URBAN EXPRESSION AND DEPRESSION

Street Photography That Highlights Urban Life

14mm lens

SYNTAX BY ESTER BARRETT

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SCULPTURE IN CONTEXT 2021

I used a 14mm lens for a few of these photographs so there is a degree of distortion in the captured images.

Ester Barrett was born in Limerick in 1979. Ester, a self-taught artist, started painting full time at the age of 15, studying the techniques of the Old Masters and taking advice from artists. She attended a bronze casting workshop in Leitrim sculpture centre in November 2010, continuing with mould making, metal work, etc, and casts her work in Co Mayo. Her work is both representational and impressionistic in painting and sculpture and also includes figurative pieces. She has exhibited extensively in group shows in Ireland and abroad and has won two international awards.

WILLIAMS AND WOODS BUILDING

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WILLIAMS AND WOODS BUILDING

This large building was designed as a jam and sweet factory by Donnelly & Moore, and constructed by G. & T. Crampton for Williams & Woods in 1910, on the site of an earlier confectionary factory established c.1856. It has since been used as a data storage facility. As a food production site, it constitutes a component part of the social and industrial history of this part of Dublin, contextualised by nearby linen and yarn warehouses and a paper manufacturing site. It has a formidable presence on the streetscape, prominently sited at the corner of Loftus Lane and Kings Inn Street, and its façade articulated by deep cornices and engaged pilasters with rusticated granite plinths. A painted sign to the angled corner bay provides contextual and artistic interest.

LUKE KELLY’S HEAD

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LUKE KELLY’S HEAD WAS VANDALISED SEVEN TIMES

The statue, designed by Vera Klute, was unveiled on the same day as another statue of Luke Kelly , after calls to memorialise the singer in his hometown.

Throughout the statue’s short existence, there have been a number incidents involving the statue being vandalised. In July 2020, the 7th incident of defacement resulted in a 40-year-old man being charged with vandalism. These repeat incidents have raised questions regarding the statues location, which have included suggestions to relocate it to a more public area.

I believe that it should remain where it is.

ROYAL CANAL GREENWAY NORTH STRAND ROAD TO SHERIFF STREET

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ROYAL CANAL GREENWAY NORTH STRAND ROAD TO SHERIFF STREET

This section is 750 metres long and links North Strand with the docklands, where it connects with the existing cycle route running along Guild Street.

The Royal Canal Phase 2 Viaduct is a critical piece of infrastructure within the Royal Canal Greenway scheme as it enables pedestrians and cyclists to travel from the North Strand Road through to the Seville Place junction unobstructed.

At the western end of the scheme, the North Strand Road side, the viaduct links to the recently installed Newcomen Footbridge, which spans over the Docklands Railway Line and the Royal Canal and serves as a pedestrian bridge running parallel to the existing Newcomen Road Bridge.

The viaduct takes pedestrians and cyclists over the Newcomen railway line coming out of Connolly Station and onto a newly constructed, landscaped, winding approach ramp. From here, pedestrians and cyclists are taken under the main northern line railway bridges and along approximately 500m of newly refurbished bank of the Royal Canal to the Seville Place junction.

LUAS TRAM STOP AT CONNOLLY

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LUAS TRAM STOP AT CONNOLLY RAILWAY STATION

Connolly is an interchange with Dublin’s Luas light rail tram system. Built in an area in front of the main station entrance which was previously a bus terminus, the two Luas platforms are covered by a large, segmented canopy. Stairs and lifts directly link the platforms with the station entrance.

When the Luas Red Line commenced service in 2004, Connolly was the sole northern terminus. In 2009, the line was extended eastwards to The Point, and Connolly became the sole station on a spur. Immediately after trams leave the stop, they go through a junction. However, in regular passenger service, trams only ever turn right, heading through the city centre towards Tallaght and Saggart. Around half of all services on the Red Line serve Connolly, and signage suggests that passengers make the short walk to Busáras Luas stop, where trams are more frequent. Connolly Luas stop is closed in the late evenings and early mornings.

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