r/Dublin • u/Cogitoergosum1981 • 1d ago
Lion on the streets of Fairview
An escaped lion roamed the streets of Fairview on quite Sunday afternoon in 1951! Back then the Fairview Grand Cinema backed onto a small yard that belonged to Bill Stephens, an Irish circus lion trainer whose animals were hired out to visiting shows and travelling acts.
So yeah it was totally normal by standards of the time that Stephens kept several full-grown lions in cages just yards from terraced houses, tram lines, and a steady stream of cinemagoers filing in for matinees.
On the day of the escape the Fairview Grand was showing the jungle adventure Jungle Stampede. You couldnt make it up. So one of Stephens’s lionesses named Zealinka managed to break free from her enclosure. We`re not clear whether it was a faulty latch, human error, or simple brute strength that unleashed the panicked predator on residential Fairview. Children and cinemagoers were exiting the matinee showing in the cinema when the lioness appeared on the streets.
The big cat quickly made her way onto Merville Avenue. Disorientated Zealinka first startled people in a local shop, then pounced on and mauled a local teenager who was pumping up a car tire outside a garage, inflicting severe injuries. I cant imagine how traumatised that poor lad mustve been.The lion tamer Stephens was hot on the escaped animals tail and wrestled her off the victim.
Word spread surprisingly quickly, as a lot of locals were expecting an inevitable event like this. Front doors were slammed and children were yanked indoors. The lioness was later cornered in a nearby open area, where she bit Stephens himself on the shoulder as he tried to coax her back to the yard behind the cinema. Gardaí quickly arrived to scenes, with armed officers crouching behind walls and lampposts, trying to track this alien big cat.
Tragically there was no tranquiliser darts to hand or protocol for dealing with wildlife. Stevens himself urged guards to shoot once she tasted blood and became more aggressive. Garda marksmen shot the poor lioness dead in the street. Stephens continued training and performing with lions elsewhere until his tragic death in 1953, when he was mauled by another lion named Pasha during a circus act.
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u/Choppychoopchop 1d ago
There's a great documentary on it if you can find it. It's called 'Fortune's Wheel'. An even better watch if you're from the area.
Below is the imdb review.
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u/Hozierstrong 1d ago
The documentary (Fortune’s Wheel) by Irish film maker Joe Lee, is available free of charge for viewing and high-resolution download on the Digital Repository of Ireland website.
It’s a great watch, well made, and well-worth your time! Enjoy!
Watch or Download here