O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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@StephenC wrote:
BTW a fab collection of pictures of the statues Graham,
The detail in the O’Connell monument is particularly fine and I’m sure that most observers will have spotted something new from the images that you posted.
@StephenC wrote:
I can feel the arthritis in my neck as I strain to look up at them
Don’t even go there – don’t want to even think about it! 🙂
I’m still in complete awe of O’Connell Monument – I pass like a grinning eejit every time! 😮
The change is simply spectacular. Of course it’s simply not sustainable to be constantly cleaning these structures, which only makes even more significant just how lucky we are to see them all at their very best in this not even once-in-a-lifetime conservation job.And there is of course an equal charm of having lichen or verdigris stained monuments that show their age etc, which no doubt will emerge again over time, so we of this generation get the best of both worlds 🙂
@jimg wrote:
The river park idea ‘though reminds me of a photomontage in one of the Sunday newspapers recently (in the last few months) where they showed what it would look like if Burgh Quay were covered in grass. It was startlingly attractive and oddly enough didn’t look at all unnatural.
Didn’t want to post this too soon after the stunning photographs of the O’Connell Monument and other O’C St. statues.
jimg, this is prob the pic you’re referring to, which appeared in the I.T. weekend supplement a few months ago, from the An Taisce report mentioned.
I know the image is a bit ‘photoshoppy’, the way the grass is just plonked on the road, but it was just to get the idea accross of creating non-traffic space on the Quays. I think it is very deeply ingrained in Dubliner’s minds that the Quays are for traffic only. We need to reverse that psychology. In comparison, some parts of the Cork Quays have heavy traffic, but they’re not an artery from one end to the other like Dublin, so you’ve got some very pleasant sections of quayside, particularly Pope’s Quay / North Mall.Funnily, the Temple Bar 2004 report (by Howley Harrington architects) which came out at around the same time as our one, said the same thing; that once the Port Tunnel was open, most of the traffic could be removed from the Temple Bar Quays and the area could be planted with appropriate trees and used for pleasant riverside walks.
There are images of the Paris Plage in the report it is as devin will tell you much of the inspiration behind the above image, I think that a few kiosks along the lines of the surviving phonebox on Dawson St would look really good in the image.
Pity they chose a North facing quay for that image – as I remember Merchants Quay is definitely one of the colder quays…
But Rory the sun always shines in the happy world of Photoshop 🙂
Yes it’s that image that appealed greatly to me too – the grass flowing up to the river is a delightful notion, especially on a quay with one of the finest building stocks.
It’s extraordinary how the pedestrian in Dublin almost completely rules out the quays as a means of getting through the city – they are totally traffic dominated. Merchant’s Quay in particular has alwyas appealed to me as a quay to be closed off or restricted for traffic- it has a lovely old world charm that really comes though when the lights hold up the traffic way back at Grattan Bridge – there’s a hushed silence that hangs over the quay, that combined with the Four Courts view and the overhanging trees feels like a different city for a moment or two. And then the lights turn green…Some comparative pics here of the Parnell Monument – difficult to note the change objectively because the light is different. First up is a wide:
The major difference is the colour of the granite – it has turned from the original attractive rust colour to a dusty pink. I preferred the former have to say… Saying that, the highly polished surface wasn’t noticable before the cleaning, whereas now it is like glass.
A tighter shot here showing the ontrast in condition of Parnell himself; similar to O’Connell the statue is now jet black as opposed to a seaweed colour previously :). Ironically the lettering is now more difficult to read:
The upper part of the monument – from certain angles like this one it can appear paper thin due to the triangular shaft. Great chimneys on Parnell Square too:
The newly cleaned ox skulls:
…and the wonderfully crisp and elaborate classical swags:
Here’s the base of the monument where you can perhaps best appreciate the newly cleaned polished granite. The bronze detailing is exceptional:
…especially evident here, look at that fringed cloth! :). The classical capital has always been a favourite for me:
This used to be illuminated by a white spotlight on the last 1988 heritage lamppost on the median – now I think an entire floodlighting is in order somehow…
Finally Father Matthew – wasn’t possible to get direct comparisions because of the building site in front, but the difference is stark all the same:
It was a complete revelation to most people (myself included) that the statue was of marble rather than the limestone of the base – a remarkable transformation! He was the grubbiest of all the statues on the street I think.
Here’s a (slightly over-exposed) wide of him, including the now-attractive blue-tinged plinth:
The facades behind look very fine too 🙂
Another batch has landed
The images of the Parnell Monument are stunning and it amazing at how legible the inscription has become, I must confess that I never really looked at the monument in any great detail before possibly becuase of it being marooned on traffic island that filters a hell of a lot of traffic. The one detail that surprises me most is the copper detailing that looks like a blanket I’ve never thought that the monument in question contained such detail.
The image of the plinth looking back towards the bank is interesting and from that banks interior I would say that the green marble detailing inside is no small way linked to the Parnell Monument.
Re: Father Mathew I think he was fine the way he was I’d have let him go brown in keeping with what he would have worn.
Or a couple of tins of Sadolin 🙂
I think the contrast between the marble and limestone is very striking.The one detail that surprises me most is the copper detailing that looks like a blanket
Yes, the fact that Parnell had a blanky will be quite a revelation to most people 😀
There must be so many traffic planners just itching to move the Parnell Monument – it has to be one of the biggest obstructions in the city.
But from a non-traffic perspective it is also one of the most perfectly sited monuments, standing at the confluence of a number of major arteries, as well as perfectly tying in with the O’Connell St median of statues.
I like the way it is in a world of its own up there – standing proud in the midst of everything going on around.As Devin pointed out before, the seemingly original cobbles and swirls of granite are a lovely feature:
…with circles too:
And here they are in 1911 seemingly being laid!
It is perhaps the iconic nature of the monument which is most impressive; this classic 1916 image being most memorable:
And 1911 with the planes a nice size :), and Gilbeys evident…
was in town today. i love how the cleaned statues look but i am a bit disappointed at how long it is taking to complete o’connell street. it seems like it is taking forever. way down near the gardens hasn’t even been started on, well from what i saw anyway.
Re The Irish Rebellion Picture are any of you familiar with the ‘New Ireland Assurance’ print from 1922 its colour works so well. I have always wondered is it simply a print or was it the upper half of a calender?
It’s amazing I used to go by the Parnell monument every day, to and from school, I never knew it had so much detail. Thanks for the images Graham.
Is it just Grahams good photography deceiving me, or has the restoration included the reinstatment of Fr. Mattew’s fingers that were broken off. I have to agree that I was surprized, but pleased by the colour of the stone.
Good work Graham.
Look closer…. the fingers ae still missing.
Its chaos on OC St at the moment but hopefully this time next year we will see the whole street laid out. Work has also started the remaining section from Abbey St to the Bridge.
Its a shame to see the creep of visual clutter along the street however. The new bus stops plonked right in the middle of the plaza are a good example. if they are temporary then why not use moveable posts set in concrete. If they are permanent (and lets face it this is likely) then why were the works done in such a crude manner. Add to these stops the signage. electrical boxes , bike stands and now the army of bollards that have been put in on the median between Abbey and the Bridge. Obviously there to stop motorbikes parking over the service traps but are they really necessary!
How sad the fingers were not put back. The City Heritage Officer told me, that he believed due the damage being so prominent, that reinstating them would be best.
I got the impression that the Heritage Officer (isnt he a she?) was of the opinion that repairs such as these and the bullet holes in DO’C would be inappropriate as they are part of the history of the monuments. However the fingers should probably have been put back.
Anyone know if the taxi drivers statue of Jesus will be going back once the works have been completed. Judging by the paving line (this is the first spot to have kerbs laid) the taxi rank will still be in place once the median is completed.
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