White City proposal for Bray dropped owing to civil war

30 March 1923, Bary - Plans to establish a so-called ‘White City’ in Bray have been scuppered owing to the disturbed state of the country.

Mr. Patrick Collins, the Liberal MP from Walsall and an entertainment entrepreneur, had plans to erect a White City similar to those he operates in Blackpool, Southport and other English seaside resorts and had gone so far as to reach an agreement with Bray urban Council to take over Bray Head Park for a term of years for a rate of £100 a year.

It is understood that all the legalities had been completed and that  Mr. Collins would be in a position to start preparatory work immediately with a view to being up and running by the weekend. However, when the Town Clerk in Bray wired Mr. Collins as to when he wished to take control of the site, he was informed by Mr. Collins that he would now not be coming to Bray owing to the disordered state of the country.

While sitting as an MP in the House of Commons, Mr. Collins is best known as a ‘showmen’ - he is the owner of numerous circuses and a pioneer of the cinema and the roller skating rink. 

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]