The Boy On The Other Side Of The Wall

Maurice Doyle with son Robert

hen we ran with the incredible story on Thursday of a note from 1922 hidden in a Trafalgar Road wall, we put out the call for anyone who might know exactly who the mysterious teenage writer might be.

The Doyles

Naturally, the always curious Gary Paine – son of the town’s #1 historian, Derek Paine – got in touch almost straight away. The man had broken on through to the other side…

Local DIY maestro Maurice Dodd had unearthed the note, written on the back of a Dann’s merchant’s bag and dated June 26th, 1922. The kid with the beautiful handwriting was a 13-year-old boy, James Robert Doyle, who was helping his dad, Maurice, plaster a wall – and he decided to leave a note for the next person to go digging in this particular wall. Which turned out to be another Maurice, 94 years later.

Robert James Doyle

Robert’s gravestone is up at the old Redmond cemetery, which tells us he died in December 1989, aged 82, his ashes scattered at sea.

Growing up with siblings Maurice Jnr, Dot and Nora to keep him company, chances are, Robert James Doyle had a pretty good life here in Greystones.

And if he knew that another plasterer, with the same name as his father, would find his note 94 years later, we reckon Robert would find that simply magical…

You can see our video chat with Maurice about finding that time capsule right here.