Mac Thom News Today

Unlike other properties in the area steeped in stories of high-profile residents, Ballyfoyle has gone under the radar as a much-loved family home

This archive footage offers a fascinating insight into one of Dublin's oldest areas, Stoneybatter, during the 1970s. Stoneybatter, located near Smithfield on the north side of the River Liffey in Dublin City, is the oldest place name in Dublin, dating back thousands of years to the days of the High Kings of Ireland and the Hill of Tara. 

Lullymores and coal blocks   A chara, – Peter McIlwaine (Letters, January 28th) wrote about “Lullymores”, as peat briquettes were known at first, which were milled peat bonded into blocks for burning. My parents also referred to them as Lullymores. They had a precursor, “coal blocks”, coal dust bonded (with tar?) to form solid lumps, a form of cheaper fuel at the time. Éamonn Mac Thomáis wrote a book called Gur Cakes and Coal Blocks. My mother Eileen (born in 1906) grew up in the G...