spire speak

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    • #705932
      sherrioverseas
      Participant

      just a touch apprehensive posting for the first time…newcomer to the city and to the discussion about the spire…

      Sometimes, I feel like the only woman, standing along side the GPO each morning, looking upward. Except for the elderly woman who came around Henry street with her walker and shopping bag, wheeling right up to me with much to say “Blamed waste of mooney it is”, “I think it’s ugly”, “There’s four found frozen back there over the winter and they spend mooney on this”.

      Well I certainly didn’t share my opinion after that. But what an enormous conversational stir it has caused. I may be looking upward, but the stories you hear along the GPO and those clinging to the fence tell lots of this place.

      I also find this city’s penchant for nicknaming things incredibly hilarious. Looking forward to the rest of its assembly!

    • #723796
      Rory W
      Participant

      Ah the famous Dublin charm and Begrudery, tourists must love it…

      Seriously though, their main compaint is “it doesn’t do anything” – is art supposed to do something? Other than be admired?

    • #723797
      Gabriel-Conway
      Participant

      I’ve long-since ceased to be amazed about how people always diss things before the are introduced/built, and then suddenly claim to have liked them all along once they see how good they are. It’s the same with the LUAS – everybody grumbles about the construction disruption, but wait until its finished and ask if it should be taken away!

      As regards the Spire, while I was there last night watching the 4th section being hoisted up, a very loud and drunken man was regailing the crowd with his tales of what a waste of money it was etc.

      He told us all how the planners are not in touch with the people, and have no respect for the city . . . before throwing the rubbish from his half-eaten takeaway meal onto the pavement and walking away . .

      Gabriel

    • #723798
      GregF
      Participant

      I really despise those same idiots who with half baked notions of Das Capital etc ….profess the wanting conditions of the homeless, the unemployables, the socialist workers proleterian peoples communist capitalist facist party and the likes, yet they do SFA to deal with such matters, do not follow through their own ideology but instead, mess the city itself up with those billboard posters pasted everywhere, cause disruption and feed the negative hysteria to all those who are vunerable and naive.

    • #723799
      ro_G
      Participant

      Another guy was actually thrown into the back of a police van for his vociferous dissing of the Spire!

      Overall the tone of the evening was quite positive I thought!

      welcome sherrioverseas by the way!

    • #723800
      Murpho
      Participant

      So do you think that the people of Dublin & Ireland have warmed to the Spire now that it is almost in place?

      I was at home before Christmas when the first section was installed and a lot of people were quite negative about it but for no real solid reasons, I hope opinions are changing now!

    • #723801
      sherrioverseas
      Participant

      ro_G, thank you for the welcome!

      If city planners are not in touch with the people, then I’d have to ask why the project seems to be the single most talked about (and watched) event.

      I see it (at the moment) as gifted in bringing people together. It has drawn attention from people of all ages, races, gender and socio-economic backgrounds. Regardless of their opinion, it evokes thought, brings opinions out into the open, connects.

    • #723802
      Paul Clerkin
      Keymaster

      Originally posted by sherrioverseas

      If city planners are not in touch with the people, then I’d have to ask why the project seems to be the single most talked about (and watched) event.

      Accidental I believe. I believe that the interest shown by the people in the erection of the spike was not foreseen by the City Council. if they had, they would have stagemanaged each piece been added.

    • #723803
      urbanisto
      Participant

      I agree Paul. Its that general attitude that pervails in the DCC that the Council runs the city for the people but that the people should have no envolvement in its running – apart from the local elections every 4 years when their local TD, MEP and CC in one comes around to ask them if they need any social welfare entitlements…I mean for their vote.

      If the DCC were really people orientated then they would have had a site on their (very poor) website dedicated to the Spire rather than the a few posted press releases.

      There may have been many fine additions to the city over the past few year but the DCC hasn’t made much effort to make citizens proud of them or appreciative of them….hence the litter, the broken lights on the 2 year old Millennium Bridge, the graffitti on the Boardwalk.

    • #723804
      D OR
      Participant

      I have to agree about the lack of apparent pr from the council. I am however gratefull they had the foresight to run with this really incredible project.

      Personally I would have had tingles run down my spine if the ground works had been complete before the last piece went in, how I am sure the architects had a say in the logistics of the construction. But wouldn’t it have been amazing to have the last piece placed in situ infront of a closed street on a Sunday with thousands stading aroung and thats it, finished. No hoarding nothing….ah well I’m delighted anyhow.

      Has anyone seen any links from international media to the spire from around the world?

    • #723805
      Murpho
      Participant

      Living in Holland I can safely say that the spire has received absolutely zero coverage here (but the country is wrapped up with a general election that is happening today).

      Also, had a look at the BBC website and again nothing. If they do cover it they’ll probably place it in their Northern Ireland section!

      Maybe, this won’t be picked up internationally until the official launch by Bertie & Co?

      I hope something does happen, it would be a shame for a project like this to go unnoticed just because it is in Ireland and not London, New York or Paris etc.

    • #723806
      ro_G
      Participant
    • #723807
      urbanisto
      Participant

      Wow! We’ve made it big in the US….

    • #723808
      ro_G
      Participant

      the Ny Times also has it by way of the Associated Press
      http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Ireland-New-Monument.html

    • #723809
      Murpho
      Participant

      Wow, delighted to be proved wrong.

      Surprised to see it not get more coverage in Europe though!

