Charles Haliday (1789–1866) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

public health reformer, historian and antiquary who made significant contributions to the study of the history of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, being particularly interested in the Scandinavian antiquities of the city.

Early life and family

Charles Halliday was born in

Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on the so ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

in 1789. His father was an apothecary, William Halliday. He was the second of four sons. From 1809 to 1812, Haliday worked in London as a clerk in Lubbock's Bank, and later working as a commission agent for John Norcot D'Esterre. Haliday returned to Dublin after the death of his elder brother,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, and took over the business William had been running on behalf of his father-in-law, Finlay Alder, trading in timber and bark on Arran Quay. From around 1825, he started to spell his name Haliday. Haliday married Mary Hayes of

Mountmellick Mountmellick or Mountmellic () is a town in the north of County Laois, Ireland. It lies on the N80 national secondary road and the R422 and R423 regional roads. Name ''Mountmellick'', sometimes spelt ''Montmellick'' or ''Montmellic'', is a ...

Career

In 1832, when

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

first appeared in Dublin, he became a campaigner for improved living conditions among the city's poor, a role he was to play for the remainder of his life. This work focused on the provision of main drainage and clean drinking water for the working class of Dublin. During the construction of the railway along the coast of Dublin, Haliday ensured that access was maintained to a bathing area at Dun Laoghaire. During the construction of the new railway station, now Connolly Station, Haliday gave evidence on the protection of the view the Custom House from Westmoreland Street which impacted on the construction of a viaduct across the street. He was elected a Member of the Ballast Board in 1833, a corporation for improving Dublin harbour and superintending the lighthouses on the Irish coast. He also served for many years as consul for Greece, honorary secretary of the Chamber of Commerce in Dublin, and a director of the Bank of Ireland.

Antiquarian work and residence

In 1847 he was elected a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

(RIA). In 1850 he began to research the history of the port of Dublin on behalf of the Ballast Board. It was this work which led him to undertake a detailed study of the city's Scandinavian history, a period that had hitherto been almost entirely neglected by scholars. In 1834 Haliday moved to Monkstown,

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

. In 1843 he bought Monkstown Park, previously the residence of Lord Ranelagh, which he demolished and rebuilt. His new house had a large library to house his growing collection of books, pamphlets and tracts on Irish history. Haliday was an avid collector of antiquities and compiled one of the largest private collections of Irish historical works. At his death his library comprised 25,000 to 35,000 pamphlets relating to Ireland, in addition to innumerable books, tracts, ballads, and broadsides, including a secret service money book which detailed payments to informers during the 1798 Rebellion and was later used by R. R. Madden.

Death and legacy

Charles Haliday (1789-1866), Carrickbrennan Cemetery

Haliday died at Monkstown Park on 14 September 1866. He is buried nearby in

Carrickbrennan Churchyard Carrickbrennan Churchyard () located on Carrickbrennan Road, Monkstown, County Dublin, Ireland is a graveyard that can still be seen today, but is no longer in use. It is notable as the burial place of many people who perished in local maritime ...

. His work on the early history of Dublin, ''The Scandinavian Kingdom of Dublin'', was published posthumously in 1881 edited by John P. Prendergast. His vast collection of antiquities was inherited by his widow, who presented it to the RIA in 1867. 3000 duplicates from his collection were transferred to the

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is ...

. The RIA hold a portrait of Haliday by Stephen Catterson Smith. His estate at Monkstown Park has since been used as an education premises. Corrig School (Monkstown Park School) operated there from the 1880s until the early 1920s. Since 1950 it has operated as the location for

CBC Monkstown Christian Brothers College, Monkstown Park (or CBC Monkstown Park) is a private fee-paying Catholic school and Independent Junior school, founded in 1856 in Monkstown, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland. The college arrived at Monkstown Par ...

Park.

References

External links