Luke Kelly’s legacy and contributions to Irish music and culture have been described as “iconic” and have been captured in a number of documentaries and anthologies.
The influence of his Scottish grandmother was influential in Kelly’s help in preserving important traditional Scottish songs such as “Mormond Braes”, the Canadian folk song “Peggy Gordon”, Robert Burns’ “Parcel of Rogues”, “Tibbie Dunbar”, Hamish Henderson’s “Freedom Come-All-Ye”, and Thurso Berwick’s “Scottish Breakaway”.
The Ballybough Bridge in the north inner city of Dublin was renamed the Luke Kelly Bridge, and in November 2004 Dublin City Council voted unanimously to erect a bronze statue of Luke Kelly. However, the Dublin Docklands Authority subsequently stated that it could no longer afford to fund the statue. In 2010, councillor Christy Burke of Dublin City Council appealed to members of the music community including Bono, Phil Coulter and Enya to help build it.
Paddy Reilly recorded a tribute to Kelly entitled “The Dublin Minstrel”. It featured on his Gold And Silver Years, Celtic Collections and the Essential Paddy Reilly CD’s. The Dubliners recorded the song on their Live at Vicar Street DVD/CD. The song was composed by Declan O’Donoghue, the Racing Correspondent of The Irish Sun.
At Christmas 2005 writer-director Michael Feeney Callan’s documentary, Luke Kelly: The Performer, was released and outsold U2’s latest DVD during the festive season and into 2006, acquiring platinum sales status. The documentary told Kelly’s story through the words of the Dubliners, Donovan, Ralph McTell and others and featured full versions of rarely seen performances such as the early sixties’ Ed Sullivan Show. A later documentary, Luke Kelly: Prince of the City, was also well received.
In September 1988 a monument was erected to commemorate Kelly in the Larkhill area of Whitehall, where he had lived.
Two statues of Kelly were unveiled in Dublin in January 2019, to mark the 35th anniversary of his death. One, a life-size seated bronze by John Coll, is on South King Street. The second sculpture, a marble portrait head by Vera Klute, is on Sheriff Street. The Klute sculpture was vandalised on several occasions in 2019 and 2020, in each case being restored by graffiti-removal specialists.
Booterstown Marsh, a Nature Reserve, is located in Booterstown, County Dublin, between the coastal railway line and the Rock Road. It is an area of salt marsh and muds, with brackish water. It includes the only salt marsh, and the only bird sanctuary, in south Dublin Bay. It lies just outside the boundary of Dublin city, and just north of Booterstown DART station and its car park.
The marsh belongs to the residual Pembroke Estate, and An Taisce administer it, having acquired a lease in 1970-1971 and having designated it a bird sanctuary. It is part of both a proposed Natural Heritage Area (NHA) and a proposed Special Area of Conservation (SAC), and of the South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary Special Protection Area (SPA).
The marsh is immediately adjacent to the Rock Road, the main coastal route from Dublin city to Blackrock, Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey, and close to the N11. There is paid parking at the DART station. Some Dublin Bus routes pass along the road also. It can be viewed from all sides, although viewing from the DART platform requires a train ticket, and there is a small viewing area with seating at the northwestern corner, opposite the end of Trimleston Avenue. An overhead view can be obtained from the footbridge across the railway line.
Oil spills in 1982 and, more severely in 1985, led to de-oxygenation of the marsh. The vegetation came to be dominated by Bolboschoenus maritimus, a rush that could withstand the salty conditions, though the re-discovery of a rare species of grass following some works on the drainage enhanced the conservation status of the marsh. In response the flap valves were removed, allowing a free flow of salt water that is rich in oxygen.
Aside from the formation of the two mud islands for birds in 2006, no major work has been performed on the marsh in recent years, although a viewing area was made on a small pocket of land just to the north.
There are three main habitats ranging from near-freshwater in the north-western corner to near-saltwater by the DART station, with a graduation between.
In recent years, the condition of the mud and water have improved, and birds have returned in large numbers. The scirpus growth has significantly reduced, and the many other species of plant occurring in the marsh have recovered. One of these, Puccinellia fasiculata, commonly “Borrer’s saltmarsh grass,” is protected, along with its habitat. Other flora include salt-tolerant species such as sea milkwort, false fox sedge, and sea spurrey.
The marsh area attracts moorhen, common teal, reed bunting, coot, mallard, sedge warbler, common snipe, little egret, northern lapwing, Eurasian oystercatcher, bar-tailed godwit, common redshank, dunlin, knot and brent goose. Additional species breeding in the marsh or visiting from nearby breeding locations include blackbird, dunnock and wren. Rarer visitors but sometimes sighted are grey heron, spotted redshank, ruff and little stint, Eurasian sparrowhawk and pied avocet. A short-billed dowitcher was present at the site from 2004-2005. Along the Nutley Stream kingfisher appear, and greenshank and water rail are seen in the south eastern corner. From the shore, common gull, herring gull and black-headed gull visit.
PHOTOGRAPHED NOVEMBER 2016 PUBLISHED 21 OCTOBER 2022
31 May 2011: A memorial garden dedicated to those who lost their lives in bombing of Dublin’s North Strand was re-opened to mark the 70th anniversary of the incident.
