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I have a copy of the report into the condition of the monuments on O’Connell Street. It’s too long to type it in full.
Briefly in the form Problems/Recommendations
* Parnell Monument: extreme discolouration, leaching of mortar from joints/cleaning, one fractured granite block to be fixed.
* Father Theobald Mathew: Heavy gypsum encrustation, fingers falling off, graffiti/cleaning, replacement of fingers.
* James Joyce: Patinated, lightly soiled/nothing necessary.
* James Larkin: Heavily soiled, granite support discoloured/cleaning. Fixing of plate to head to prevent birds. Enlargement of the plaques and reduction of plinth optional.
* Sir John Gray: Heavy encrustation on figure and guana on head/cleaning, plate to stop birds.
* William Smith O’Brien: As above.
* Sheahan Monument: As I mentioned in above post. Problems with fractures.
* O’Connell Monument (subject of two reports – will post second one separately): Heavily soiled. O’Connell head at risk from ammonia due to pigeon guana. Graffiti. Granite dissolution. Bronze staining of stone/Cleaning recommended, re-fitting of bronze bases, fixing pin plate to head.The Sheahan monument: “At the junction of Hawkins Street and Burgh Quay a memorial was unveiled on 3rd August 1906 to Patrick Sheahan, of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, who lost his life on 6th May 1905 in an heroic attempt to rescue the foreman and two workmen from the main sewer of the new Main Drainage Works in which they had been overcome by sewer gas. The monument, in Celtic Romanesque, is 20 feet in height, of Ballinasloe limestone, relieved by pillars of Galway and Donegal granite, and by an ingenious development of the Cross and Crown in its design conveys the idea of sacrifice and triumph (Source: http://indigo.ie/~kfinlay/).”
From my own information, I think it’s on the list because it is in urgent need of repair. The City Council report says it has “several fractures identified on all sides”.
Its architect was WP O’Neill and sculptor was W Harrison & Sons. Erected in 1906 by what was then the Dublin Metropolitan Police.
Title: O’Connell Street Statues Conservation Works
Awarding Authority: Dublin City Council
Publication date: 18-Aug-2004
Application Deadline:
Tender Deadline Date: 17-Sep-2004
Tender Deadline Time: 17:00
Notice Type: Tenders
Has Documents: No
Abstract: O’CONNELL STREET MONUMENTSBRIEF FOR CONSERVATION WORKS
AUGUST 20041 INTRODUCTION
Dublin City Council wishes to commission the carrying out of conservation works for the monuments in the O’Connell Street Area. Proposals are sought from suitably qualified professionals for this project, which is being commissioned in association with:
– The Office of Public Works
– S.I.P.T.U.
– An Garda SÃochanaThe person(s) selected for the project will be expected to assemble a team of relevant professionals to assist in fulfilling the brief as outlined below. The successful applicant will also be expected to have the necessary skills to bring the project to implementation.
1.1 Objective
The objective of the programme is:
(1) to preserve the monuments in the best possible condition and arrest the cause of damage, by way of specialist cleaning
(2) to restore areas of loss with minimum intervention using the most suitable and effective materials
(3) to protect the monuments from long term damage1.2 The Site
The monuments in question are as follows:
1. Parnell Monument
2. Father Theobald Matthew
3. James Joyce
4. James Larkin
5. Sir John Gray
6. William Smith O’Brien
7. O’Connell Monument
8. Sheahan Monument
1-7 are situated on or in the vicinity of O’Connell Street
8 is located at junction of Hawkins Street and Burgh Quay1.3 The context
By their nature, these monuments occupy a central exposed position for maximum impact and view, they are therefore highly susceptible to water and wind erosion. For the monument to maintain its public memorial function then it must remain exposed, however, long term damage can be reduced by implementing a regular maintenance programme.
Rainwater is the primary agent of stone decay, with two main effects: mechanical erosion and chemical dissolution. In O¿Connell Street the concentration of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides is high, and when combined with rainwater, forms sulphuric acid, nitric acid and nitrogen oxides, leading to extreme acidification of the water. This `acid rain¿ is very aggressive and produces mineral corrosion and strong decay when it comes into contact with the monumental stone. One of the most destructive pollutants responsible for stone decay in the city is sulphur which causes stone sulphation and the development of gypsum crusts.
2 BACKGROUND RESEARCH
The attached schedule forms part of the historic report commissioned by Dublin City Council and carried out by Archive Consultants. It is a general overview of the condition of the monuments and it does not set out to describe a detailed maintenance programme, rather its function is as a briefing document to invite tenders for cleaning and conservation intervention.
Further study including
· A condition report on the O’Connell Monument, carried out by Paul Arnold Architects
· A structural engineers report on the Sheahan Monument at Hawkins Street, carried out by Barrett Mahony.
This information is also attached.For those accessing this brief on http://www.etenders.ie these documents are available from the heritage office by emailing heritage@dublincity.ie.
