Notable Past Residents
Kenilworth Square has been home to many famous residents over the years.
No 3 (Kenilworth House) – Sir Thomas Devereux Pile (1856-1931) was Dublin High Sheriff in 1898 and Lord Mayor in 1900. In the latter capacity, it was he who officially welcomed the aged Queen Victoria to Ireland when she landed at Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) on 4 April 1900. For his trouble, he was granted the title of Baronet later that year. His son, General Frederick (‘Tim’) Pile, was Commander of the British Anti-Aircraft Defences in World War II and was nicknamed ‘The Scourge of the Luftwaffe.’
No 7 Louise Gavan Duffy (1884-1969) – born in Nice, France, was a dedicated educator, fervent nationalist, and a passionate advocate for the Irish language. Immersing herself in Irish culture, she joined the Gaelic League and perfected her Irish in the Gaeltacht of Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo. She is best remembered for her significant contributions to the Gaelic revival and nationalist movement. In 1917 she fulfilled her personal ambition by opening an Irish-speaking school for girls at Earlsfort Terrace, Scoil Bhríde, along with Annie McHugh, who later married Ernest Blythe. They lived at No 50, below. Louise’s father, Monaghan-born Charles Gavan Duffy, was also remarkable. Poet and editor of The Nation, he emigrated to Australia and rose swiftly to become Premier of Victoria.
No 22 Rugadh Pádraic (Paddy) Mac Thighearnáin (1940-2010) – iar Ard-Rúnaí na Roinne Gnóthaí Eachtracha, Ambasadóir na hÉireann sna Stáit Aontaithe agus sa Fhrainc agus Ionadaí Buan chuig an Aontas Eorpach – i Luimneach. Is i Luimneach agus i gConamara a chothaigh sé an pléisiúr ba mhó a bhí aige: iascaireacht. Fear deisbhéalach ab ea é, agus mar gheall ar sin bhí dúil ollmhór aige i gcomhluadar. Lá amháin, chas sé ar sheanchara dá chuid ar Bhalla Mór na Síne; ní Meiriceánach ná Eorpach, ach Síneach.
Patrick (Paddy) Mac Kernan (1940-2010), former Secretary-General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of Ireland to the United States and France, and Permanent Representative to the European Union, was born in Limerick. It was in Limerick and in Connemara that he enjoyed his greatest pleasure, fishing. He was a very witty man and so another pleasure was socialising. Once, on the Great Wall of China, he bumped into a friend, neither American nor European, but Chinese!
No 28 Albert (‘Alby’) Kelly (1924-2005) was the champion of independent cinema in Ireland. He owned the Classic Cinema (formerly the Kenilworth) around the corner from the Square on Harold’s Cross Road. He secured equal legal rights for private cinema owners in Ireland. He also screened the cult movie Rocky Horror Picture Show on Friday nights at the Classic for a record 21 years. Alby was a true gentleman, always smartly attired in jacket and bow tie, and he frequently allowed children in for free. A bachelor, he lived with his sister’s family at No 28, and he worked till he was 80. We have not seen a photo of him yet.
No 30 Charles Eason (1823-1899) – founder of the Eason’s chain of bookshops in 1856, he built 30 Kenilworth Square in 1861. He was born in Yeovil, Somerset and came to Dublin as a manager for WH Smith, before striking out on his own. He established Kenilworth Bowling Club in the back gardens of Nos. 29/30 in 1892. It is the longest-running bowling club in Ireland and is now based at nearby Grosvenor Square.
No 31 John West Elvery (c. 1820-1886) The founder of the famous Elverys sports stores was a member of a Sephardic Jewish (i.e. Spanish) family who were originally named Alvarez. He built the imposing No 31 Kenilworth Square in 1861 and lived there with his family. His son John married Mary Teresa Moss from No 23.
No 31. Tara Road, a popular film based on the best-selling Maeve Binchy novel, starring Andie Macdowell, Stephen Rea and Ruby Wax, was part-filmed here over three weeks in 2005. Kenilworth Square West IS Tara Road. The ‘Connecticut’ scenes were filmed in Cape Town, South Africa.
