Introduction
Welcome to On Pavement Grey where you should be able to find places that were important to famous Irish people and places connected with people who were important to Ireland.
Ireland might not be proud of them all and all of them might not be proud to be considered Irish. Nevertheless, maybe this contributes to the idea of what Irishness means. Is it an accident of birth? Where one spent the majority of one’s life? If being born in a country confers citizenship, then should dying in a country not also confer citizenship?
This site brings together names from literature, art, science and politics. Some names will be more familiar than others. To avoid intruding on the living, all of the people featured here are deceased. Unfortunately, being mentioned here does not necessarily mean that you can gain access to a particular house or building. Also, many on the list had connections with many addresses so, for the sake of argument, just one important address is usually featured. Similarly, the ‘job titles’ of many of these polymaths have been trimmed.
While those currently listed have well documented life stories, it would be fitting to somehow acknowledge the countless migrants whose lives, though no less remarkable, are unrecorded despite contributing richly to the life of both islands. Suggestions for how they may be remembered here are welcome.
This is the start of an evolving project. It is doubtful whether it could ever be considered complete. I hope that you will find it useful and that you will be happy to contribute your knowledge or comments towards the improving the site.
Jack
on pavement grey 