J. Seerski
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Yep, but the rubbish has been removed (signs, clutter, “fake” add-ons to the facade). Worth a closer inspection. Less “heavy” than originally thought.
Hello all!
Just to inform yiz that the fascia boards have been removed last week from this wonderful building, and its original beauty is being revealed for all to see. Its design was more sophisticated than originally thought. Go have a look – they have demolished a side extension, but I think they are preserving the original. Can wait to see what they will do with it; here’s hoping that it won’t be filled with PVC and painted pink!!
Yes, there are many new “dense” things in the city.
But if you want to see the planning mistakes and weird and wonderful in sharp contrast, get the DART to Killbarrack and get a 17A bus from there to Finglas. From the upper deck, you will see the horrid planning mistakes of the past as you pass through Coolock and Ballymun, while you see contrasting ghettoisation in its crudest form when the bus turns for leafy Glasnevin and the wonderful ribbon middle class semi-detached sixties glories, before ending up in no-mans land in Finglas. But along the way you will see new and improved social housing, the long-awaited destruction of Babylon (Ballymun), and the start to our glorious Port Tunnel. And Finglas is changing for the better.
A nice day trip, eh?!!!
Look – no project is safe if we judge it on the basis of costs vs what else we could spend it on. The Spire is really going to change O’Connell Street – already, incomplete, it nonetheless has renewed interest in a street that has been neglected for too long. If the Spike achieves little else than the rejuvination of O’Connelle Street, then it is priceless. 🙂
Yes, this country is the pits. No Spike, no stadium, and not to mention hospitals. I am REALLY angry.:mad: 😡 😡 😡
FYI:
The NAtional Development Plan Website is down since Nov. 11. for “maintenance” thus are all projects scrapped?!!!!
Well I think its an absolute shambles. There is clearly no vision in this document. It is full of waffle and waffle…. There should be only three or four locations set as new “gateway” towns – none of this hub nonsense.
The effect of this plan will not be immediate or sufficient to counter Dublin’s sprawl. Is there some sort of agenda that prevents them using the word “city” in the document???? Why they are playing politics with such an important issue is beyond me. It seems that every little town wants to become a city. The government does not want a city, but “gateways” and “hubs”. What a load of…. Yet another grand failure…..with the DTO, the NDP, Metro….
Here is the report – very quick to download…..
Hello, all
Well like most people, I am confused over this weird document. It states that Dublin, Cork, Limerick-Shannon, Galway and Waterford are to become “Gateway towns”. Forgive me, but are these not cities already?Also, while I agree with Sligo and Letterkenny being included, what the hell is this triangle waffle of “Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore”. This is an absolute joke! It will just make the whole area an inefficient use of space. The weight afforded one of these towns may make it a possible counter-weight to Dublin, but all three will just make them mini-Swords! Athlone should have been the only choice here, as it has much of the outline of a city already (an I.T., two railway stations, on major road network, major industries, town bus service). But both Tullamore and Mullingar will nullify any progress in creating a major city in the Midlands.
Yeah, what if a member of some nut organization hijacks an articulated truck and rams the bloody thing into the spike?!! I doubt the truck would have much difficulty in toppling the thing. 🙁
I think the statue of Father Matthew is trying to exorcise O’Connell Street of all its mingers!
He was, after all, the founder of the Irish Temperance movement. He wouldn’t like loads of alco’s hanging around the Spike I guess. Funny, the words “Irish” and “Temperance” aren’t really synonomous!
🙂FYI:
Malahide Castle was considered as an official residence for the Taoiseach in the 1970s. The project ended with the death of the last Lord Talbot in 1974.
If there were to be an official residence – why not one of those houses in Henrietta Street, and for a parliament, Broadstone Station, one of the most magnificent and maligned buildings in Ireland?
PS – The profile of Broadstone on this sitewas very intersting.;)
While normally not in favour of such a thing, I think Stalin is needed in this country, just for the metro – oh for one of his five year plans!!!!!
Its amazing how Brennan and Co. remove those Corpo. Traffic Signs in a day, yet they seem incapable of doing little else. As for CIE – did anyone hear about the 9% increase….?????? Yep, we are dipping into our pockets yet again….:mad: 🙁 🙁 :
Also, I have to ask, what was the point if all these DTO’s, CIE’s DEPT. Transport etc. etc., yadi yah, blah, blah. Do they go on like: “Oh, I’m a transport consultant, I think we should build a metro from Donegal to Bantry. Cost? Billions! But just for telling you this I will charge you €500 million. Great! You’re not building it then?! Told you so!” GRRRRR…..:mad: 😡 😡
So I take it the Nat. Conference Centre project is abandoned? McCreevyitis? Also, I have to laugh at “high class public transport” in the brochure!!!! 😀 :p :confused: :rolleyes:
The tower was removed in the 1920s as it had been seen as unstable (something caused by a little riot or something in the GPO circa Easter 1916).
Yeah, I thought so too.
The “build anywhere you like” lobbby is gaining momentum. In any case, how can you build “an enviormentally sensitive bungalow”?
A bit of an oxymoran!
Paul, seriously, does it not prove that O’Connell Street is more dramatic without trees, as the original photo had shown?!!!
I am amazed with some of the comments that have appeared on this subject. The radio is full of ranting over a few bloody trees that have nothing to do with good urban design – they may suit monotonous suburban Dublin, but surely not what still is one of the greatest streets in Europe.
Until quite recently, some of the great buildings on the street were obscured by these overwhelming and hideous plane trees. Just admiring Clerys the other day from the other side of O’Connell Street, it was hard to imagine that this great building was hidden from view unless you went closer – thus diminishing the effect it has on the streets entirity. The imposing elegance could not be rightly admired less than two years ago. Now its integral beauty is there for all to see. Where you have good architecture, you should not try and hide it. Where you haven’t, cover it in Ivy.
Can you imagine what O’Connell Street would look like if its remaining stock of magnificent and powerful buildings could be visualised in its entirity without being broken by awkward London Planes? The most stirring images of O’Connell Street in the past are of a powerful street without trees. Hence most of these popular pictures are of Lower O’Connell Street – The trees of Upper O’Connell Street would distort any powerful images that the architecture could muster.
Finally, is anyone going up to the GPO tomorrow to vent their anger to Marian over, not only this debacle, but the painfully slow progress that is being made in O’Connell Street???? The Spike may be ready by January, but what of the Burger King’s, the Ann Summers, the arcades, the Dr Quirkeys, etc, etc, etc…………… the woeful office blocks, the hopeless lighting, shopfronts, mingers that run amok, filthy pubs…….oh I feeeeeel sick.
The corpo need balls if they are to take on the problems facing O’Connell Street – and respond to criticism, not just accept it. 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁
Oh, and I am not an architect………..