3 IMPLEMENTATION
A detailed implementation programme for Conservation Works must be set out by the appointed consultants This will require an outline of the responsible parties for the Monuments, an outline of formal protection for the monuments, the adoption of policies and the planning and implementation of conservation measures including repair and enhancement.
It is essential that a phased programme of works with a detailed timescale of each phase be proposed. This programme of works should prioritise monuments in order of the level of urgency of the works found to be required. A detailed cost breakdown for each phase of the proposed programme of works must also be provided.I think you forgot this bit:
“By 1848 the streets were dark, evil-smelling, polluted with noise and smoke, and appalling to the senses. Moreover, the center of Paris, inhumanely overpopulated, was a labyrinth of alley-like passages with hundreds of narrow, airless routes clogged with heavy wagon, carriage, horse and pedestrian traffic. So serious was the traffic problem that the streets were a menace for pedestrians, many were run over and frequently they died. Here rains formed deadly pools infected with the organic matter of fermented excreta. Pedestrians often fell into one of the numerous “city matter” cesspools that formed overnight.
The majority of these sunless passages still, in 1848, as in Medieval times, depended on streams in the gutters to carry rain, the dregs of stagnant water and garbage, raw sewerage and all other miasmic accumulations to the nearest, hopelessly inadequate underground sewer. More than a quarter of the city’s streets had no water conduits. Rain caused the streets’ gutters to overflow into ground level buildings, courtyards and cellars. Small wonder that Paris had the highest death rate in the country. Only one house in five had iron pipes and running water and this luxury, limited to the ground floor, seldom produced clean drinking water. Only the upper economic groups could afford to have drinking water delivered.
Along with countless rats, fleas and the diseases they carried, the cholera epidemic also came from the streets. Between 1848 and 1849 cholera killed more than 19,000 Parisians. Without doubt, in 1848, Paris was one of the filthiest, most pestilential and savagely overcrowded cities in the world, and the streets were a major part of the problem. But even though successive administrations had made efforts to build a new street here, enlarge a passageway there, and carve out a few new promenades, it was obvious that given the city’s rate of growth, the streets would only become worse.”
I love these two quotes from the gentrification article. How – except in the mind of the most whimsical liberal – can it possibly be regrettable that you no longer have to live beside a criminal?
“Twenty years ago the Upper West Side was very mixed-income,” said Evan Hess of the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation. “On the same block you could have found a judge and the criminal who was facing him. You wouldn’t see that today.”
And then
“Gentrification has a long history. In the mid and late 1800s, powerbrokers in many European cities tried their hands at urban planning. In Paris, Baron Georges Eugene Haussmann, a court crony of Napoleon III’s, gutted the residential areas where poor people lived throughout central Paris and installed the city’s famous grand boulevards. Thousands of poor Parisians were displaced to make room for the sweeping tree-lined boulevards which show-cased the city’s famous monuments. Strict guidelines applied to new building along the boulevards, and the residences there became the most exclusive in the city.”
Yes, don’t we all wish Paris was still a stinking slum full of tenements and open drains.
I think the City Council are looking for a cash injection from the Docklands Authority. That looks like their own spin being put on it. This bridge has to be built and they know it – Pearse Street is going to become a giant car park otherwise.
That pylon is going to be tall. 48 metres makes it not too far short of the height of Liberty Hall.That article from the Indo:
Rising costs place plans for new bridge in troubled waters
The proposed new Macken Street Bridge…threatened by rising costs. Pic: Bobby ByrneTHE future of a proposed landmark bridge described as crucial for the development of Dublin’s docklands is being threatened by rising costs.
Originally projected to cost approximately €20m, Dublin City Council now estimates that the long-awaited Macken Street Bridge will cost €38m, the Irish Independent has learned.
Construction firms were last week invited to submit expressions of interest in building the bridge, but the council will reconsider whether the project will proceed if there is a big difference between its estimate and the market price.
The bridge, which has been promised since 1999, has been described as a strategic necessity for Dublin as well as a cultural icon on a par with the Halfpenny Bridge.
It would cross the River Liffey at Macken Street, halfway between the Matt Talbot Bridge and the East Link Bridge.
The blueprint was produced by the world’s leading bridge designer, Spanish architect Sanitiago Calatrava, who devised an ultra-modern bridge capable of pivoting open to allow ships to pass.
His design envisages a structure with a span of 120 metres suspended from a 48-metre pylon. Its curbed profile is intended to evoke a harp lying on its side.
However, the sheer complexity of the design is understood to be one of the factors behind the high construction cost.
Another major reason is the rising cost of steel on the world market as well as the fact that the bridge will be capable of accommodating a Luas line.
No Luas lines are planned for the area at present but Dublin City Council decided to factor in the possibility of a line in the future. It would also carry four traffic lanes, two bus corridors, two cycle ways and pedestrian paths.
Depending on the price, the city council expects construction to begin in the new year after selecting the successful contractor.
