Anyone who grew up in the 20th century will remember dialling home from public phone boxes and having several other numbers memorised. But what about today?
Beyond your own, how many numbers can you remember?
With technology now at our fingertips, all it takes is a tap on a saved contact and seconds later you’re connected.
Earlier this week, telecoms company Eir donated Ireland’s oldest Kiosk No.1 (K1) phone box to the Little Museum of Dublin, showcasing a novel history of the capital.
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Deputy curator Dr Daryl Hendley Rooney recalled how it used to take more than a minute to make a phone call.
“Its chalk and cheese to what it is now. There’s a lot to be said for simpler times,” he mused.
The K1 phone box celebrates a centenary in Ireland, having been installed to its first location on Parkgate Street, close to the Phoenix Park, in 1925.
Dr Hendley Rooney remembered reading somewhere that Eir was giving back old P&T (post and telegraph) telephone boxes to communities for various repurposing.
“I thought it would be a lovely thing for the museum.”
However, after getting in touch with Eir he was disappointed to hear they had none left in storage except for Ireland’s oldest kiosk that had been promised elsewhere.
“We kept at Eir for about 12 to 13 months and eventually they donated it to the museum. It goes to show how tenacity pays off,” laughed Dr Hendley Rooney.
[ 2019 and fewer than 500 phone boxes still working Opens in new window ]
“In the 1920s, there were very few boxes. Given its [importance], there would have been lots of interesting people of the good and the great using it.”
Now in the museum’s possession, the kiosk had most recently been located on Dawson Street until it was moved into storage during the construction of the Luas cross city line in 2013.
“Its lovely to have a local connection with it just around the corner from where it used to sit. It’s a homecoming.”
The K1 phone box is the only functioning one of its kind in Ireland and one of only two K1s still in existence – the other is located in Foxrock village in south Dublin.
The small piece of Irish telecoms heritage is publicly accessible for visitors to the Little Museum where they can make free phone calls to Irish numbers.
