Seven people were injured in a collision between a D.U.T.  Company single-decker omnibus and a private motor car at Dolphin’s Barn Bridge, Dublin yesterday evening.

Six of the injured were women passengers of the ‘bus. They were: Mrs. Margaret Tate, 14 Dolphin’s Barn street; Miss Brigid Duff, 11 Faughart road, Crumlin; Miss Angela Sutton, 138 Upper Leeson street; Miss Letitia Foley, 45 Durrow Road, Crumlin; Miss Winnie McCarthy, 207 Clonard road, Kimmage, and Miss Vera Moore, 121 Kildare road, Crumlin.

The seventh casualty was Mr. James Leeson, aged about 30, of 1 Tyrconnel road, Inchicore, the driver of the private motor car. He was brought unconscious to the Meath Hospital, and was still in that state at a late hour, though a superficial examination did not disclose any injuries. The women were treated for slight cuts and abrasions as well as shock, and were discharged after an hour or two.

The crash occurred about ten minutes past seven. The bus (a No. 82 on the Bangor road service) was proceeding from the city outward. Just as it topped the canal bridge a private motor car, driven along the south side of the Grand Canal from the direction of Herberton Bridge, came across the road. The ‘bus caught it clean amidships, tossed it on to one side, and then, swerving out of control, drove straight into the licensed premises of Mr. Joseph Maher, “The Bridge House”. The ‘bus tore straight through the window, sweeping before it the counter and a cross partition, before being brought to a standstill by the top of the vehicle catching against the cross beam over the shop front. With the driver’s cab and half its length inside the shop, it remained there completely jamming up half the shop from floor to ceiling.

The passengers, of whom there were about a dozen in the ‘bus, were thrown from their seats, and some of them sustained cuts from flying glass. The ‘bus driver, John Saunders, was badly shaken, but otherwise escaped injury, as did the conductor, Joseph Galvin. The private motor car after the impact was brought to a standstill, and people rushing to it found the driver, who was the sole occupant, unconscious at the wheel. The car, a Ford Eight, had been partially stoved in on the left-hand side. All the injured were taken to the Meath Hospital for treatment.

It being a Sunday evening, the public house had been closed at five o’clock, so that there was no one in the shop, and Mr. Maher, the proprietor, and his family were also all out at the time. The gas mains  were burst, and for a time there was real danger from escaping gas, but a repair car and workers arrived from the Gas Company and quickly effected repairs. Early this morning Mr. Gleeson had regained consciousness and was improving somewhat.

Note to Reader

• The original location of Maher’s Bridge house was 1-3 Crumlin Road and was located on the green space between Dolphin’s Barn Fire Brigade and the Maxol Garage station on Crumlin Road. The image below shows an approximate location. Many of the buildings on this side of the road were demolished to make way for the Crumlin Housing Scheme in the early 1940s. The pub was moved to the other side of the road beside the Maxol Garage. We have an upcoming research on the Maher family and the business, which will be published shortly.
  
• Phrases like “Best Drinks” and “Best Drinks Supplied” were often emblazoned on gable walls of pubs in the city and rural town to advertise the pub’s quality. Many printed advertisements for different pubs advertise “Best Drinks” in the 1920’s -1940s, but it did not have to correlate directly to the quality of the establishment’s beverages and often didn’t.

Photos