GrahamH
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Unfortunately that is the case, and I think what is one of the main attractions of Bewley’s.
Forgot to say earlier, there’s a Nationwide special recorded from Bewley’s tomorrow evening at 7 on RTE 1.It is looking great, there’s no doubt about that – just thinking back to the cracked concrete slabbed median with scrawny trees dotted about in front of the GPO, the difference is remarkable.
Is it Ned Kelly’s Stephen with the globed lamp standards outside? Always liked these.
Agreed about the median being finished by now – it should have been completed in time to help alleviate the pressures on the currently dug up side pavement.
The first of the new paving is going down now outside Burger King – as always the stone looks fantastic.The lime lights (excuse the pun) aren’t quite as spectacular as expected to say the least, and the limes in the middle of the street on the median having no lights at all because of the wiring issue is a clumsy error.
The CC Lighting Dept should learn from Eircom, if anyone’s seen the Ardilaun Centre recently 🙂Admitedly I thought the demographic was leaning rather towards the senior end of the scale, then again they were collecting towards the front where I was – how embarrassing. Think everyone, not least the school students, were just trying to get in on a free coffee 🙂
The idea of a Trust over-seeing such institutions and tailored tax breaks for specific locations are very worthwhile ideas – pity they weren’t thought of 40 years ago.Bet I was on the same train as you this morning – only I sat smug in my nice comfy seat 🙂 (actually they aren’t comfy but are a heck of a lot better than standing)
Any capacity increase along this line must be welcomed – there has been significant progress recently in off-peak services but not much in the way of alleviating peak problems. This new Balbriggan service in the evening will help a lot.
Agreed about tax deductions – public transport should be made as attractive as possible to those using private transport.Very good ‘rally’ if that’s the word, well organised by those involved – never heard so many south Dublin accents in all my loife 🙂 A decent crowd gathered too.
Who was the chief speaker with the white hat?Interestingly even out of the ten trees left up there, not even all of these are ‘original’ – as far as I can make out 7 of them are the older ones, with three specimens planted later (although still old) in between the 1900-03 ones.
Although perhaps they’re an asset to the city – passing outside the Irish Life Centre today an American couple were taking a picture of themselves standing in front of the huge Bulmers sign there – notably not the Custom House behind it 🙂
Here’s some pics of it. Not posting out of admiration though – I’m not exactly the world’s greatest fan of the Boardwalk. I think AT’s initial assessment of it as gimmicky and utilitarian perfectly sums it up.
Whereas it is undoubtedly very pleasant to walk along, and the wood finishes particularly attractive to users at close quarters, on the whole the structure feels temporary and certainly looks it – and the Ormond Quay section with the various slopes and slants looks positively ugly tacked into the quay wall. The grills used for balustrade are equally so.I appreciate it’s very easy to criticise the project without coming up with alternatives or solutions, but I think it nothing short of ridiculous that pedestrians are forced out into a cantilevered ledge over the river in order to allow traffic take precedence along the quays.
Surely the quay environment could have been improved rather than invading in such a manner on the riverscape, or at least we could have waited for the Port Tunnel to open and observe the traffic results.
Eden Quay is especially wide to cater for improvements. And if the pedestrian situation is such that the Boardwalk is practiacally needed , how come there isn’t one on the southern quays?
Perhaps to put things in context, in 15-20 years time when the Boardwalk will probably require reconditioning, will it be refurbished or simply removed?Think that was referring to the median which is apparently being mildly tapered to account for the width of O’Cll Monument.
The side pavement is also being lightly curved along its length.Is the hotel no 41? Is it expected that the makeover will take place under new ownership?
How exciting that the all the plaza limes are being fitted with new Christmas lights – they’re those new tiny little LEDs-type ones with black wires. It seems they’re being lined along the edges of the trees to highlight their square profiles.
