Those Places Thursday: Mom's 1953 Europe Road Trip - Ulster, Éire

From Mom's Europe trip diary, in the "PLACES VISITED" section:

August 21, Friday – Road between Larne and Giant's Causeway

Drove to Belfast where we got papers for trip through Éire.*  Shopped** and did I go hog wild.  Bought a linen damask tablecloth with 12 napkins, 12 salmon [linen] guest towels, and a [linen] luncheon set.  About 60 dollars worth.  Am I pleased.  Also bought a green linen place mat set.  Left Belfast and drove to Giant's Causeway.  Hotel too expensive so drove on to Portrush which is beautiful seacoast town.  Actually saw people bowling on green.

* According to Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition, Éire is:

1. the Irish Gaelic name for Ireland, and 
2. a former official name (1937–49) for Republic of Ireland.

** From the PURCHASES section, it indicates Mom bought these items at Robinson & Cleaver, and spent £26.36/12.  All of the items were linen.

According to the "HOTELS STOPPED AT" section of the trip diary, my mother and her friends stayed at the Cloughcor Hotel in Portrush this night.

Belfast: Robinson & Cleaver building, 11 November 2007 / © Chris Downer / CC BY-SA 2.0

Robinson and Cleaver originally opened in 1874, and moved to this location pictured, at the corner of Donegall Place and Donegall Square North in Belfast, when the building was completed in 1888. Originally a linen warehouse, the building had six stories, a clock tower, copper domes, and 50 stone busts of supposed patrons such as Queen Victoria and the Emperor and Empress of Germany, plus symbolic references to distant marketplaces.  As Belfast's most exclusive department store, it was famous for its Irish linens and excellent service.  Sadly, the store closed in 1984, and its elegant interior marble staircase was auctioned off and can now be found at Ballyedmond Castle, Rostrevor, County Down.

Former Robinson & Cleaver, Belfast (3) - store’s name, at roof level, on the Donegall Place side, 11 October 2009 / © Albert Bridge / CC BY-SA 2.0

Former Robinson & Cleaver building, Belfast (2) - exceptionally rich in detail., this is but a sample of what is to be seen on the Donegall Square North façade, 20 May 2007 / © Albert Bridge / CC BY-SA 2.0

Portrush harbour, 23 September 2013 [cropped] / © Gareth James / CC BY-SA 2.0

This is the fourteenth in a series of posts about my mother's 1953 Europe Trip.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.