O’ Connell Street, Dublin
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That happened quite a few times over the years didn’t it?!
Yes the Savoy windows are just drool-worthy :), the finest on the street:
(hope to get a better pic soon)
Interesting how the three most prominent ‘steeled’ buildings are all about to get conservation/reinstatement work carried out – the Savoy, the Gresham and of course the Ann Summers building:
An impressive set 😉
Where are all of these places (and on a wider basis too) getting their work carried out? Does anyone make steel windows anymore? And even more difficult again who specialises in steel restoration?
Is it possible to splice in new pieces into old windows or do whole frames have to be replaced?The Anne Summers windows are due for replacement I think
They say in the application that conservation work will be carried out, but total replacement in some cases may be necessary.
Here’s the terrace in the 1920s, sombre dark windows dominate, and not an Abrakebabra in sight!
Interesting that upper floor signage has already crept in – for once we have higher standards today…
looks great doesnt it, the large expanse of cobbles (very pre-makeover smithfield) and thats a mad eleaborate Saxone shopfront
Nelson’s head finds new home
08 September 2005 15:35
The original head of Nelson’s Pillar has found a new home at the Dublin City Library.Admiral Nelson’s head is now on exhibition to the public free of charge along with papers and original archives on Nelson’s Pillar.
The head has been moved from Dublin Civic Museum, which is closed for refurbishment, to the Reading Room in Dublin City Library on Pearse Street.
Nelson’s Pillar was a famous landmark and meeting place for Dubliners before being blown up by republicans in 1966, on the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.
@Graham Hickey wrote:
They say in the application that conservation work will be carried out, but total replacement in some cases may be necessary.
Here’s the terrace in the 1920s, sombre dark windows dominate, and not an Abrakebabra in sight!Interesting that upper floor signage has already crept in – for once we have higher standards today…
I love those eleaborate tram poles, how detailed. Had they been kept in storage they could have been reused for some city centre streches of the LUAS. Were they painted green?
I was interested to find out the reason that the fingers on the Father Mattew statue wern’t replaced was that they broken off by rubble from the army destroying Nelson’s Pilliar, and to repair them would be to cover up history. Similiarly it is why the damage at the back O’Connell was not repaired.
Thats an interestin pic of the Ambulance….Is it a Civil.War era pic I wonder or could it be earlier.
The flying of a Flag from it indicates that it was operating in a contested area….also the closed shops and lack of pedestrians might indicate an excessive lead to air ratio..?
On the topic of Nelsons Head,I recall my father getting over a weeks solid overtime on clean-up and reinstatement work in the Coropration at the time,he worked in the North City Paving section.
It seems that the original destructive explosion was somewhat more surgical than the “Official” Bang Mòr courtesy of à rm na hEireann which removed far more window glass and birds nests than was really necessary…Kismet,Hardy..???? 😎Yes the initial explosion was above the street so largely caused little/no damage, whilst the Army expolsion obviously impacted the surrounding terraces being so low down. It was mainly just glass that shattered though – never heard any claims of structural damage. A lot of embellishment seems to have taken place over the years regarding the army explosion!
Yes the above picture from the National Library Collection I think was taken during the Civil War as you describe – the date given is ‘1920-1930’.
Yes the tram pylons were very grand – still a feel of them in surviving lampposts from the 1920s and 30s in suburban Dublin, particularly around the Grand Canal/SCR area. They probably were green alright, though they do look very black in earlier photos.
@JPD wrote:
Are you suggesting that the Collins movie is a good indicator of authentic?
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Yes, sea, oui agus sÃ. I think the attention to detail in the movie was first class.
It’s fair to say I think that the attention to detail for the most part was excellent, superbly handled, just wherever they got it wrong they did it spectacularly :). Which is good in a way because these errors are so well-worn at this stage that you can gloss over them with ease and sit back and enjoy the rest of it!
The most subtle of elements like early electric ‘flex’ running up the walls of interiors to newly-installed electric fittings are just perfect – likewise the conversion of all the Upper Mount St lampposts back to their 1916 state, it really shows how iconic this lampposts have become in representing the Dublin of that era, something it seems Jordan was very conscious of.
The placement of a steet opposite the GPO is so perposterous as to make it quite easy to ignore – again with the British troops all lined up in front of the GPO firing directly in :rolleyes:
Whatever about the representation of Dev etc, that’s something for another day, but the art direction was by and large superbly accurate given the limited resources available.It was good outside O’Connell St but woeful in relation to how close the british forces were to the GPO; Eden Quay was about as close as most of them got. I would not rely on anything in that film even though they did get some of it right.
Hollywood movies are crass, hope future generations don’t view them as correct historical re-enactments.
(I think Kenneth Branagh would be more of a lookalike to play Collins and Liam Neeson would have been more apt for playing Dev.)It was pretty stage oirish alright; most dissapointing when compared with Schindlers List and made no effort to get O’Connell St right at all.
Not to go on about this film, but I think this ‘lack of O’Connell St’ issue needs to be put into perspective – it is a wonder the film was made at all given the bugetary contraints, never mind recreating half of central Dublin!
They were under huge financial pressures, and as such, cinematically, a more ‘convincing’ three-dimensional city could be created with the GPO terminating a vista, essentially ‘covering’ the top part of a street. As all cameras were generally based on the imaginary street with the GPO in shot in the background, O’Connell St did not have to be built at all as it was completely out of shot around the very convenient corners 🙂
It seems that either all of one side of O’Connell St would have had to be built in order to fill backdrops sweeping into the distance, or none at all if it was done the way it was!
Cash dictated it seems.Coming back to the current century, the GPO cleaning is due to be finished by the last day in November: the 30th – in perfect time for the Christmas month. An Post have their heads screwed on.
They also timed the works well to coincide with the other works to the street. The works are causing chaos to traffic according to an Aircoach driver I was talking to yesterday; he said he hit a new traffic jam record on Monday at 3.5 hours from the Airport to Bewleys Ballsbridge and back. With a whopping 94 minutes from the top of Dawson street to Granby Row.
What! – that latter journey is just a farce!
But yes it is getting very congested no on the Upper northbound lanes, with the traffic piling up at the Parnell St lights.On another issue – I really cannot believe this, really and truly cannot get over what has happened on O’Connell Bridge.
Okay nobody has died, and the sky hasn’t fallen in, but it comes a close third to these – the various blown bulbs in the O’Connell Bridge lamp standards have been replaced with ORANGE bulbs! Can you believe the ignorance?!! It’s unreal!A flagship restoration project, costing tens of thousands of rate-payers’ money, designed to improve O’Connell Bridge and tie in with the O’Cll St IAP, and the City Council Lighting Division come along three years later after the fuss has died down and replace the blown sparkling white halogen bulbs with dirty sodium orange! It beggars belief!
Two standards on the eastern parapet have had some bulbs replaced with orange, in one case just one lamp with the other two remaining white, and in the other case two of them replaced in orange with one to the side left as is.
It is the greatest visual mess it has to be seen. On one of the standards all that’s needed now is a green bulb in one of the lamps on the tripartite fitting to replicate the Tricolour :rolleyes:Who the heck sent a guy out with a couple of boxes of orange bulbs and casually noted “O’Connell needs a bit of work – chuck these in, they’ll do grand” 😡
If this does not convey the blatent disregard that this city holds for its lighting stock, nothing does.
Not only was best practice not caried out by replacing all bulbs on the bridge at regular intervals, not only did they install the incorrect bulb type in the reactionary practice they decided to use, but they didn’t even replace all of them as some are still blown in the standards on the median!And on the best practice of replacing all bulbs before they blow – there’s another good reason for doing this as evident at the moment. Some of the white bulbs were replaced before with more white bulbs, however bieng new these stand out way more than the older duller ones. So now on the bridge there’s a mish-mash of weak original white bulbs, newer brighter white bulbs, and nasty orange bulbs!
This flagship historic lighting composition in the heart of the city is being destroyed by Dublin City Council.
You know, it really is a shame to have to criticise them on this; goodnees knows the amount of decent work that they do, but come on! Can they not even get this right?
Is this an indication of what is going to happen with the hundreds of white lamps and LEDs on O’Connell Street?@Graham Hickey wrote:
What! – that latter journey is just a farce!
On one of the standards all that’s needed now is a green bulb in one of the lamps on the tripartite fitting to replicate the Tricolour :rolleyes:Who the heck sent a guy out with a couple of boxes of orange bulbs and casually noted “O’Connell needs a bit of work – chuck these in, they’ll do grand” 😡
This flagship historic lighting composition in the heart of the city is being destroyed by Dublin City Council.
Ah sure why not wouldn’t it go well with the Arlington Hotel and that type of stag party tourist market.
What happened above just goes to show the absolute lack of integration between City Council departments and the lack of any co-ordination of ACAs in relation to the provision of other services. I’ve been reading Dubinspirations again; it was too depressing I had to put it down and go outside my hotel and note the absolute lack of the Built Environment ignorance in the place I’m in which has a GDP of about $5000US a year.
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