O’ Connell Bridge Lanterns

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    • February 5, 2003 at 7:34 pm #705985
      GrahamH
      Participant

      Yaaaaaaaaaayyyy!!! The long awaited day has finally arrived!
      I was on the 15A coming down Westmoreland St today, only to see ahead that the three, five armed lanterns on the central median of O’ Connell Bridge are finally being reinstated. I stood up so quickly after noticing that I very aptly fell on top of the woman in front. (if you’re reading, sorry)

      The lantern heads have yet to be placed onto the arms, but you can already see how spectacular they’re going to look. Originally they had five arms & lanterns on each, but were reduced down to 3 arms sometime between 1903 and 1916 as they were deemed ‘unsafe’. They remained so until they were removed about 2 years ago for restoration/reconstruction, on the Continent of all places. They date from 1880 and are the finest in the city (if you don’t include the Five Lamps)

      The lamposts on the bridge’s balustrade were reinstated in 1999, also after reconstruction from 1 arm to 3 arms each.

    • February 6, 2003 at 9:39 am #724279
      urbanisto
      Participant

      These have been missing for ages haven’t they… it would be nice if they complemented their replacement with some samrt new paving on the bridge and get rid of that tarmac… I mean – the main thoroughfare if the city with a tarmac pavement!

    • February 6, 2003 at 10:33 am #724280
      Paul Clerkin
      Keymaster

      Very nice job, was looking at them closely yesterday

    • February 6, 2003 at 11:51 am #724281
      GrahamH
      Participant

      Saw them up close this morning, the relief detail is amazing, and so crisp & clean. The name of the restorer is on a little brass plate on the very bottom of each of the column’s bases. (I really shouldn’t know that)

      City Council, please keep them maintained for once in your life!

    • February 9, 2003 at 5:32 pm #724282
      sherrioverseas
      Participant

      I’ll hop off the bus a little early tomorrow morning to take a look see…

    • March 12, 2003 at 12:10 pm #724283
      GrahamH
      Participant

      At last, the lantern heads are on, erected it appears over the weekend.

      And wow, wow, wow, they are spectacular!
      They add a wonderful Parisian feel to the city centre, and an air of quality. The huge clumps of 5 copper/bronze? capped lanterns atop exquisitly detailed columns are so substantial & sturdy and are the only original, quality examples of major Victorian street furniture in the city.

      For once City Council, well done!!! They must have cost a bomb! (ie, us)

      I can’t wait to see them illuminated, going by the brightness of the lanterns on the bridge’s balustrading, O’ Connell Bidge will be ablaze after dark!

    • March 12, 2003 at 1:11 pm #724284
      J. Seerski
      Participant

      Yes, they look very well. But what we take as amazing is just standard fare around the rest of Europe!!!

    • March 12, 2003 at 2:07 pm #724285
      GrahamH
      Participant

      Only too true I’m afraid..

    • March 14, 2003 at 8:20 am #724286
      GregF
      Participant

      True……they look brilliant………why they ever were removed or botched is beyond me.

    • March 14, 2003 at 9:51 am #724287
      GrahamH
      Participant

      Hmmm, just thought, they could have been reduced to 3 lanterns each in 1947 because of the installation of the concrete lamposts (now gone) on the bridge…

      Saw them illuminated last night and they look spectacular, and just in time for Patrick’s Day, for the world to see…

    • March 14, 2003 at 9:58 am #724288
      Paul Clerkin
      Keymaster

      Thats excellent, they have the lamps illuminated now? They should have took the opportunity and widened the central mall on the bridge as a makeover for the bridge.

    • March 14, 2003 at 10:06 am #724289
      GrahamH
      Participant

      Presumably thats happening with the O’ C St works.

      Presumably.

      The Portland stone balustrading is also filthy, in fact disgustingly dirty. I have a picture of the bridge from 1978 and it’s sparkling white, an indication of it’s last cleaning…

    • March 14, 2003 at 10:11 am #724290
      Paul Clerkin
      Keymaster

      Why wait until theyre doing the street? Do the damned thing now! Small steps.. small steps…

    • March 14, 2003 at 11:46 am #724291
      urbanisto
      Participant

      Hear hear… the same goes for the other side streets included in the plan like Malborough, Parnell Sq etc, Westmoreland…. why drag out the misery of roadworks!

    • March 14, 2003 at 12:09 pm #724292
      GregF
      Participant

      Aye they should put paving slabs down on O’ Connell Street Bridge like what they did with Capel Street bridge and rip up that bloody awful cheap tar surface.

    • March 14, 2003 at 12:19 pm #724293
      GrahamH
      Participant

      Wouldn’t it be fantastic sometime in the future, of course preferably now, to exclude all traffic from O’ Connell Bridge and have a large pedestian plaza area instead, all paved in granite, sunken lighting, water features, cafes with tables similar to the boardwalk, vantage points with info about the city and the views….

      Ahh, one day, one day.

    • March 14, 2003 at 4:24 pm #724294
      Paul Clerkin
      Keymaster

      For anyone who hasn’t seen the lamps.

      http://www.archeire.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/bridges/oconnell2_lamps2_lge.html

      http://www.archeire.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/bridges/oconnell2_lamps_lge.html

      Compare with the ones on the side
      http://www.archeire.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/bridges/oconnell_bridge_lamp_lge.html

    • March 15, 2003 at 12:31 am #724295
      Anonymous
      Participant

      the pics of the lamps are brilliant …
      but i reckon graham if it could be anywhere, i’d choose to pedestrianise college green….these sunny days really make me think, of actually having a green in front of the college, full of people just taking it easy, maybe one day …

    • March 15, 2003 at 3:10 pm #724296
      GrahamH
      Participant

      Me too, it’s Dublin’s greatest urban space, and really would be spectacular ‘converted’, with the BOI, Trinity and the Victorian contibutions as eye candy. We’d have to say bye bye to the Ulster Bank though…

    • March 28, 2003 at 11:36 pm #724297
      Aken
      Participant

      I’m comming back to the city after my brief stint in galway. I agree that some new pedestrian spaces would weally go down well. And now that the celtic tiger has been locked in its glass case in the natural histroy museum we may even have time to enjoy them!

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