Sir, – Horses defecating on my road as a child in 1960s Dublin city brought a stampede (no pun) of boys with buckets, coal scuttles, basins and flower pots to scoop up what we considered still hot gold; pushing and shoving each other out of the way to mine as many nuggets as we could.

Gold? Yes. Fertiliser for vegetables growing in our back gardens and our plots on the Grand Canal. – Yours, etc,

MICHAEL ROONEY,

Knocknacarra,

Galway.

Sir, – The recent article on the illegal dumping of horse manure in Dublin streets (“Horse manure dumped around Dublin suburbs,” October 28th) came as something of a surprise. I was always under the assumption that this ordure was a much sought-after product.

I can recall days in London when a rag and bone man on a horse-drawn flatbed would pass down our street quickly followed by neighbours armed with shovels and brooms who happily chucked all deposits on to their rose beds. – Yours, etc,

ANTHONY MOONEY,

Hove,

East Sussex,

England.

Source: The Irish Times · Wed Nov 04 2026 - 06:00 • 1 MIN READ

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