Everyday He Writes The Book

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here is so much to love, cherish and ogle over in the Paines’ latest, exhaustive and lovingly-crafted Pictorial History of Greystones.

Hitherto unseen images and untold stories from our rich past, new, near-perfect recreations of much-loved Robert French photographs, and the sort of detailed and well-documented local histories that take years and years of research.

In the case of A Pictorial History of Greystones & Its Coast Environs 1760 to 2018, about 11 years of research, to be precise. A follow-up to seven hugely successful – and now, sorely sought after – books charting our local history, when Derek Paine passed away on April 10th, 2016, his son vowed to continue their collaboration.

Only this time, the latest volume would be bigger, better, brighter, and – yowsa! – in colour.

Launched this afternoon at the Greystones Sailing Club, Gary found himself signing autographs for the first time in his life, as people from near and far lined up to get their hands on this long-awaited book. And making sure that we all knew this was all about remembering Greytones’ rich past, guests of honour Jago and Liam Hayden were there to take us all down their own long & winding memory lanes.

With the seven previous books – published between 1993 and 2007 – proving to be enormously popular (to the point that they’re now collectors items) – the latest collection will no doubt become the no.1 Christmas present around here. Especially to send to all those ex-Pats and ex-Marys.

Speaking about the latest collection, Gary Paine was quick to point out that the age of the internet and digital reproduction had made book no.8 even sharper and cleaner than the previous seven, with the 296-page collection also being the largest in the series to date.

Included is 45 pages on Greystones’ love affair with schooners, 16 pages on Greystones Lifeboats, 12 pages on the Coast Guards, and whole sections on The Brandy Hole, fishing, sailing, rowing, swimming, rugby, tennis, golf, Church Road, La Touche Place, Trafalgar Road and Victoria Road, plus the town’s connections with the 1916 Easter Rising, World War War, the suffragettes, the electrification of Greystones, and much more.

You can grab your copy of A Pictorial History Of Greystones & Its Coastal Environs 1760 to 2018 in Linda Paine’s groovy Greystones Antiques (just by the train station), clicking here, or you can email garytpaine@gmail.com.

You can find out more about the great Paine father & son archive work here.