The Confession Box

In the year of the war of Independence (1910-21) rebel volunteers under Michael Collins were being hunted by british secuirty forces and were ex-communicated by the church hierachy. Np.99 Marlborough St. then 'The Maid of Erin' public house, was used by sympathetic clergy so that the rebels might recieve the sacrements and make their confession in secret rooms. It is this, the small size of the pub and its proximity of the pro-cathedral that led to its becoming known locally as 'The Confession Box'.