Irritatingly though the plaza wasn’t hardwired for tree lights as one would have expected, so as we speak black wires are being draped down from the GPO… Not too noticable though.I have some but you’ll have to wait till later for them to be uploaded 🙂
As suspected it was featured in the ‘news in brief’ section on News 2 last night, and what a sorry sight, with the canopy (mostly in one piece) lying on its side on the ground. It seems the truck hit the right-hand supporting column, sweeping it clean away causing the canopy to collapse directly downwards.
The left column is still there, with the beam linking to the building, but that’s it.It is a miracle no one was killed, either by the truck or the collapse. On the radio this morning it was whinged about why the truck had to knock into a 110 year-old frilly canopy, instead of Busáras.
To take something from the incident, at least a better restoration job can be done now 🙂Yikes – suppose it was waiting to happen, what a pity.
It least it did before the current restoration plans were carried out.Wonder what damage was done – I think a pic is in order.
P11, I don’t think anyone’s proposing to knock the Loop Line and the two fingers to IE – rather if it is reasonably practical to do so in the greater scheme of things than so be it.
I don’t understand your thinking regarding ‘an 18th entury view’, that’s like saying in 2100 we won’t care for ’20th or 21st century views’.
A view is a view.If you read back a bit, there’s lots of pics & stuff. As for the trees, apparently there’s quite a bit on them too…:)
The Royal Dublin works were due to get underway last April, perhaps this aquisition is why they are being held up.
Again there are pics of the proposal somewhere on the site or this thread if you reel back.On the double-to-single pavement issue at O’Cll Bridge, it is being deal with in a clever way with a semi-permanent curve round its corner, which forces pedestrians to stand in the place of the existing crossing, linking over to the single-width bridge.
That’s an interesting point you make Sinead – indeed there is an attitude today regarding alterations that, ah sure if it was done before 1960 there’s value in it regardless 🙂
I see what you mean about it looking like a hospital Sue – suppose the severe architecture of the mid-18th century doesn’t best lend itself to being rendered considering how important the materials and relief etc is on such buildings.
Still think it looks amazing though, there’s just something about everything being white, esp when contrasted with the deadpan grey portico on the garden front.
I was looking through the list of projects carried out by the OPW over the years, and the Ãras was ‘altered’ and redecorated between circa 1944-1960, naturally with the infamous Raymond McGrath overseeing the project, so presumably it was around this time that the paint and/or render arrived.
I wonder when the garden front was extended in 1802 and again in the 1850s if it was extended in the red brick the house was built of, or if everything was rendered at the time, or clad in stone.It’s just the inauguration that raised this issue, which I had the pleasure of partially attending on a lovely morning off last Thursday – I was going along directly opposite the Four Courts listening to the proceedings in the Castle on the radio just as the 21 gun salute to the President went off at Collins Barracks. It was a great moment with the guns resounding around the city & the Four Courts, hearing the applause of the Hall, and watching the white plumes of smoke rising over Arran Quay…as the golden autumnal canopies of the trees draped over the rustic granite walls… 😀
And for once not even the traffic noise drowned it out.I decided to see if I could get into the Castle – needless to say Castle St was barricaded up, but the Palace St entrance was still open, just swarming with military people. They didn’t bat an eyelid though so I got in. All the Revenue suits were standing around outside smirking at the proceedings, not least at the Lower Castle Yard which was transformed into a Mercedes car plant – never seen anything like it.
There was a great atmosphere in the Upper Yard, the perfect foil for the occasion, but there were only about 10 members of the public watching from the cross-block archway, which was as far as you could get. You could still easily have got a pot shot at her if you wanted…The army made a mess of marching in time once they got into the Lower Yard out of sight of the cameras; they struggled to say the least trying to get down the hill in a dignified fashion 🙂
It’s interesting that the inauguration takes place literally on the very spot where the gilded thrones of the Viceroy & consort once stood for balls in St Patrick’s Hall – wonder what they would have thought if you told them that 200 years ago, and oh – the President will be living in your house as well, thank you very much 🙂