    • #723810
      ro_G
      Participant

      Stop.watch tv are also making a documentary. Might be a good opportunity for some archerians to voice an opinion.
      http://www.filmmakersireland.ie/prod107.html

    • #723811
      Paul Clerkin
      Keymaster

      Stopwatch TV is run by my business partners cousin so maybe a plug would be possible.

    • #723812
      D OR
      Participant

      Get yezer ‘bacco,……… ‘bacco ‘n’ spire t shirts five fur fifte!

      Laydeez and gentlymen,

      I give you.

      The Stiffy by the Liffey

      The Spire in the mire

      The Spike instead of the dyke

      The Shaft that’s just daft

      The North (side) Pole!

      The Millennium Dublin Spire. Now almost open for business!

      Already they are thinking of re-releasing the old classic with a twist…..

      I can see Cleary’s now the crane has gone….

    • #723813
      Paul Clerkin
      Keymaster
    • #723814
      GregF
      Participant

      ‘The money could have been better spent on the homeless and the hospitals’…seems to be the excuse so as to oppose the Spire.
      Okay then how about McCreevy put up the taxes of the workers even more and dock the social welfare as well as the pensions so as to provide more than adequate funding for the hospital beds and the homeless.
      Let’s say he’ll put up to 100 million or more Euro aside (as he did for the GAA) so as to provide for such causes …and buy everyone who is homeless a house or adequate permanent shelter taking all those unfortunates, drop outs and winos off the streets, (even though some of them are twice the height, weight and strength of meself and would buy and sell ye too)
      Maybe too the ‘concerned’ could take in such poor souls and provide food and warmth in these terrible impoverished times….well that’s if they are so concerned.
      Here’s to the raising of the taxes for such worthy causes…..
      I bet all those shallow bleeding hearts would soon change their tune.

    • #723815
      D OR
      Participant

      Go on ya good thing!

    • #723816
      sherrioverseas
      Participant

      …if I had internet access worth a dingleberry, I would have chimed in earlier, alas…

      What I see around town are more monuments, sculpture and works than I can shake a stick at. At least these projects are being completed.

      I gather the city is not a master of maintaining them, but that is a nice little detail left out of many plans!

      Nonetheless, I have asked all my friends at home to check out the spire on the web. It will certainly be news to them!

    • #723817
      crc
      Participant

      nothing in Paris yet, unfortunately.

      Also, does anyone know its exact height in metres?

    • #723818
      D OR
      Participant

      check out

      http://www.spireofdublin.com

      for some great pics

    • #723819
      Michael
      Participant

      120 metres high.

    • #723820
      crc
      Participant

      …thanks.

      BTW: The Eiffel Tower is 320m tall and the only other tall building in Paris, The Tour Montparnasse, is 207m.

    • #723821
      kefu
      Participant

      There are a lot more tall buildings in Paris than those two. La Grande Arche de la Défense is almost as tall as the Spire at 110 metres and its much smaller than most of the skyscrapers in that area.

    • #723822
      crc
      Participant

      Ok, sorry!

      There are other tall buldings in Paris, but they don’t dominate the skyline like the two I mentionned.

      La Défense can been seen from the city, but its not strictly in Paris (the 75 postcode which the French are oddly picky about!)

      What I intended to say was that Paris has kept a fairly low-rise skyline with the exception of the Eiffel Tower and the Tour Montparnasse.

    • #723823
      kefu
      Participant

      I don’t mean to be pedantic.
      But I do think the Parisien aversion to high-rise is overstated.
      Even within the Peripherique, there are buildings like Hotel Concorde-Lafayette, Hotel Meridien and entire Montparnasse train station complex.
      Even Pantheon and Hotel des Invalide – at dome level – are taller than anything in Ireland, as is the Pompidou Centre.
      Circling right around the Seine and the Peripherique, there are dozens of high-rise (by Irish standards) buildings.

    • #723824
      rob
      Participant

      To put the height in context…

      Saturn V rocket – 111m
      Coast Redwood tree – 112m
      Spire – 120m

    • #723825
      RSJ
      Participant

      All the Irish in New York, y’see. Still waiting for the coverage in England…but Ritchie being a Brit will help.

    • #723826
      GrahamH
      Participant

      Enter Ciaran O. There hasn’t been any coverage in the UK at all, not even Channel Four news, which is unusual. Can I ask sherrioverseas, what is a dingleberry?

    • #723827
      GregF
      Participant

      When you say Paris is fairly low rise, most of the buildings however are either a uniform 5/6 storeys high. Such scale in general 2/3 storey Dublin would be seen as dizzying heights.

    • #723828
      urbanisto
      Participant

      Graham – not entirely true as there was a phot on pg2 of the Guardian when the fourth section went up…. But I must admit I couldn’t find anything about the topping off

    • #723829
      sherrioverseas
      Participant

      Quite frankly Graham, I’m not sure it’s a real berry of a dingle (which would be fitting for a pennisular southern region here, no?)

      It’s just an American slang term that popped out, without my thinking.

      I suppose you could run with it however, and use it among your peers, and see what they think it implies.

    • #723830
      eoinmc
      Participant

      Spire is mentioned here with link to Archeire site:
      http://www.arqa.com.ar/noticias/

    • #723831
      GrahamH
      Participant

      Sorry, I meant no coverage on British Television. Ch 4 usually does such ‘novelty stories’ in it’s efforts to be different from the mainstream.

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