Charles Haliday (1789–1866) was an Irish public health reformer, historian and antiquary who made significant contributions to the study of the history of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, 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, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical B ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

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 masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, 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, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the N80 road (Ireland), N80 road, 6 km north of Portlaoise. The town is within Mountmellick (parish), Mountmellick Roman Catholic p ...

Career

In 1832, when

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

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 Bank of Ireland Group plc () 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 Irish banking history. At ...

Antiquarian work and residence

In 1847 he was elected a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

(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 Monkstown (), historically known as ''Carrickbrennan'' (), is a suburb on the southside, Dublin, southside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is on the coast, between Blackrock, Dublin, Blackrock an ...

. 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

Haliday died at Monkstown Park on 14 September 1866. He is buried nearby in Carrickbrennan Churchyard. 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; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

. 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.

References

External links