Howaya Five-0 #2: Classon's Bridge
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This is the second in the Howaya Five-0 series. It has nothing to do with the TV programme of a similar name, although some references accidental or deliberate may appear from time to time. The main point is that they are all Dublin based, will be linked in some way to the number 50, and located within 50 meters of the appropriate reference. As yet, I can’t decide how many there might be in this series. I’m sure an appropriate number will come to mind eventually
Howaya Five-0, #2: Classon’s Bridge
In the late 18th Century John Classon started his own milling business at this site beside the river Dodder, he later built a bridge across the river from granite stone lifted from the Dodder bed to aid transport to and from his business.
The Bridge itself features on maps going back as far as 1837. Originally it had three round arches of limestone masonry which are still visible from below. However, they were rather brutally encased in reinforced concrete when the bridge was widened in 1928.
Looking downstream from here you can see the Milltown Viaduct. This fine limestone bridge once formed part of the Dublin-Dundrum railway line, which opened in 1846 and ran until its closure in 1958. Having stood as little more than a local landmark for almost 50 years, the bridge resumed its functional existence in 2006 with the opening of the LUAS Green line. Incidentally, if you wander down for a closer look, keep an eye out for the rows of holes drilled by Irish Army sappers in the 1940s in readiness for the gelignite if invaders approached Dublin.
Looking upstream, you can’t miss Roger the Rhino, and the Dropping Well pub. One of Dublin’s most historic pubs, it owes its origins to the Great Famine of 1845 – 1849 and was first licensed as a Community Morgue in ‘Black ’47’. The Great Famine, having ravaged the countryside since 1845 reached epidemic proportions in Dublin by the early summer in 1847. Dublin was then a city beleaguered by dysentery, typhus, dropsy and fever as huddled, swarming masses of emaciated looking creatures left a ghostly type trail across the land. Many were Dublin people themselves while others arrived from the rest of the country in search of food, employment and shelter, with the ultimate objective of seeking passage away from Ireland as famine emigrants across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World.
Throughout 1847 starving people communed along the banks of the Dodder River with many falling and perishing by its waterside. The presence of decaying and disease ridden bodies became a great problem for the authorities who needed somewhere to keep the bodies of these unfortunate souls with the hope of trying to identify them before they were buried in mass famine graves.
John Howe and his wife approached the authorities applying for a liquor license and offered to set up a Community Morgue station on the banks of the Dodder River at Classon’s Bridge. Their request was immediately granted and The Dropping Well Pub opened its doors to the public in July of 1847. However, the normal business of a public house was farthest from John Howe’s mind as his chief concern lay in dealing with the hundreds of ghostly type creatures who drifted down the Dodder Valley. In the cause of helping the afflicted, John Howe himself became contaminated and, despite the presence of medical attention died of complications in 1850. His wife continued the family business for a time before passing the premises on to a relative, Miss Williams, in 1855.
At the turn of the century, and with the morgue long gone, P.H. Meagher bought the premises. P.H. Meagher was one of the most charismatic publicans to ever enter the annals of the Dublin licensed trade. Having acquired the premises in 1908, he completed a lavish post-Victorian renovation which significantly upgraded the premises. P.H. was a strict publican who possessed an incredible passion of sport: racing, football and most especially boxing. Having boxed for a time in his younger days he took it upon himself to create a new attraction within the pub, a specially erected boxing ring. It is rumoured that for P.H., nicknamed PH ‘Boxer’ Meagher would ‘take on’ any aspiring pugilist who wanted a fight, giving them a welcome, however short, in his boxing ring. Historical accuracy is unclear but these events are responsible for creating much local myth and legend and more importantly, for establishing probably the most orderly pub in Dublin!
Today the ‘Boxer’ is commemorated in the stylish traditional bar at the Dropping Well which Charlie Chawke named in his honour.
The Cache
The cache is a micro - don't forget to bring your own pen. A tweezers should not be essential, but may be helpful. You should watch your step at the cache site, unless you want to get your feet wet. For the same reason, please be careful of any little people, dogs, llamas etc you may have with you as they do seem to have an unhealthy attraction to water, and a knack of falling into it. And beware of passing muggles.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Urnq uvtu. Qrcraqvat, bs pbhefr ba ubj gnyy lbh ner....