When I first photographed this memorial park it appeared to have been badly neglected since its re-opening in 2011 [what was the point of the re-opening?]. Since then it improved in stages and then in late 2014 or early 2015 a random sculpture, left over form a “Sculpture In Context” exhibition in the Botanic Gardens, was added. Since the addition of the metal sculpture things have gone downhill [not that the sculpture is to blame]. In case you are interested the sculpture is by Steve Doody and is named ” Hexagon – Could It Be Steel”.
At approximately 2 am on 31 May 1941, four German bombs dropped on north Dublin. One bomb fell in the Ballybough area, demolishing the two houses at 43 and 44 Summerhill Park, injuring many but with no loss of life. A second fell at the Dog Pond pumping works near the Zoo in Phoenix Park, with no casualties but damaging Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the Irish President (Douglas Hyde at the time). A third made a large crater in the North Circular Road near Summerhill, again causing no injuries. A fourth fell in North Strand destroying 17 houses and severely damaging about 50 others, the worst damage occurring in the area between Seville Place and Newcomen Bridge. The raid claimed the lives of 28 people,[ injured 90, destroyed or damaged approximately 300 houses, and left 400 people homeless.
It has never been established why Hitler’s forces dropped bombs; if it was an attempt to force Ireland into war, or a reprisal for the assistance given by Dublin Fire Brigade during the Belfast Blitz.
Today I use a Sony 200-600mm lens handheld which is not really advised but that’s what I did. Also, I was surprised to discover that the lens could operate at F32
I described the photographs as being from within the University Campus because I was surprised to discover that some included the old Central Bank Building on Dame Street and the Guinness at James’ Gate.
Last year I purchased the Sony 200-600mm lens and in many ways it was a bad decision. I have discovered that it attracts way too much interest. For example I was walking by a pub with outside seating, as is now the norm, and a young lady asked me to photograph her and in order to avoid doing so I explained that the lens was not suitable and that she would need to be about a mile away. She called my bluff asking me to mind her bag while she walked to the end of a very long street. I had no option but to photograph her.
She returned, did not ask to see the photographs and did not provide any contact information.
THE NEW PUBLIC PARK AT FOOTBRIDGE STREET – I HAD PROMISED THAT I WOULD REVISIT
Public parks is something that Dublin City Council does really well and they do not receive enough credit for their work’
Tomorrow I am heading off to Cork for a week and I am trying to decide what lenses to bring with me. I purchased a Sigma 24-105 mm lens [Canon mount] a few months ago and it can be mounted on my Sony A7RIV using a Metabones adaptor but I am a bit nervous depending on its performance so I decided to test it today and as a result I am willing to take the risk. However, I suspect that the Sony 24-70 GM is a better lens but it is is somewhat limited.
Dublin City Council has today [4 May 2022] officially opened the city’s newest park to the public.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alison Gilliland, unveiled a plaque this afternoon to mark the occasion, with the opening of Bridgefoot Street Park transforming what was a derelict site into a beautiful landscape of trees with grassed and planted mounds, incorporating a performance area, play spaces, allotments and a community garden.
The Lord Mayor said, “This is a fantastic new amenity for the people of the Liberties and for the city. This park’s design is based upon accessibility and enjoyment for all ages and abilities, encouraging physical activity and supporting ecology, biodiversity, culture and outdoor events.”
Dublin City Council and the local community collaborated in the vision, promotion, planning, design and development of the park and this collaboration will continue in the management and operation which will be key to the success of the park. The park has been under construction since 2020, however the construction program was delayed due to Covid lockdown.
Bridgefoot St Park was designed by Dermot Foley Landscape Architects in collaboration with Dublin City Council Parks, Biodiversity and Landscape Services.
When surveyed in 2015 for the Liberties Greening strategy, the access to public open space within the area was 1.07ha. With the delivery of Weaver Park in 2017 and now Bridgefoot Street Park, Dublin City Council has increased access to public green space by 1.68ha, an increase of 157% for the people of the Liberties.
The new public park is approximately 1 hectare in size and has been developed utilising what would normally be considered waste materials such as calp, concrete, reclaimed stone and brick, as aggregate to create pavements, seating and play spaces.
181 new trees have been planted and the planting consists of a mixture of herbaceous and ground-cover species, with some amenity grass and ornamental hedging but the over-riding emphasis is on native wild-flower seed mix, which will be sown into a mix of soil and recycled aggregate. These seeded areas will germinate, flower, self-seed and develop a naturalistic landscape which will be unique to this park, creating a biodiversity-rich environment for pollinator bees other insects and wildlife in the city.
A new undulating topography has been created using stockpiles of soil, large rocks and boulders together with an estimated 2,000 cubic metres (135 truck loads) of inert material which was imported to the site to create a playful and interesting urban landscape for all ages. Subsoil and topsoil has also been imported for the community gardens, lawns and tree planting. Larch timber seating has been installed as terraces.
Features of the park such as a sculptural piece by the participants of the Probationary Service Bridge Project and bird boxes by the participants of the Liberties Training Centre are exciting elements and will bring an added sense of local ownership and pride in the park.
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