A series of 3 talks by Dermot Coffey giving an insight into life in Dublin in 1914. With the world only months away from global warfare, and with Ireland only 2 years from the 1916 rising, these series of talks give us a fascinating firsthand account of what the times were like.

Part 1 - The Gunrunners

Coffey speaks about the summer of 1914 where the main issue in the country was home rule. In this part of the documentary we hear the amazing first hand account of how he played a role in smuggling arms into the country from Germany.

Part 2 - Mr. Moore and some neighbours

Coffey speaks about his first dealings with George Moore, when they met at a fencing club which had been set up with the help of Count Markievicz. We get a personal insight into Moore, a man credited as being a major influence on James Joyce. In one part of the talk, Coffey speaks of how one day he and Moore spent an evening painting Moore's front door at his house in Dublin.

Part 3 - The Great Talkers

Coffey gives his thoughts on the great talkers of Dublin - those who he describes as gay and lively conversationalists. We hear of some of Ireland's greatest literates in this section, and hear of Coffey's experiences with the Irish Literary Society and Irish Literary Theatre.

Introduced by Philip Rooney.

First broadcast 10th August 1962

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries.