17 October 2015

Oscar Wilde’s childhood home
in Bray is being restored

The Strand Hotel in Bray was once the home of Oscar Wilde’s parents (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Patrick Comerford

During my stroll along the promenade in Bray late yesterday afternoon [16 June 2015], I noticed that the Strand Hotel is being renovated and a sign outside advertises that this was once the home of Oscar Wilde.

It is not surprising that in the past Bray has been home to several acclaimed writers, artists and political figures, although it is better known today for Olympians like Katie Taylor and musicians like Sinead O’Connor.

The Strand Hotel is often overlooked because of its more distinguished looking neighbour, the Esplanade Hotel, built as an elegant Victorian Hotel on the site of the old Coastguard Station at the end of the Victorian era in 1897.

In the past, the Strand Hodel prided itself on the personal, friendly service, its “olde world” charm and its warm welcome.

But the hotel was originally built in the 1850s or the 1860s as a private family home and was first known as Elsinore when it was owned by Sir William Wilde, father of Oscar Wilde, the wit, poet and playwright.

Sir William Wilde and his wife and Jane, the parents of Oscar Wilde, built a number of properties on Esplanade Terrace, between Victoria Avenue and Convent Avenue in 1863. Earlier on this site in 1835, workers unearthed what was believed to be a Roman burial site.

The Wildes built the properties as investments. The family is said to have rented Tower Cottage on the corner of Strand Road and Putland Road while their other properties were let out.

After his father died, Oscar Wilde inherited his properties in Bray. When he sold them in 1878 he ended up in court in Bray over some confusion. The estate agent accepted offers from two bidders, and the bidder who was later declared unsuccessful sued. Wilde won the case but was left with the court expenses.

The Esplanade Hotel … built at the end of the Victorian era (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

At the very end of the promenade, the Bray Head Hotel was built 1862, but it can hardly be said to be as well preserved as Bray’s other seafront hotels. But it has been popular as a location for many films and TV shows, including The Commitments, Breakfast on Pluto and Byzantium.

Other writers who have lived in Bray include James Plunkett Kelly, Lennox Robinson, James Joyce, who lived in Martello Terrace at the north end of the seafront, Sheridan Le Fanu, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who lived for a while in Rahan House on Killarney Road. During his time in Bray, Conan Doyle worked on gathering photographic evidence for his theory of psychic phenomenon. He also taught for a while in St Gerard’s and wrote a book called The Coming of the Fairies (1922), that was a literary flop.

I must spend a little more time in Bray searching for the literary and artistic associations in Victorian and Edwardian terraces.

Meanwhile, a worker on the restoration project at the Strand Hotel told me late yesterday that many of the Victorian features of the former Wilde family home have been preserved and conserved, and the hotel is expected to reopen in the new year.

The Strand Hotel is expected to reopen in the new year after the present restoration project is completed (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Summer-like scenes on the ‘Dart’
journey between Dublin and Bray

It was almost like summer looking out on Killiney Bay from the Dart this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Patrick Comerford

After working for 12 days on the go, I decided after a chapter meeting in Christ Church Cathedral this afternoon to take the DART out to Bray for a walk along the seashore and a late lunch.

It is difficult to describe in words alone how beautiful this autumn is, with startling sunrises, warm days when temperatures have hovered in the mid-teens, and long, lingering sunsets in the evening.

It truly is an ‘Indian Summer’ on the East Coast of Ireland and in the ‘sunny south-east’ for these last few weeks, with extended harvests in the countryside, and fields of green and gold, all inspiring my thoughts for another Harvest Thanksgiving sermon on Sunday afternoon, this time in Straffan, Co Kildare.

The DART rail journey from Tara Street in the City Centre to Bray runs along the south coast of Dublin from just beyond Sandymount. All along the journey, the skies and seas were blue, the sun was shining, and with a window seat I could imagine there was recompense for the poor summer weather we had in Ireland this year.

The view from Booterstown across to Howth Head from the Dart this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

There were clear views across Dublin Bay from Booterstown to Howth Head, and further on the sun was sparkling along the waters of Killiney Bay.

Looking back across Bray and the beach from Bray Head this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

After strolling through Bray, with its elegant terraces of Victorian and Edwardian houses, and its Main Street with many independent retailers, I returned to the seafront for a walk on the beach and then along the promenade as far as Bray Head and back again.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road … street art in the back streets of Bray (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Even in the side streets, summer colours seem to be surviving in the flowers and a wall painting on the theme of the Yellow Brick Road.

Two of us met up in Carpe Diem for a very late lunch, enjoying their unique fare of Italian foods, wines and coffee.

A glass of Vernaccia di San Gimignano before a late lunch in Carpe Diem this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

After lunch, we had another stroll through those terraces and shops. With this surprising ‘Indian Summer’ it is hard to imagine there is just over two months to go before Christmas, yet many of the shops are already a jumble of Hallowe’en and Christmas themes and decorations.

As we were leaving two paragliders were enjoying the views of setting sun as they glided off Bray Head and out above the town and the seafront.

The weather forecast this evening promises this dry mild weather is going to continue until at least Monday.

Summer colours in a side street behind the Dart line in Bray this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)