Sunday Reflection-Agnes Browne
Before moving to Dublin, I read Agnes Browne by Brendan O’Carroll. Following that, I knew I needed to visit Moore Street, where women pushed old prams loaded with fruit and veg, hawking their wares. To me, that seemed the quintessential Dublin of the 1960s.
So when we moved here and I had opportunity to visit Moore Street, I was disappointed. Sure, there were women hawking fruit and veg, but it seemed a bit of a seedy street, shop fronts plastered with graffiti and nightclub adverts. Sigh. Another Irish-culture-icon gone.
Saturday in the city with Daughter-Kate. A shortcut to the bookshop leads us through Moore Street, so lively and bustling with activity. Cigarette-smoking women hoarsely calling out to passersby of produce-deals-and-bargains to be had. Perhaps the spirit of Agnes Browne isn’t dead.
But more than that, another type of bustling. Asian restaurants. Indian shops. Eastern European stores. On the street a veritable melting pot of cultures. Wow. Move over, Agnes.
Perhaps a bit seedy still, but thriving.
So Kate decides she wants Chinese food for lunch. Hmm…..I don’t know of any Chinese restaurants nearby. ‘Why not this one?’ was the question innocently asked as we stood in front of the smudgy window boasting a full Chinese menu. ‘Um…’ I hesitate, not sure if I want to be up that night suffering from stomach upset. Well, I guess it’ll be fairly authentic…seeing as how I can’t read the sign.
A very plain interior, bordering on warehouse-ish-ness. Oilcloth table covers sporting bird dogs and mallard ducks. I am not comforted. Friendly staff, though, give us a menu and tell us to sit anywhere. Anywhere is right, as there are only 2 other customers in this cavernous concrete place. Erm….
Kate chooses sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried-rice, her favourite. We’ll split it. And as the jasmine tea begans to relax me, I start to soak up the multi-cultural ethos of the street. It is then we are served the absolute best sweet-and-sour chicken I’ve had since…..well, I can’t remember when.
Lesson to me that a) you can’t judge a street by its appearance and b) Agnes’ spirit is alive and well.
I really love your blog, its a perfect balance of your creative works and reflections on life, coupled with wonderful photographs. Raised in Dublins north side a trip to Moore Street was a regular Saturday activity for me with my Mother. I loved all the callings of offers ‘loiters tree fur fiftee’! And the ladies with those old fashioned prams full of plastic Pat Butcher earings! I still love to visit it the odd time we come up to the big smoke, the visuals of the veg stalls are still much the same, as are the calls of various special offers, but the smells have changed … I love the memories of my childhood mixed with the aromas of unfamiliar foods and spices heavy in the air. Visiting one of those restaurants is high on my to do list.
25 Feb 2007 at 11:55 am
Our favorite Thai restaurant is in front of a live-in motel. You know, the kind where people rent rooms long-term? Absolute best Thai food ever, and we passed it so many times….
26 Feb 2007 at 1:34 am
Sounds like Dublin!! Do you remember the name, if it was even in english, of the chinese restaurtant? You have made me hungry for sweet and sour!!!
27 Feb 2007 at 5:35 pm
I just discovered this street with its Asian influence quite recently. You hit the “nail on the head…you can’t judge a book by its cover”
04 Mar 2007 at 10:13 am