https://epicchq.com/story/the-men-behind-walkinstowns-musical-roads/

The street names in a housing estate in south-west Dublin commemorate composers, performers and collectors; there seems to be no official Dublin Corporation record as to whose idea it was. The estate was started from the late 1940s and here are the road names and some information about them:

This housing scheme was most likely started sometime during the Second World War ("The Emergency") and by 1945 the following roads were built:

Bigger Road, Bunting Road, Harty Rd, Thomas Moore Road, Hughes Road, John McCormack Avenue, Stanford Green and Hardebeck Avenue.

According to the 1952 OS map: the following also existed by then: Balfe Road (not Ave), O'Brien Road, Crotty Avenue, Dowland Rd, Esposito Road, Field Avenue, Moeran Road and Percy French Road.

What I find most surprising about the selection of musicians is the wide and inclusive representation, made at a time when Ireland was still establishing itself as a republic and balancing its relationship with Britain. The inclusion of Anglo-Irish composers, notably C.V. Stanford and Hamilton Harty, suggests that political opportunities were set aside for a more inclusive and representative list of names, something that I think was way ahead of its time and which represents 21st-century Ireland and not mid 20th-century Ireland. Some day we might discover who was the architect behind the selection of names!

Enjoy this short tour!

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