght in 1979. The number of reputable archaeologists hovering about the place with any regularity was, well decimal! Enter Mr. Leo Swan- Headmaster of one of the largest national schools in the country, aerial archaeologist, buccaneering aviator, lecturer, raconteur, convivial company and committed campaigner. Adventurous, dapper and mysterious to many, to those who didn’t know him, Leo Swan could appear somewhat aloof, somewhat intimidating. To those who did- he was an amiable wit, international expert and bon vivant. Mr. Leo Swan was to many of the parents of boys attending Loreto Boys National School in Tallaght in the 1970s, of another world- an older world perhaps. And to the young boys of the school, of another world entirely ...

Morton's of Firhouse since 1865 (Part II:  1943-1999) ....Continued from Part I From 1943, Over the next five years the Tavern would pass briskly through 5 different hands: Conlon to Nolan, McKenna, Farrelly and Ennis. Conlon's 1943 In September 1943 James Conlon applied for a transfer of a 7 day license.  Conlon was one half of J. & P. Conlon, a construction firm based in Clondalkin, mostly engaged in the building of public housing for local authorities.  In March 1944, only 10 months after Conlon purchased the premises, Rita (Margaret) Nolan, daughter of Jack Kennedy of Kennedy’s Corner (Old Mill / Bridget Burke's) announced the opening of  a new bar in the premises- “Nolan’s of Firhouse”, and the following September an interim transfer of the licence was granted to Rita Nolan. Nolan’s of Firhouse (March 1944- June 1945) Rita (Margaret) Nolan’s brief tenure in Firhouse would be a troubled one, but notably would see the f...