The Craic Was Nineties

A John Hinde childhood…

kay, so it’s not exactly his finest few minutes as a filmmaker, but still, fair fecks to Jake McKone for unearthing this short little 35-year-old shock of Greystones harbour and beyond.

Think Steven Spielberg meets Shakin’ Stevens, and you’ll be ready for the clip below.

Yep, we’re jumping back 3 and a half decades here, to Easter 1990 – Saturday, April 13th, to be precise – and our beloved harbour is still the old rundown but not quite yet iconic Greystones landmark that has now inspired a thousand and one ballads.

And about 6,327,893 social media gripes. At the last count.

Even though it appears to have been shot during a major earthquake, having a moving minute of Greystones in ye olden times like this is still a kick.

And if you look closely, through the bushes as the camera swirls past, you can see Joe Sweeney give a Jehovah Witness a kick up the arse. Very moving.

Thanking you, young Jake, for the groovy clip – you can catch his wonderful recreation of 100-year-old Robert French images of the town right here.

Now, go explore that harbour history here, Jake’s updating of classic Robert French shots of Greystones here, and find out how it got from there to here over here. This article first appeared April 11th 2020.