Early Irish Silver Teaspoons (Where are They?) and Streets Named For Dublin Silversmiths

Lately, I have increased the number of teaspoons in my collection and have enjoyed using the little utensils.  This evening, it's the trefid:

All of my teaspoons, save the trefid, are Hanoverian rattails.  While stirring my tea, thinking about silver (as one does), a thought occurred to me: Why have I never come across an early Irish rattail teaspoon?  Early English rattail examples are relatively easy to find, but in the retail setting - and in the fairly limited books I own and museums I have visited - I have not seen even one early Irish teaspoon.  Even knowing that early Irish flatware is not as profuse as its English counterpart, I would have expected to have seen at least one or two early Irish examples.  Does anyone know of any early Irish teaspoons out there?

Now, on to another topic concerning Irish silver.  In a Lot Note from Christie's, I read the following statement with interest: "David King was one of three Dublin goldsmiths honoured for his services to the trade by having a street named after him."  Since Christie's doesn't mention the other two goldsmiths, I was curious to find out who they are.  While there is a South King Street and a North King Street, an entry in Weldon's silver blog states that South King Street is our man.  Weldon's blog describes Mr. King as a "superb early silversmith" and illustrates examples of his work.  David King was Master of the Company of Goldsmiths from 1699-1700 and was a member of the lower house - the Sheriffs and Commons - of the Dublin Corporation, now known as the Dublin City Council.  Mr. King became a freeman in 1690 and died in 1737 (Bennett, 147).

Photo of the Gaiety Theatre on South King Street.  Photo courtesy of GraftonStreet.ie

The second Dublin silversmith I found to have had a street named after him is Jeremiah D'Olier.  Douglas Bennett (142) tells us that Mr. D'Olier was born in 1747, became a freeman in 1770 and was elected Master of the Company of Goldsmiths in 1781.  Like David King before him, Mr. D'Olier was elected to the Sheriffs and Commons, and he was made a Sheriff's Peer in 1790 (Ibid.).  He was a founder of the Bank of Ireland and, according to Wikipedia, a member of the Commissioners for Making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages, which you can read more about here.  Mr. D'Olier died in 1816.

D'Olier Street.  © Copyright Eric Jones and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

I thought I was stumped on the third one, until I re-read Chapter 7 of Douglas Bennett's Collecting Irish Silver, which identifies Thomas Bolton as the third man.  According to Bennett, Thomas Bolton was made a freeman in 1686, was Master of the Company of Goldsmiths from 1692-1693, and was the Assay Master between 1692 and 1697 (139).  Henry F. Berry, in a paper published in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Dublin (127) notes that on November 1, 1696, Thomas Bolton presented the Company of Goldsmiths with a large green tablecloth as a gift.  I suppose the premises needed some sprucing up.  When the new Goldsmiths Hall was being built, the Company decided to sell some of its plate - two silver bowls with covers and two large silver cups - to go towards the cost of the hall.  Thomas Bolton was the purchaser (131).  One wonders if Bolton kept these items for personal use, or sold them.  Thomas Bolton also made a loan of 200 Pounds to the Company to help with expenses of the new hall (McCormack, 116).  In 1716, Mr. Bolton was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin.  The Company of Goldsmiths presented a pair of cups engraved by Jonas Heaven to Mr. Bolton valued at 35 Pounds to mark the occasion (Bennett, 135).  However, towards the end of his life, Mr. Bolton experienced money troubles.  In 1730, he applied to the Company for a pension, and "our reduced brother" was given 10 Pounds a year until his death in 1736 (McCormack, 116).  For a more in-depth look at the life and work of Thomas Bolton, see John McCormack's article from the Irish Arts Review.

Dublin Institute of Technology building on Bolton Street.  Photo courtesy of Flukey's Virtual Walking Tour of Dublin

Sources:
"Antique Irish Silver Maker's Marks from A-L." Weldons of Dublin, 25 July 2013. Web. 12 Aug 2014.
Bennett, Douglas. Collecting Irish Silver. London: Souvenir Press Ltd., 1984. Print.
Berry, Henry F. "The Goldsmiths' Company of Dublin (Gild of All Saints)." The Journal of the Royal Society of 
     Antiquaries of Ireland 6.5 (1901): 119-133. Google Books. Web. 13 Aug 2014.
"D'Olier Street." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 29 Dec 2013. Web. 12 Aug 2014.
McCormack, John. "The Sumptuous Silver of Thomas Bolton (1658-1736)." Irish Arts Review 11 (1995): 112-116. JSTOR. Web. 13 
     Aug 2014.