Ireland in the 1980s was a place many people wanted to escape. The country was one of the poorest in Europe and huge numbers were emigrating every year. But for David Jazay, it was the other way around. The German photographer arrived in the Irish capital on a Sunday in 1982, as a teenage exchange student.
The inner city of Dublin at this time was home to the faded grandeur of British-era Georgian buildings that were under immediate threat of demolition. The area – where working-class communities had toiled for generations – was about to change for ever.
Few could anticipate Ireland’s boom years ahead – where the dizzying growth mirrored the UAE’s, with cranes filling Dublin’s skies – but Jazay grasped instinctively that this chapter in Dublin’s history needed to be documented before it was erased.
I was fascinated not so much by the dereliction but by the working-class culture and the small shop owners
"I was fascinated not so much by the dereliction, but by the working-class culture and the small shopowners," says Jazay, 54, who is from Munster. "People would chat to you, people had time, and there were children playing in the streets. It was all very different from the Germany I grew up in. I thought it was very beautiful."
The photographs he took show the last of the old antique houses, furniture sellers and corner shops that dotted the quays alongside the beautiful yet dilapidated "Georgian architectural ensembles", as Jazay calls them. The faces of shopowners, children and salesmen stare out from a departed era. And forget grey monochrome shots of poverty and decay: many of the images are immediate and colourful. It is clear Jazay was no misery tourist, but someone genuinely interested in what was happening.
“It boggles my mind that people see bleakness because what I saw was working-class people being able to make a living in the city,” he says. “It was my intention to photograph it in good light because I didn’t want to fall into that narrative of the bleak, depressing post-war thing.”
Jazay used a 1950s-era Rolleiflex T camera to document the era's twilight. It was a twin lens, analogue camera that he found relaxed people when he shot their portraits. "Because you look down and talk to them and make eye contact while you take photos, so it is a very good street camera."
One striking images is of a Sikh trader at an inner city bazaar. "I didn't consider it unusual to see signs of an Asian community, even if Ireland was quite mono-ethnic in those years."
Jazay returned to Ireland every two years, and in 1985 shot a continuous panorama of Dublin’s north quays that line the River Liffey. He would walk 20 metres, take a shot and then do it again. The beauty of the architecture remained despite the poor condition of the buildings and “ghost signs” – previous shop names – were still visible. “It was like a layer cake of history,” he says. “You could actually see the different uses people had put these buildings through in the course of time. All that is gone now, and doesn’t seem to be missed much. But I saw the life in it.”
Jazay snapped about 4,000 images in total and, a few years ago, he scanned some and put them together in digital panoramas. The result is a striking record of Dublin in the latter half of the 1980s. In 1988, Jazay also completed a documentary with Judith Klinger, called Bargaintown, which chronicles some the people he met.
By 1992, the work had finished and Dublin had moved on. Ireland was about to experience a huge economic boom called the Celtic Tiger. The years from 1995 to 2007 were an unprecedented time in Ireland's history, when the country went from being one of the poorest to one of Europe's wealthiest.
Jazay did not visit between 1996 and 2013 as new construction and infrastructure projects transformed the city he chronicled – many buildings were demolished or rebuilt with mock facades – and the places Jazay photographed are now largely redeveloped. The boom was followed in 2008 by one of the sharpest downturns in history.
Jazay named his collection "Dublin Before the Tiger" and it represents a warm and intriguing snapshot of a time and place in the capital's history that has been lost for ever. Jazay is now hoping to stage an exhibition of the photographs in Ireland.
"I've been going back for the past 10 years, and what really shocks me now is the empty brownfield sites. They should have done projects for the community such as rehearsal spaces, parks, sports grounds and things like that," he says.
"I have no wish to judge or indict, but would hope that people saw not just the poverty and dereliction of Dublin before the Tiger, but also the dignity of its people in the face of adversity, their crafts and traditions, and their sense of community."
More information about Dublin Before the Tiger is available at www.davidjazay.com
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
1st row
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
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Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
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Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Six things you need to know about UAE Women’s Special Olympics football team
Several girls started playing football at age four
They describe sport as their passion
The girls don’t dwell on their condition
They just say they may need to work a little harder than others
When not in training, they play football with their brothers and sisters
The girls want to inspire others to join the UAE Special Olympics teams
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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SPECS
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
Results
Final: Iran beat Spain 6-3.
Play-off 3rd: UAE beat Russia 2-1 (in extra time).
Play-off 5th: Japan beat Egypt 7-2.
Play-off 7th: Italy beat Mexico 3-2.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Scores
Scotland 54-17 Fiji
England 15-16 New Zealand
Read more about the coronavirus
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