Dublin City Council deputy city engineer Michael Phillips said that the bridge was “extremely important” for the docklands.
Crucially, Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) plans for the refurbishment of the area hinge on the construction of the Macken Street Bridge, which is supposed to link the Grand Canal Dock to the redeveloped sites on the Liffey’s northside.
The proposed bridge was previously the target of intense opposition from local people in the docklands area, who feared that it will generate more traffic and pollution.
City planners now fear that the project could become bogged down in public hearings and the need for a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) if the current plans have to be watered down because of budget concerns.
The original EIS concluded that the bridge would give rise to “substantial increases” in traffic volumes for some streets in the docklands although it would reduce the flow of traffic on O’Connell Street.
Ben Quinn
While I’m posting these tenders, here’s another interesting one. Title: O’Connell Street Improvement Works Phase 2 Awarding Authority: Dublin City Council Publication date: 22-Jul-2004
Application Deadline: Tender Deadline Date: 30-Aug-2004
Tender Deadline Time: 12:00 Notice Type: Tenders
Has Documents: Yes Abstract: The contract will comprise lot 2 of the O’Connell Street Improvement Scheme and will require the construction of natural stone paved footways and asphalt surfaced carriageways at O’Connell Street, Dublin.
http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/search_show.aspx?ID=JUL027162Also, I hope there’ll be no complaints about this story being lifted by the newspapers from Archeire 🙂
The pole thing looks to me like a crane whose arm is facing directly at you or away, giving it the impression of being a single structure rather than L-shaped.
Frankly, the O’C st makeover can’t even stand comparison to what’s happened on Patrick St.
Was in Cork at the weekend and thought it was absolutely terrible. Apart from a nice big wide section of paving on the West side of the street, don’t think there’s anything worthwhile in it.
Some of the lighting looks like half-assed floodlights the local GAA club would put up so they could train at night.
The paving stones are probably incredibly expensive but the pink hue of some of them just makes them look terribly cheap.
I had seen pictures of it and thought it was OK but being there, I thought it was dismal.
Also, I think if a city ever needed a decent monument, it’s Cork at the Dublin side of Patrick Street. The statue that is there is so underwhelming and it’s such a potentially great site.If anything, the Metropolis – meaning mother city – title of this thread was meant to be ironic. Oh and here you go by the way smart boy, the actual dictionary definition:-
me·trop·o·lis ( P ) Pronunciation Key (m-trp-ls) n.
A major city, especially the chief city of a country or region: Chicago, the metropolis of the Midwest.
A city or an urban area regarded as the center of a specific activity: a great cultural metropolis.
Ecclesiastical. The chief see of a metropolitan bishop.
The mother city or country of an overseas colony, especially in ancient Greece.
So aside from being a would-be smart-ass, you’re wrong as well.I think Luas is taking cars out of the area. I also think the new arrangements are making some people avoid the Stephen’s Green area altogether. For instance, I have to go from Northside to Ballsbridge and avoid the Green in the morning but go that way on the way back home. I’d say the arrangements are cutting about 25 per cent of the normal traffic for that area out of the equation altogether.
You’re right about the time of year though. That’s having a huge impact and I think they need some permanent road markings etc, not just cones by the time September comes around.
The more I see of this, the more I’m convinced City Council are going to go with this permanently. I really don’t think it will be any more chaotic come December than the old way.I don’t think you can even call Archer’s Garage a replica because it is built to the existing plans – it’s no different to how it was built back in the 40s or whenever and is an original in its own right.
As said previously, it looks a hell of a lot better now than it did pre-demolition.
Some replica buildings in Dublin have worked extremely well. What about the two pink Georgians on St Stephen’s Green – the skills are there to do the rebuilding, it all depends on whether the developer is willing to put the investment in.I agree that the Waterford site should be preserved but I think the argument over Tara is a load of crap.
The new motorway will be further from the Hill than the existing N-3. And this idea that a motorway (which will include a flyover to ease access between sites) somehow drives a wedge between the historic sites doesn’t make any sense to me.Green Party?
Are you kidding?
The people who wanted to save the trees on O’Connell Street.
I wouldn’t trust their judgement – they don’t have any.Re the Fianna Fail posters – there is one for the Liffey Boardwalk, which was the work of the city council. Don’t know if central government can claim credit for that. But it’s probably a matter of interpretation.
If An Taisce didn’t know about the development on corner of Capel Street and St Mary’s Abbey – maybe they need to start examining the planning lists a bit more closely.
I’ve known about that development for about three years and it was well-publicised at the time.
Capel Street also has a “streetscape” that’s actually worth preserving unlike South King Street.Archer’s Garage is finished now. Looks great – obviously a lot cleaner and smarter looking than pre-demolition.
Also it appears as if the area under the arch will be a glazed office, perhaps a car showroom or something like that.
The surrounding development around it doesn’t detract from it either as I had expected. Not a bad job over all. And an expensive lesson for Mr Noel O’Callaghan, no doubt.
