The town was officially renamed Kingstown in 1821 in honour of a visit by the British King George IV, but reverted to its ancient Irish name by resolution of the town council in 1921. This monument was erected to mark the occasion of the visit. The inscription is as follows:
To Commemorate the visit of the King to this part of his dominions and to record that on the 3rd of September 1821 His Majesty in person graciously named this Asylum Harbour the Royal of Harbour of George IV and on the same day embarked from hence.
King George arrived in Ireland on his 59th birthday in August 1821 and it was expected that he would arrive in Dun Laoghaire. I think that it was spelled ‘DunLeary’ at the time. But for some reason [related to too much alcohol] he first landed in Ireland at the West pier in Howth where his footprints were recorded for posterity.
After spending a few weeks having a great time in Ireland the king decided to exit via Dun Laoghaire which was later renamed Kingstown in his honour. The name did not change back until 1922 when Ireland was independent.
The George IV monument was erected about 1823 to commemorate the 1821 visit. However, the monument was controversial from the start. It was lampooned by Thackeray the poet. Also, it was a target for many protesters and attacks including a bombing in 1970, after which one of the 4 balls forming the base was badly damaged and had to be replaced [if my memory serves me well the ball was initially replaced by a block of wood which remained for an expended period].
IRISH VOLUNTEER MONUMENT IN PHIBSBOROUGH PHOTOGRAPHED USING A SONY FE 20mm F1.8 G LENS
Dublin City Council refer to this as the ‘Irish Volunteer Monument in Phibsboro’.
As this monument was not included on Google Maps I added a pin a few years ago so that you can locate it if you ever nearby. I checked today and it is now included on Google Maps.
For many years I could not gain full access to this memorial as the gates were usually locked which I assumed was to protect against anti-social behaviour. The monument was vandalised in the 1970’s, and the Volunteer stood for many years with no rifle in his hand, until his restoration in 1991. However it would now appear that Dublin City Council are adopting a different approach and are now leaving the gates open twenty four hours per day and from what I have seen so far indicates that vandalism has reduced.
It was only recently that I noticed that this monument was originally build as a fountain but the water supply must have been removed as is often the case in Dublin.
The Irish Volunteer Monument commemorates members of the Dublin Brigade of the Irish Volunteers who fought and died during the Easter Rising (1916) and the War of Independence (1919-21). The monument depicts a soldier and below the soldier scenes from Irish mythology and ancient Irish history: the arrival of the Milesians (the first inhabitants of Ireland), Cuchulainn fighting at the ford and the death of King Brian Boru at Clontarf in 1014.
[24 January 20220]: I am currently planning a number of city trips with the intention of spending a week in Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Kilkenny and Waterford. I have booked hotel rooms in the hope that Covid does not interfere with my plans. Today I purchased a Sony 20mm lens which was discounted by Euro 300 the main reason for getting this lens is that I wish to greatly the weight and bulk of the equipment that I need t carry when I am travelling and I also need good low light performance.
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