Museum illustrates journey of the men who helped shape iconic part of the capital
Now, a new exhibition reflects on the careers of those who worked at the port.
‘Solidarity: The Dockers of Dublin Port’, is curated by The Little Museum of Dublin and provides a fascinating insight into a different time and way of life.
Visitors can see the dockers’ heavy shovels, hand-woven tools and the all-important work buttons, which were akin to permits.
Eye-catching artwork is also on display at the exhibition, which is housed at the Substation in Dublin’s docklands.
Dr Daryl Hendley Rooney, historian in residence at the Little Museum of Dublin, curated the project.
“This exhibition looks at the dockers, their working lives, their social lives, and the vital role they played in economic life in Ireland,” said Mr Hendley Rooney.
“The dockers and their families added such colour to this. It’s so important to remember their legacy, their hard work, their resiliency, and the great humour the men shared together.”
We spoke with three men who spent much of their life working as dockers at Dublin Port.
‘Horrible things happened at the docks, but also wonderful things’
Richard ‘Boxer’ Elliott started the job at 16, saying he grew up with the docks “as his playground”.
He recalled: “I started on the docks in 1962. The reason you start at 16 is because you started to get your insurance cards; you pay the stamp like PRSI today.
“You had to be insured. If you got sick or anything like that, you got a few quid from the government. I couldn’t wait to get my card.
“I was working in Brooks Thomas at the time. They were a builders’ providers. I went to the ladies labour to get my card because when you were 16, you were regarded as a boy.
“At the time, we lived in Sheriff Street in a block of flats. My father, my grandfather and my uncle were all there on the docks.
“I grew up on the docks; the docks would have been my playground. We had two swimming pools – the Liffey and the canal. We robbed apples from around there when we were kids.”
Mr Elliott believes he was destined to become a docker.
Dublin docklands in the 1950s
He added: “It was only a matter of time until I joined because I always wanted to when I was a kid.
“My father showed me the tricks of the trade – how to shorten the rope and things like that.
“He started a boxing club with a few others. They call me The Boxer after my dad, who was the secretary of the club and a founder member.
“But it wasn’t all sweet and roses. Horrible things happened down at the docks, but also wonderful things. It was a job that I loved.
“Every time you went, you’d get a laugh. The community was so small; everyone knew everything about each other.
“I retired at 65 in 2014. I left the docks only because I had to go for a triple bypass and I went out on a pension.”
‘My father fell ill and I took his spot’
John ‘Miley’ Walsh became a docker at 16 after his father became sick, but he later left to join the British Army.
“I started at 16 in 1962. I’m 77 now. I simply went there because my father took sick,” he said.
“I took his spot and took his button. If someone took ill, they could get someone to cover for them.
“I had three sisters and no brothers. It was done voluntarily. I wanted to do it; it was my ambition to do it.
“When I went down, I only stayed for about six months because he took the button back. That left me in limbo land.
“I cheated the system at 16. You could only get a button when you were 18.
“When the button was taken from me, I would have had to expose myself, and I wasn’t going to do that.
“I was a bit annoyed that my father had gone back to work when I knew, and he knew himself, that if he wasn’t fit enough to go back to work he should have left me at it.”
For a time, it looked as though Mr Walsh’s career was headed down a different path.
“I got annoyed and I went off and joined the British Army for two years,” he said. “My first day’s wages were equal to three weeks of a friend of mine who worked as an apprentice barman. It was a no-brainer.
“I stayed for almost two years. Then I got word that my father was sick again and I came back home.”
He is appreciative of the new exhibition. It reminds him of a job he loved and still misses.
“I was 63 when I retired. It was absolutely like death. You don’t have to get up out of bed in the morning, but I did. I still get up at 6am.
Former dock workers Paddy Nevins and John 'Miley' Walsh reminisce over a pint
“Everything changed overnight. When all of that is taken away, you go from being so busy you don’t know what day of the week it is to being so bored you know every single minute of every day. I’d prefer to be busy.
“I absolutely loved the place. There was a lot of learning new skills throughout the job. I would see someone on a factory truck and I wanted to be on it. You see a docker up on a ship; you’d want to be up there doing that.
“It was a learning process. You didn’t get instructions; you were put to work. The only way to learn is to keep doing it. It was easy learning but demanding work.”
‘If you weren't behaving, the committee told you to change your ways’
Paddy Daly was a docker for 48 years. Like many others, he started when he was 16. He loved the job because “every day was different”.
“I enjoyed the type of work and the men I was working with,” he said. “The years just seemed to roll by.
“The hours, though, were long and hard. But if you did what you did on the docks in a factory, you’d be sacked. You were never sacked on the docks, no matter what.
“If you left work to get drunk, you could go back to your job but you’d be sacked for that day. You could go back the next day.
“If you weren’t behaving, the committee would tell you to change your ways. But there was self-discipline, otherwise you’d have no job.
“I grew up in Ringsend. The people I went to school with, their fathers and brothers worked on the dock.
“You’d play football with them, go to the dancing, so we obviously drifted into the dock. You knew who you were working with. You knew that your back was always covered.
“We were competitive during the productivity to see who could get the most done. You were paid a bonus rate based on the amount of tonnage you’d get out of the ship.”
‘Solidarity: The Dockers of Dublin Port’ is open to the public and is free of charge. It is located at The Substation, Alexandra Road, Dublin Port. The exhibition runs from Thursdays to Sundays, 11.30am to 3.30pm, until February 4.
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Dublin dockers open up about lasting legacy of life at the port as new exhibition opens - Irish Independent
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