Alexander Strain

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Alexander Strain (c. 1877 – 18 September 1943) was an Irish builder and property developer in Dublin in the early 20th century. He was born around 1877 in Markethill, County Armagh, the eldest son of builder Robert Douglas and Margaret Strain. Strain moved to Dublin in 1893 and worked at a timber dealership in Rathmines. He married Kathleen Parr in 1898, and they had four daughters: Madge, Belinda, Caroline, and May. He was a Presbyterian and a active church member, serving as chair of the Drumcondra Hospital board of governors and supporting the Marrowbone Lane fund, as well as being a governor of the Adelaide Hospital. He died suddenly at his home in Cremore Park, Dublin, on 18 September 1943, aged about 66.

After moving to Dublin, Strain saw the potential to build on the northern outskirts. He borrowed money to buy 10 acres in 1896 in the Daneswell and Cross Guns area. Construction began on Iona Road, Drumcondra, in 1904. He built high-quality, spacious homes that stood out from the existing housing stock. From 1904 to 1914 he developed streets including Iona Road, Iona Drive, Lindsay Road, and Lindsay Crescent. He and his family lived in the houses he built, moving at least 16 times around Drumcondra and Glasnevin.

The housing market declined during World War I, and during the Easter Rising some Strain properties on Lower Sackville Street were damaged. He started rebuilding in the mid-1920s, with new work at Hollybank Road, Cliftonville Road, and the Cremore estate. Cremore was named after the townland in County Armagh where his father came from. In 1930 he and his family settled in Cremore Park, building several houses for themselves. The name Cremore also traces to a local Presbyterian meeting house near Poyntzpass.

Strain earned a reputation for customized houses and high standards during the inter-war years when materials and funds were tight. While the exteriors were similar, interiors and some exterior details were tailored to clients, including glazed exterior bricks, different sill and lintel profiles, varied iron railings, and stained-glass panels in doors. In the 1920s he adapted designs to changing trends, reducing servant space and allowing private cars. His houses were marketed as "Strain-built," a label that estate agents later used to describe high-quality homes in Drumcondra and Glasnevin. About half of the houses on Iona Road and Lindsay Road are attributed to Strain, such as numbers 34, 66, 68, and 76 on Iona Road and 24 Cremore Park.

Strain owned a large portfolio, with some areas like Tyrconnell Road and Jamestown Road in Inchicore developed in the 1930s, though those buildings are of lower quality and likely not his work. He was an advocate for modern town planning and became the first chairman of the Dublin and District Housebuilders’ Association when it was established in 1932.