Connolly Station Canopy

yeah i noticed that too, im not sure if they are taking it all down, although i fear they might do

so far only the scummy corrugated plastic and and roof covering, part were gone on yes and the cut wood sidng out perhaps they are only replacing that crummy plastic and the tile roof which was in need of repair?

I think it had to come down before it fell down – this canopy was in rag order for the last few years

Originally posted by Rory W
I think it had to come down before it fell down – this canopy was in rag order for the last few years

That would be typical IR policy, let it decay and cite safety grounds for its removal.

I think that CIE have made a complete pigs bollox out of Connolly. From the facade (in dire need of weeding/painting/ cleaning) to the awful repositioned entrance, the cheap materials used throughout, the length of time it takes to get to the DART platforms from the ticket hall, even these stupid new canopies over the LUAS stop. Grand Union Station it aint… and a welcome to the new contemporary, cool Dublin of the 21C it ain’t either!

On the other hand Heuston looks great. All thats missing is a proper bus stop area in front with modern shelters and furniture. Hopefully this is all in the pipeline once the LUAS works have been comepleted here.

Agreed, Heuston is great, especially the entrance foyer area marring ‘old with new’. And the terminal is kept spotless.

In contrast, Connolly is an absolute disaster in every sense, from the materials used, to their quality, to layout, to design, to respecting the original buildings, to maintanance.
It is a disgrace that the main entrance leads you into a manky tunnel, and the replacement stone around the entrance where the steps were removed is possibly the worst job I have ever seen. And supposedly swanky toilets are woefully inadequate, and the lack even of decent water or ventilation in there should be the concern of the Health Board.
And the dated shoddy design is spreading outside now with the new Luas canopy, the type that has adorned British supermarkets for the past decade.

I think it was David Chambers who posted here before about the 4 & 5 canopy, he said there was a planning permission notice up for its partial removal – well feck it anyway, forgot all about finding out about it that after deciding to walk instead of take the DART!
It would be terrible to loose any part of this structure let alone all of it, it’s an impressive piece of engineering for Dublin, especially how it gently curves around to follow the line of the Loop Line track. And despite the plastic and poor decorative condition, the ironwork was in good order – there certainly is no reason for removal on structural grounds. Admittedly the plethora of valleys and joints in the part attached to the terrace of buildings must be in ragged order at this stage, but again, nothing that bit of maintainance cannot resolve.
I doubt any attempt will be made to replicate the 80s lump on 6 & 7, but still I can’t see why IE would want to shorten the length of the Victorian considering the whole purpose of the project is the lengthen platforms to cater for 8 carriage DARTs.
And surely the CC didn’t sanction part of its removal – would they…?

Originally posted by Graham Hickey
Agreed, Heuston is great, especially the entrance foyer area marring ‘old with new’. And the terminal is kept spotless.

I disagree… I used to live beside it, and it contained my local drinklink, so I was in it 4/5 times a week…… the station was filthy 90 percent of the time… i saw old women coming in and spreading bread to feed pigeons.. i saw discarded food and coffee from Cafe Togo… the place was disgusting

Really – perhaps it’s improved recently, admittedly I’ve only been there 2 or 3 times in the past year, but it was clean each time.
Suppose one-off visits never reveal the poor aspect of places, most people I know think Connolly’s the best thing since sliced bread.

21/12/2004

Well some restoration work is finally underway on the main 1844 facade of Connolly after many months of water pouring down from the roof above the right-hand colonnade, destroying the external ceiling beneath, rotting timbers in the roof structure and causing horrible green slime to proliferate all about the walls beneath and run down right out to the street walls. Scaffolding at last went up and work started a few weeks ago.
Still not sure though if this is just a problem fixing job or related to a wider restoration of the facade which is still needed.
Stephen C’s earlier comment about it – a building – needing to be weeded, just about sums up its condition.

Also quite major works are underway inside to update the terminal – how soon it’s being done I think an IE acknowledgement of just how poor the initial job was. All the silver structural supports have been painted white, and the cladding on the walls looks set to be dealt the same brush, as are the parts that were covered in that green 80s colour wash. It looks so much better already.
Large magnolia-coloured tiles are also going down on areas exposed to pedestrian trafic, notably ‘The Pit’ exit down to Amiens St, which incidently was cleaned it seems for the first time in 4 years recently. The difference a bit of maintainance alone makes is remarkable.
A bit of seating wouldn’t go amiss now, as well improvements in sanitary arrangments.

Here’s a pic of the facade outside with scaffolding. The recent extention of an outside area for the Oslo Bar above the left-hand colonnade is an unwelcome addition.
A spectacular floodlighting job could be done with this building, there are so many different elements to it that would look great lit up, esp the Italianate towers lit from within, as well as the areas above the balconies, and below, behind the columns.
You should be able to see that tower illuminated all the way from the Spike.

Not to be so negative all the time (IE just bring it out in most people :)) one good point is the shed platforms, which are always immaculately clean – although, that’s only noticable from the amount of times you fall flat on your face from slipping on them 😀
Oh I give up….

Really Connolly should be a flagship for IE. The entrance is a disgrace. Floodlighting should be a priority and cheap materials should be avoided. I agree Heuston is so much better than it was.

Just to note, you can see the extent of the green slime in the pic as it pours over the ledge to the lower wall near the pavement. This has come the whole way down from the roof, the rear walls and the floor of the colonnade area.
To see the ceiling ruptured and crumbling away was a crying shame, thank goodness it’s being tackled now – hopefully the rest will be too.