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Alfie Byrne, Lord Mayor of Dublin


In May 1986 an exquisitely made and ornamented spade of the shovel type  was donated to the Old Dublin Society. The presentation was made at the Social  Evening, held in St. Anne's Hall. The silver blade, and shaft socket, are richly  engraved with Celtic patterns, as are also the silver ferrules at the  terminations of the shaft and handle. The blade is inscribed "Presented to the  Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, Alderman Alfred Byrne, Senator, On the occasion  of cutting the first sod for the construction of additional slow sand filters at  Dublin Corporation Waterworks, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow. 15th Sept. 1931. Grainger  Bros., Contractors". The lettering, appropriately, is of the old Irish type.  This beautiful example of Irish silver-work was executed by Thomas Weir, whose  hallmark is inscribed on the rear of the blade. The shaft is 26 inches long, and  the handle (curved) is 31/2 inches, and both are of mahogany.
In 1931 the  Corporation decided to have new filter beds constructed at Roundwood Reservoir,  and between 1931 and 1932 four beds were laid out, bringing the total of such  filters to fourteen. The contractors were Grainger Bros. of 533, North Circular  Road, who went out of business in the 1950s. When Alfred Byrne, or "Alfie" as he  was fondly called in Dublin, became Lord Mayor in 1930, the city had been  without a Lord Mayor from 1924. He was to hold this honoured post up to 1938-39,  and yet again came back to serve a term in 1954-55. In 1915-18 "Alfie" had been  a Member of Parliament for the Harbour Division of Dublin, and 1922-23 he was  T.D. for Mid-division of Dublin, and T.D. for North- Division from 1923-28, and  also from 1932-37.
From 1928-32 he was a member of the Saorstat Eireann  Senate, hence his description inscribed on the silver spade. Amongst his many  more posts he was a Trustee of the Royal Liver Friendly Society (Liverpool), and  Chairman of the Liver National Health Society of Dublin. He had an honorary  degree of L.L.D. from the University of Dublin, and was a Knight Grand Cross of  St. Sylvester (Vatican City). His last child, born in the Mansion House, was  fittingly named Sylvester. This silver spade, thoughtfully donated by his  family, will serve to remind visitors to the Civic Museum, of Dublin's beloved
"Alfie", who used greet all and sundry with a cordial hand-shake, or wave of his  hard hat if he was riding his familiar bicycle.

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