Whose funeral is this?

[Colur]

I came across this photo in the family album of what appears to be a very large funeral making its way up Marine Road Dun Laoghaire. None of my older siblings can identify it or even date it for that matter.
Can anyone help please?

[Annie65115]

A quick Google has turned up only one reference to the photographer; a photo for sale, taken by the same photographer, of one of the main characters in the 1916 Irish uprising.

So that person or studio was taking photos of well known people then (and I think, although I have limited knowledge of clothing history, that the clothes in your photo might date from roughly the same period?)

[Annie65115]

Looking again, is it a funeral? Behind the adults are some columns of what appear to be children wearing something that reminds me of the hats that boy scouts used to wear.

I'm interested in this photo as my friend, whose tree I've been doing, has ancestors who were bigwigs in the Dublin area and if this was any sort of state or important social occasion, her gt-grandad is probably in the photo somewhere!

[Rishile]

This link shows a photo of the funeral of Michael Collins which is not the same but has similarities.  It would certainly explain such a large turnout.

http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_family/hist_family_morgan.html

Rishile

[Annie65115]

If it were a funeral of one the leaders of the Uprising, I'd expect the place to be swarming with police, and that's not the case in the photo on this thread.

[Colur]

Hi Annie and Rishile,
 
Thanks so much for your prompt replies.
 
I can’t remember the amount of times I looked at this photo yet didn’t see as much as you guys did in a short evening. Yes they do appear to be Scouts uniforms being worn by the group leading the mourning cars. The policemen present, one on the far side of the road near the second tree down and two nearly opposite him but above on this side appear to be wearing the London ‘Bobby’ type helmets?
 
My parents married in 1933 and for some reason thought it would have been after that date and the only reference I can find to a large funeral having taken place in Kingstown was that of the 15 Lifeboat crew members who lost their lives on Christmas Eve 1895.
 
Thanks once again for your help and if there is anything I can do to help with your research from this side of the Irish Sea please don’t hesitate to contact me.
 
John. 

[PrueM]

Hi Colur,

Is there any chance of a larger version of the picture?  We might be able to see some more detail to help with a date, at least.  My first thoughts are "funeral" but I can't see enough of the women's clothes to give you an idea of date - definitely not 1895 though, the photo format is not right for that date (it's later, probably 20s, 30s or even 40s)

Also, if we could have a scan of the back (if there's anything on it) that would be helpful.

Cheers
Prue

[Lynntony]

Taken the liberty of enlarging the picture to see if it helps with identification

Tony

[PrueM]

THanks Tony, that does help a bit.  I can see more of the ladies which helps with dating - I'd say 1930s, and before the war, as there are lots of men of all ages in the crowd, and no uniforms (apart from the police) as you might expect if it was wartime.