Page 84 - Greystones Archaeological Historical Society

A WALK AROUND GREYSTONES

fishing nets. When the children tired of watching all this
activity, they jumped or dived into the little dock to the south
side of the harbour … At night, the children could hear the
waves crashing against the rocks and, through the windows
overlooking the harbour, see the light of the Bailey
Lighthouse near Howth flashing across Dublin Bay. These
sights and sounds … were to stay deeply etched in Beckett’s
memory … permeated his imagination and pervaded his
work.‘

Returning to Trafalgar Road which runs uphill from the
Harbour, note the walls topped with stones from the beach,
which are a feature of the area. On the right-hand side of
Trafalgar Road is 3 Bethel Terrace, another of the several
houses rented by the Synge family in the village, and later the
home of the composer Archibald James (AJ) Potter (1918-1980).
Born in Belfast, Potter was educated at the Royal College of
Music in London and at TCD, and was subsequently Professor
of Composition at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He was the
author of numerous orchestral and vocal works, and has been
described as ‘one of Ireland’s most important and influential
composers of the twentieth century’. He died in Greystones, and
is buried in Redford Cemetery.

Moving on, we pass a block of apartments, built on the site of
St Killian’s Hall. Originally known as Trafalgar Hall, this was
intended as a Church of Ireland parish hall, and was used as a
meeting place by the local Orange Order for many years. Burnt
down during the 1920s, it was later acquired by Holy Rosary
parish for use as a church hall, and became a central feature of
Greystones social life, hosting dances, plays, pantomimes, films,
and meetings over many decades. Close by, Coolna-greina,
occupied for more than a century by the YWCA, is another of
John Doyle’s building projects, and beyond it is Kenmare

80