North Strand Bombing, a Documentary

Why not pop along this Saturday (18 June) at 2.00 pm and view a screening of a new documentary on the North Strand Bombing at Charleville Mall Library? Entry is free and all are welcome.

About the North Strand Bombing

The bombing of Dublin's North Strand was the most serious atrocity inflicted on neutral Eire during the Second World War. Four high-explosive bombs were dropped by German aircraft on the North Strand area of Dublin City on 31 May 1941. The casualties were many: 28 dead and 90 injured, with 300 houses damaged or destroyed.

The tragedy has resonated with Irish people ever since, and especially in Dublin, where it has passed into the collective community memory. In the immediate aftermath of the Bombing, the local Charleville Mall Public Library was designated as rescue operations headquarters. Emergency shelter was provided by the Irish Red Cross at nearby parish halls and at Dublin's Mansion House.

Photographic Collection

Through the summer and autumn of 1941, Clontarf photographer Henry McCrea recorded 57 images for Dublin Corporation in order to assist insurance claims.

These photographs record not alone the destruction but also the indestructible spirit of the North Strand community, as local people went about recovering their daily lives.

North Strand Bombing - Dedicated Website

The North Strand oral history project, an initiative of Dublin City Archives, collects and preserves eyewitness accounts of the night of 30-31 May 1941, and the resulting interviews and memories, and more besides, are available via a dedicated website.

Further Resources

Further information resources can be accessed for research purposes by members of the public at the Dublin City Archives, located at 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2.