No 39 Peggy Jordan (née Heron) (1918-2000). An influential mover and shaker in the music world and a free spirit, she was instrumental in the formation of the Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. She also steered the early career of Christy Moore. Her home parties were legendary affairs. The Dubliners frequently rehearsed in her back garden, to the great entertainment of residents around the Square and on nearby streets.
Portrait of Peggy Jordan by Liam Delaney
No 43 Ciarán Bourke (1935-1988) – Founding member of The Dubliners, a musician, singer, guitarist and tin whistler. He was born and raised at No 43 Kenilworth Square, where his father was a doctor. His nanny imparted a lifelong love of the Irish language to young Ciarán. He attended Coláiste Mhuire in Parnell Square and later studied Agricultural Science at UCD. He died tragically from a brain aneurysm at the age of 53.
No 50 Ernest Blythe (Earnán de Blaghd) (1889-1975) was Minister of Finance for nine years in the fledgling first government after Independence (1923-1932) and deputy head of government. He was a famously strict managing director of the Abbey Theatre from 1941-1967 and was also a main mover in imposing severe censorship laws. He lived on the Square from 1940-1975.
No 51 Thomas Grubb (1800-1878) and his son Howard Grubb (1844-1931) were world-famous makers of advanced telescopes, including the Birr Telescope, the so-called Leviathan of Parsonstown, built in 1845. It was the world’s biggest telescope until the construction of the 100-inch Hooker telescope in California in 1917. The premises of Grubb & Co was in Rathmines, where Leinster Cricket Club is now, in Observatory Lane. Howard Grubb lived at No 51 with his family.
No 51 Louis le Brocquy (1916-2012) Celebrated self-taught modernist Irish painter, he produced many outstanding works and won many awards in his 70-year career. He won the Premio Acquisito Internationale at the 1956 Venice Biennale. His family moved to Kenilworth Square from Zion Road in 1931, when Louis was 15. He lived in London and the South of France for many years, but died in Dublin at the age of 95.
No 53 Éamon de Valera (1882-1975) In 1921, during the War of Independence, Éamon de Valera moved his office to 53 Kenilworth Square, when his house in Blackrock was raided. It was in this house that Arthur Griffith presented Lloyd George’s proposals for the Anglo-Irish Treaty to de Valera, four days before the historic Treaty was signed in London. It led to the Civil War and many generations of bitterness.
No 65 Dr Ludwig Hopf (1884 Nuremberg, Germany – 1939 Dublin) was a German-Jewish theoretical physicist who made major contributions to mathematics, special relativity, hydrodynamics and aerodynamics. Early in his career he was first assistant (at the University of Zurich), collaborator and co-author with Albert Einstein. Fleeing the Nazis, Dr Hopf arrived in Dublin to become Professor of Mathematics at TCD, but died of thyroid failure five months later. In a letter home he described Kenilworth Square as a very beautiful corner of Europe.
No 69 was home to the Kavanagh family from 1914 (having moved from No. 68 next door!). Brothers Charles and Thomas Gerard Kavanagh became very well-known Hollywood character actors from the 1920s, under the names Charles K Gerrard (1883-1969) and Douglas Gerrard (1891-1950). Charles played frequently on Broadway and his notable films included Another Fine Mess with Laurel and Hardy, where he played Lord Plumtree. He also had a part in Dracula (1931) with Bela Lugosi. Douglas appeared in 120 films and also directed some. He was best friend of the great and doomed star Rudolph Valentino.
No 77 Philip Baker (1880-1932) was born in Riga, Latvia and was a poor draper/cap maker by trade. He fled the anti-Jewish pogroms of Czarist Russia, who ruled Latvia. He lived first in Tralee and then moved to Kenilworth Square. He was Irish and Leinster chess champion for many years in the 1920s and a Grandmaster. He died at a young age. His son Joshua was Reid Professor of Criminal Law at TCD and Lecturer in Hebrew. Another son, David, was the Hebrew/Irish interpreter at meetings of political leaders.
No 1 Kenilworth Road (beside No 1 Kenilworth Square, unusually). Frank O’Reilly (1884-1957) is forgotten now but was an important man in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1929 he organised the centenary celebrations of Catholic Emancipation, and in 1932 he was the main organiser of the Eucharistic Congress in the Phoenix Park and O’Connell St. About one million people attended in the Park. Count John McCormack, the most well-known tenor in the world of that era, famously sang Panis Angelicus.
