Why Dublin should be proud.
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I am living in Holland and my Dutch wife now thinks I’m a sad bastard for getting so excited about a Spike on O’Connell St.
Well this Spire thing has got me thinking about other cities.
I really think that when the Spire is complete that it will be the greatest piece of ‘Street Art’ in the world and when I thought about it further I could not think of any more cities with so much art on the street.
As well as the Spire in Dublin you have the Molly Malone at Grafton Street, Hags with the Bags, Patrick Kavanagh by the canal, Oscar Wilde, The famine memorial, James Joyce (and a few others that I am forgetting).
When I compare this to Amsterdam, there are the standard statues and war memorials but not actual art or dedication to the city’s artists.
I really feel that Dubliners, who are the biggest begrudgers in the world should be proud of this and stop complaining.
I really hope that the Spire is stepping stone to a new vibrant, exciting and proud Dublin.
So that’s it: Now stepping off my soapbox.
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Ian Ritchie should be given the freedom of the city and free drink for life for his unique world’s tallest sculpture ..he has put us on the map. He is a most wanted man by all accounts from Milan to Paris and beyond
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Wow, Ian Ritchie is my hero. I simply don’t have time for people who don’t like the Spire. It really is down to a chronic lack of imagination in the Irish psyche – but it wasn’t like this once (let me plug Reinventing Ireland at this point ;)). [And I just found some forthcoming book called Reinventing Modern Dublin: Streetscape, Iconography and the Politics of Identity which looks good]
I think the Spire is going to act as a gateway for the city, certainly – as much as it’s actually a product of Haughey’s Ireland and the crap that goes with that, it’s a change for people to conceive of Dublin in a different way.
I mean, people will be able to see the beacon anywhere in the city – this essentially marks the centrepoint of Dublin so, rather than it being divided between North and South, that axis is going to swivel into a radial conception of the cityscape. People don’t notice it yet, but (the) Milligan is going to radically alter Dublin both in people’s minds and in reality.
This plan tallies with the City’s strategic development plan which hopes to switch the North-South axis to an East-West one, which (at least) strategically makes more sense.
Alls I know is I’ll find it comforting to know that the Spire is there pulling the city together like glue. When I look up, I’ll know where I am. Hopefully Dubliners’ minds aren’t so cobwebbed that this effect will pass them completely by.
I wonder, though, what effect it’ll have on the skyline of Dublin, in relation to the necessity for a rethinking of the use of space. Is it actually going to prompt more preciousness of the low skyline because people won’t want the beacon obscured. Or is it going to encourage people to look upward?
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I saw the last piece going up and 90% of people were possitive about it and I hope a lot of people can see that tall structures can be beautifull.A lot of reports are stating that the Spire is the tallest structure in Ireland but
I thought that either Poolbeg or Moneypoint chimney stacks were about 850ft tall. -
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Here is a pic of the Radio Tara/Atlantic 252 mast in Co. Meath, presently not being used!!!!!!!! Your money and mine paid to put it up…. RTE won’t even broadcast Radio 1 from it., now Atlantic has gone.. (strange)??????????
http://tx.mb21.co.uk/252/summerhill.asp
more info:
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Lego: Reinventing Ireland is fantastic. A real eye opener – y’know, finally some decent critical analysis of Ireland that’s not Rintan O’Toole (in fact, the authors hare the Toole). You can get it in Easons – I think I saw it there the other day. The second one isn’t out on paperback until March but I’m awaiting it with baited breath!
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The BBC View of Dublin….
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A545168Read it and weep… some truths in this
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Re the BBC review
I’m afraid it’s all true and very objective!!! Very damning, as I read a few other capital city reviews on that excellent website, none were as bad as Dublin’s.
Especially,
‘It’s dirty! Dubliners are notorious for throwing litter on the streets, despite constant nagging from the authorities. ‘
I agree, quite balanced, if only the natives looked in the mirror occassionally!!! I think this should be introduced in all schools for required reading, and re-printed in the papers so people can actually read it.
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The BBC rightly recommend a visit to ‘Ceol’ – ..’the Irish Traditional Music Exhibition in Dublin’s Smithfield’ ..must inform them it was barely opened when it then closed…. how did Dublin Tourism let this happen ..there should have been no problem marketing ‘Ceol’ as its what we are supposed to be famous for !! well not so long ago at least..love to know the answer – probably turned into an extension of the Hotel bar in Smithfield. This would be like arriving in Greenwich and been told the Naval museum has closed !!
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Just to note… that review of Dublin is part of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy which happens to be hosted by the BBC.
The BBC does not create the content – people all over the world do. You can contribute yourself, if you register.
The Dublin article was written by somebody living in Dublin, possibly a native, I can’t tell.
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Well I live in the Netherlands and travel to Dublin at least twice a year. I read on other sites about Dublin being litter strewn and when I go back to Dublin I really look out for it and I really don’t see it. Walked between Henry St, O’Connell St, Temple Bar, Grafton St and I found the place quite tidy. I also asked my wife, who is Dutch, and she didn’t find it dirty either.
When I compare it to Amsterdam it is gleaming. Amsterdam is really filthy.I really hate how the BBC cover Ireland, they cannot do a feature about Ireland on TV without featuring rain, diddly di music, religion and drink!
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The review is pretty accurate apart from comments about Millennium Bridge and the outer suburbs.
Most people I know find the new bridge very attractive in style, although they’ve let it get very dirty.
There’s a lot more to Dublin than the city centre, not least Dalkey, Dun Laoghaire, Howth, Ranelagh, just to name the really really obvious places.
It’s only laziness and an unwillingess to get off one’s arse that could make one think otherwise. -
I think the reason that the walk between Henry St, O’ Connell St Temple Bar and Grafton St might seem relatively clean is because of the almost 24 Hr cleaning brigade the City Council have employed to get rid of the mountains of rubbish that would otherwise buildup. Try walking up O’Connell St at round about 1 to 2 O’Clock on a Friday or saturday night!!
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