Pat Liddy (Irish: Pádraig Ó Lideadha, born 1944 in

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 ...

) is an Irish artist, historian, writer, illustrator, broadcaster, mapmaker, and environmental lobbyist. The author and illustrator of over seven books on the city, as well as others on Irish cultural sites, he is the walking tour operator of Pat Liddy's Walking Tours of Dublin.

Early life and education

He grew up in the inner north city suburb of

Phibsborough Phibsborough (; ), also spelled Phibsboro, is a mixed commercial and residential neighbourhood on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. The Bradogue River crosses the area in a culvert, and the Royal Canal passes through its northern reaches, nota ...

, the only child of Brendan (born St Peter's Road,

) and Maureen (née Mac Mahon) from

Kilmainhamwood Kilmainhamwood, historically simply Killmainham (),Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) i ...

, County Meath. He was fortunate to have as a playground the semi-rural surrounds of the

Royal Canal The Royal Canal ( ga, An Chanáil Ríoga) is a canal originally built for freight and passenger transportation from Dublin to Longford in Ireland. It is one of two canals from Dublin to the River Shannon and was built in direct competition ...

, the nearby Botanical Gardens and the Victorian urban landscape which helped to fuel his artistic imagination and love of history. He was educated at

St. Vincent's CBS St Vincent's Secondary School, or St Vincent's , is an independent Catholic Voluntary Secondary School in Glasnevin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It operates as a registered charity under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust ...

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...

. Always interested in art, Pat Liddy entered and won several art competitions as a teenager and young adult. One such endeavour, a

balsa ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...

wood model of his imaginary concept for a then proposed Roman Catholic cathedral in Dublin, is today on view in the Tara's Palace Museum of Childhood in Powerscourt House in Co. Wicklow.

Early career

Liddy had initially wanted to be an architect but disliked the way architecture was developing in the early 1960s, especially in his native

, and decided instead to join the national airline,

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

, in April 1963. In this capacity, he took the opportunities from discounted travel to travel all over the world. These experiences only reinforced Liddy's growing certainty that Dublin was one of the great but undervalued cities of Europe.

Career

Using his skills of self-taught architectural draftsmanship and general artistic ability, Liddy started to paint and draw scenes from the urban landscape in an attempt to bring attention to the uniqueness and charm of Dublin before those places disappeared forever. The 1970s was a time when a good deal of second-rate redevelopment was clearing away much of the run-down but historic fabric of the city in the name of progress. Starting in 1982 and running until 1989, Liddy’s weekly column in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

,'' called "Dublin Today," featured a pen and ink sketch of a building or place of interest in the city and was accompanied by a description of around 400 words. This long-running series gained a huge following and played an important part in a newfound determination among ordinary people, businesses, property owners and

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council wa ...

to rediscover and enhance the city. Liddy's first book, ''Dublin Today,'' published in 1984, arose directly from ''The Irish Times'' series. Several more books followed including the popular flagship book, ''Dublin Be Proud,'' published during the

Dublin Millennium In the 1980s and 1990s, a number of areas in the Republic of Ireland held year-long festivals commemorating historic anniversaries. The country was in an economic depression at the time and these were excuses for some civic pride; the anniversari ...

of 1988. It had the unusual distinction of being a number 1 non-fiction best-seller simultaneously in paperback and hardcover. When the famous Irish traditional music group,

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...

, went on a ground-breaking trip to China in 1983 and held many concerts there, Liddy accompanied them and wrote articles on the visit for ''The Irish Times'' and ''

The Cork Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' and on his return held an exhibition of

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

based on the trip in the renowned

Chester Beatty Library The Chester Beatty Library, now known as the Chester Beatty, is a museum and library in Dublin. It was established in Ireland in 1950, to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present museum, on the grounds of ...

. In 1988, on behalf of the

Irish American Cultural Institute The Irish American Cultural Institute (IACI) is an American cultural group founded in Saint Paul, Minnesota by Dr. Eoin McKiernan in 1962. The group's purpose is to promote an intelligent appreciation of Ireland and the role and contributions o ...

and Aer Lingus, he undertook 22-city tour of the US promoting Dublin's historical and cultural attractions. Taking early retirement from Aer Lingus in 1994 he turned his attention full-time to painting, drawing, exploring and writing about the historic buildings, scenic places and exciting new developments in his native city. He combined these skills with his active promotion, both at home and abroad, for the appreciation and protection of what he believed was the unique cultural and

architectural heritage of Dublin ''Georgian Dublin'' is a phrase used in terms of the history of Dublin that has two interwoven meanings: # to describe a historic period in the development of the city of Dublin, Ireland, from 1714 (the beginning of the reign of King George I ...

. He featured in many TV programmes and series, among others a popular 2009

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

series ''

On the Street Where You Live "On the Street Where You Live" is a song with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner from the 1956 Broadway musical ''My Fair Lady''. It is sung in the musical by the character Freddy Eynsford-Hill, who was portrayed by John Mich ...

