Dublin, 1961

Armed with a Ford Zephyr, a Contax II camera and his wife Jean, amateur photographer and businessman Charles W. Cushman chronicled Americana in vivid colour from the 1930s to the 1960s. Travelling the length and breath of U.S., Cushman witnessed and captured key changes in the modern age. His images of abandoned buildings in former mining towns, Texas cotton farms and crowded ghetto streets formed a visual slide show of mid-century history and society. In the sixties the couple began travelling to Europe and in June 1961, the Cushmans arrived in Dublin.

At the time Elvis Presley and Del Shannon topped the pop charts and The Capitol Showband toured America during lent season, when the Irish ballrooms closed. Cinema goers in Ireland saw 'The Misfits', 'Victim' and 'Whistle Down the Wind' in one of the fifty cinemas of Dublin city and its suburbs. 1961 also saw John F. Kennedy become president of the United States, Ireland applied for full membership of the EEC and Telifis Eireann launched at the end of 1961 with an opening address on New Years Eve from Eamonn De Valera. This was the period captured by Cushman's Contax II.

Although little is known of intricacies of the Cushmans' visit, we know they arrived on a British European Airways flight and visited Arklow, Drogheda, Dalkey, Glendalough and Avoca. However the bulk of Cushman's photographs focused on Dublin's city centre, particularly College Green, Dame St, O'Connell Brige, Dublin Castle, South Great George's St and the spectacular views from room 519 in the Shelbourne.

The pictures printed across these pages show a very different Dublin from what we know today. From a motorist's point of view, you could drive down Grafton Street, you could nestle your Morris Minor or Austin Devon up beside Henry Grattan on College Green and your Ford Prefect or Austin A40 next to Daniel O'Connell on O'Connell St. Clampers weren't even a twinkle in their mothers' eyes.

As a cyclist you wouldn't have to worry about being clipped by a car if you were riding inside this swarm of beige on Dame St. Over on Georges St, it looks like little has changed at The Long Hall while the red and white flags hoisted outside Cassidy's celebrated the visit of Prince Rainer & Princess Grace of Monaco. The royals' visit caused chaos as an estimated 30,000 people took to O'Connell street to try get a glimpse of the couple, who attended a ball in the Gresham Hotel on the 12th June. It was the beginning of an exciting decade which saw many other famous visitors to Ireland including Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, The Rolling Stones, Jayne Mansfield and The Beatles. Sadly, Cushman himself never returned.

See the entire Cushman collection at: dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman