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In Ireland, government census taking began in the early 19th century (1813), which later led to such individual compilations as Pigot (1824), Lewis (1837), Slater (1846), and Henry & Coughlan (1867) - printers and publishers of 35/36 Georges Street, Cork, which became The Cork & Munster Directory and Gazetteer.
These journals listed individuals, businesses, organisations, addresses, telephone and telegraph details of cities and towns throughout Ireland. It further informed the reader if a particular place had a railway station, telegraph office, money order service, market day, shipping and, postal facilities - all of which outlined it’s status as a place of commerce and enterprise.
In 1912, Dingle is listed as having 31 business premises, which included 7 woolen drapers (including Ms. Duckham’s Shop), 3 auctioneers, a branch of the National Bank (now AIB) and 2 hotels on Main Street - Benner’s and Lee’s Family Hotel (now the Bank Of ireland). The Dingle Post Office was adjacent to Lee’s Hotel.
Other business concerns included - Mr. Thomas Burke, Mr. P. Devane and Mr. Peter Houlihan, all fish exporters - at the time Dingle and the peninsula as a whole was experiencing a boom in the catching, processing and exporting of mackerel to Britain, Europe and the USA. Mr. J. long operated a mineral water works on Strand Street, while J. gould (cattle shipper) and J. McKenna (butter exporter) employed many people at local level. The town also had it’s share of grocers, corn milling - Thomas O Donoghue (Main St) and public houses, with branch stores of J. Atkins (Cork) and R. Latchford (Tralee) imposing structures on Main Street.
By 1914 and the outbreak of World War One, in which many local men travelled to Ballymullen Barracks in Tralee to enlist in various Irish regiments - e.g. The Munster Fusiliers. The Cork Directory refers to Dingle as “the most westerly town in the United Kingdom” with it’s market being on a Saturday. Mr. Patrick Corkery - Stationer and Newsagent resided on the Mall, his business being a repository for school requisites for the nearby CBS schools. Both Mr. Michael McCarthy (Foxy John’s) and Mr. John curran were grocer, hardware, wine & spirit merchants on Main Street, with Mr. McCarthy being an agent for “W. & A. Gilbey - wholesale spirit merchants”. Mr. Michael O’ Sullivan of the Quay, was a grocer, provision merchant, and butter exporter, continuing the long tradition Dingle had of exporting butter to Cork and other markets.
The war to end all wars finally ended on 11/11/1918 with catastrophic loss of life and injuries on all sides. By 1918 - the directory informs the reader that Dingle now listed 41 business concerns, with a branch of The Munster & Leinster Bank also in situ in the town. The Dingle Pharmacy (Strand Street) under the management of Mr. J. R. Moloney attended to physicians prescriptions dispensed “with pure drugs and chemicals” - and was also a depot for patent and vetinary medicines; toilet requisites and photographic goods. Mr. Timothy Galvin - auctioneer resided on John Street while Maurice Moriarty, butcher, lived on the Mall plying his time honoured trade.
On reading the directory one can see that Dingle embraced many businesses, traditions and trades at this time, from wool spinners to publicans, corn merchants and newsagents, from bakers to grocers, auctioneers and confectioners, - a microcosm of life in a rural Irish town. What of Miss Duckham? Well the 1925 edition lists her as a Dingle Dressmaker and draper, still open for business.