.'' In the early 1990s Liddy was a member of a group that researched and successfully lobbied the

Irish government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

for the introduction of a light rail system into Dublin, now known as the

Luas Luas (pronounced ; Irish for "speed") is a tram/ light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both lin ...

. One offshoot from his local historical knowledge was the invitation on several occasions to name streets and roads in new housing developments. The most widely distributed tourist map of Dublin, "The Dublin Visitor Map" (13 million copies to date), was designed by Liddy in 1999 (in conjunction with the Dublin City Business Association) and is annually updated by him. Turning his hand to sculptural design, Liddy designed the Mass Rock Memorial in the village of

Lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...

, County Cork in 2000 (

Mass rocks Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

were substitute altars in rural Ireland during times when the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and its services were banned by the authorities from the 16th to the 18th centuries). The annual Dublin Moon Walk, a mid-summer all-night walk fundraiser, with a different route each year, is designed by Liddy in association with the Diabetes Association of Ireland. In 2004, special editions of his book, ''Dublin A Celebration,'' were adopted as gifts from the Irish Government to the heads of state and senior ministers of the other European Union's countries to celebrate the accession of the new states in 2004. Founded in 2005, Pat Liddy's Walking Tours of Dublin, is now one of the city's largest multilingual walking tour guiding companies with a group of professional dedicated guides. The walks he designed show the highlights and hidden gems of Dublin city. Since 2008 Liddy has also led an annual series of free cultural walks around Dublin organised by the

: Hundreds of people participate in each walk. In May 2011, Liddy received the Lord Mayor's Award in recognition of his dedication to raising awareness of Dublin's architectural and cultural heritage. In the same year, he had the honour of introducing some of Dublin educational and charity organisation dignitaries to

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during h ...

during her historic visit to Ireland.

Awards and distinctions

* Winner (model section) Caltex Art Competition 1961 and 1962 * Honorary citizen,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, 1988 * Co-leader of the

St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

parade,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, 1988 * Ford Cultural Award, 1991 * ''The Irish Times'' Living Dublin Award, 2006 * Category winner in the Digital Media Ireland Awards, 2008 *

Dublin Lord Mayor The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

’s Award, 2011

Personal life

He still lives on the north side in the suburb of Artane. One of his main interests is in early music and in the late '90s and early '00s was a part-time manager of the music group the Capriol Consort, under director Professor

Doris Keogh Doris Keogh (16 April 1922 – 10 August 2012) was an Irish flautist and flute teacher. Biography Doris Keogh, née Cleary, was born in Dublin to Victor-Louis Cleary and Mary Elizabeth Hughes. Her father was a professional flute player based in ...

. Liddy was married in 1976 to Josephine Murphy (born Lyre, County Cork) and has three children: Anne Marie, Pádraig and Brendan; and two grandchildren: Rosemary and Senan.

Publications (text and illustrations)

* Weekly column in ''

'', 1982–1989 * Album cover photographs of '' The Chieftains in China'', 1985
''Dublin Today''
1985 * ''Dublin be Proud,'' 1987 * ''Dublin Stolen From Time,'' 1990 * ''50 Years A Growin': The Story of Maryfield College,'' 1995 * ''Walking Dublin,'' 1998 & 2000 * ''Dublin A Celebration,'' 2000 * ''Secret Dublin,'' 2001 * "The Story of Coolock Artane Credit Union," 2001 * ''Ongar, In the Ancient Barony of Castleknock,'' 2001 * ''The Changing Landscapes of Dublin,'' 2003 * "Serving Our Community 1965–2005, Coolock Artane Credit Union," 2005

Electronic media

* Newstalk radio series ''Hidden Dublin'' * Various

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

documentaries and current affairs programmes * Regular interviews on national and regional radio stations * Tourist documentaries on radio and TV for overseas companies from Canada, the US, South Korea, the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, France, Norway, Spain and Israel among others.
Dublin Tourism Podcast I-Walks 2009
* Fáilte Ireland Podcast I-Walks 2013

Exhibitions

* Watercolours & Photographs of China,

, 1983 * Dublin in Drawings & Watercolours, Arnott's Department Store Gallery, 1984 & 1988 * UBS Gallery, Zurich, The Dublin & Zurich Homes of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

, 1989 * Dublin in paintings, Brussels, 1989 * Malton to Liddy, Dublin Civic Museum, 1991 (collection now held in the

archives) * The Castles of Dublin & Its Pale,

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

Art Centre, 2005 * The Changing Landscapes of Dublin, Dublin City Hall, 2004

References

External links

Pat Liddy's Walking Tours of Dublin
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liddy, Pat 1944 births Living people Writers from Dublin (city) Businesspeople from Dublin (city) People educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S., Glasnevin