The Angel of Grafton Street
Dublin is shining. We are having a brief respite from incessant rain this weekend with some much needed sunshine so I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about something bright and beautiful which I came across this week – this angel which is located on a building on Grafton Street.
The angel is a plaque which sits above Boots. My flatmate first drew my attention to it as a family friend owns the building. When I took a look at her I was immediately drawn by her position perched over the shop front. It’s an Edwardian angel with delicate detailing from her flowing robe, wings, trumpet and hair. Wanting to know about her I got in touch with our landlord (who also has an interest in history) to find out more about her story…
The landlord of number 12 Grafton Street erected this angel in the early 1990s. She stands on a latin slogan which means “medical prescriptions accurately dispensed” at the time it was made, approximately 1900, pharmacies advertised in this way, having an accurate prescription is something we would hope was a given from a pharmacy today.
The angel orginally came from the town of Youghal in Co Cork and was designed to appear on the apex of a roof of the pharmacy 117 North Main Street (which still stands today). The pharmacy like many businesses in country towns at the time was a grocery and haberdashery as well being a place which dispensed medicines. In the early 1980s our landlord spotted the angel loved it and secretly wanted to buy it.
Many years passed and he had all but forgotten about it; until, out of the blue, a shop-fitter that worked with him contacted him to see if he would like some wooden pharmacy shelves and amongst the items on offer was the angel.
He remembers, “What was great about the angel was that when she arrived she looked somewhat forlorn, and it was only when sandblasted, which took off loads of coats of paint, that the fantastic detail of the sculpture became visible especially the wings. It was beautifully made. “
The angel in her original perch on top of the pharmacy building at 117 North Main Street, Youghal, Co. Cork, now Crees Card Shop. it is believed the building had its interior remodelled in 1902 and that the angel may have been added to the roof at this period as it matches the interior architectural style which can be seen below. Image courtesy of Michael Shiell.
Carved lettering in the interior of the pharmacy on 117 North Main Street, Youghal showing details of what the pharmacy dispensed which included nursery bath and proprietary articles. Image courtesy of Michael Shiell.
Also seen in the lettering of the wooden architrave of 117 North Main Street are details that the pharmacy dispensed veterinary prescriptions. Image courtesy of Michael Shiell.
Today, the angel looks down from number 12 Grafton Street and it will grace the building for many years to come. When next walking down the street and you are in need of a guardian angel take a look upwards and you’ll see her sitting truimphantly looking down from her perch with outspread wings and trumpet in hand.