Colourful Tales from
Dublin's Past
Bang Bang
Like all Dubliners, we love telling stories about the great characters who have roamed the streets of Dublin and there are few bigger Dublin characters than Thomas Dudley aka ‘Bang Bang’. Bang Bang was born in 1906 and spent much of his early life in an orphanage in Dublin. He got the nickname because of his habit of roaming the streets with his colt.45 gun and shouting ‘bang bang’ at unsuspecting passers-by. His ‘colt.45’ was in fact a brass key but that didn’t matter to him or the Dubliners who were more than willing to play along by faking being shot! Bang Bang carried this key with him everywhere he went and was particularly fond of ‘shooting’ bus passengers.
DoDublin was delighted to see the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Micheal MacDonncha, unveil a plaque in honour of this truly unique Dubliner at the site of his grave in St. Joseph’s Graveyard. Bang Bang died in 1981 but he remains part of Dublin’s history and this plaque will help his legend live on for future generations.
The DoDublin Tour Guides have gathered between them a huge number of stories of Dublin and accounts of the characters that have made their mark on the city. Here are some of their stories.