EIR PHONE KIOSK ON BOLTON STREET – PARTLY DEMOLISHED A FEW DAYS AGO
Some of Dublin’s existing pay phones could be turned into ‘digital pedestals’ under plans being considered by Eir and the city council.
As a pedestrian I believe that the amount of street furniture is excessive especially as much has little purpose other than to act as a platform for digital advertising.
A spokesperson for Eir says: “Eir is working with county councils to agree best use of legacy infrastructure. As agreed with Dublin City Council, 22 new Digital Pedestals will be installed in Dublin City in the coming days, with a touch sensitive screen suitable for displaying maps and for DCC to advertise upcoming events and services.
The phone company is also planning to replace payphone kiosks with Electrical Vehicle (EV) Chargers.
SHERIFF STREET LIFTING BRIDGE – I USED A SIGMA 14mm WIDE-ANGLE LENS
As I used a wide-angle lens you will notice dome distortion you may also notice lens flare which I have been unable to control.
The wonderful thing about Dublin is that everything has a history or a background story but the problem is that everyone will tell you a different story.
When I first photographed this bridge, many years ago, a self appointed local historian told me that the lifting bridge was built by Earl Spencer the paternal grandfather of Diana Spencer. The problem with such stories is that the facts may be “alternative” but they are often true so they cannot be easily dismissed. I did, however, have some problems with the story for the following reasons.
[1] Spencer Dock was originally known as the Royal Canal Docks [2] Diana’s Grand Father or his father had no connection with Ireland. [3] The bridge appears to have an electric motor dating from the 1940s or 1950s
Anyway I decided to check a history of the docklands published by Turtle Bunbury [by the way the book features one of my photographs] and I came across the following: “The new dock was a work of ‘entirely private enterprise’ and cost £58,000. On the beautiful afternoon of 15th April 1873, (Sir) Ralph Cusack, Chairman of the MGWR, opened the new dock and formally named it Spencer after the Lord Lieutenant, Earl Spencer, great-great grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales.”
So there was some basis to the local historian’s claim however the bridge associated with the development was at the time described as “an ingenious hydraulic bridge” and it was the work of the railway’s engineer Mr Price. The bridge in my photographs does not really match the description above.
The available information is confusing. The bridge in my photographs appears to be referred to as the Sheriff Street Lifting Bridge but also as the Sheriff Street Spencer Drawbridge but it was built in 1941 as a replacement for an older swivel bridge dating from 1873.
Just before I published my original photographs I came across this “on 17 October 1941 the Irish Times reported on the opening of the new Sheriff Street drawbridge, which had cost £18,000; it was a structure unique of its kind in these islands”.
A VISIT TO BLESSINGTON STREET BASIN [Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens]
Blessington Street Basin is a drinking water reservoir in Dublin which operated from 1810 until the 1970s, serving the north city. It became a public park in 1994.
Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s day and normally I get to photograph the Dublin parade from the top of a bus after spending a night out with visitors from the USA. Last year the parade was cancelled with a few days notice. This year I knew that the event would not take place.
The problem is that I am now feeling bored after a year of not using my real camera and lenses and worse still I have have forgotten how to use my equipment. Since the beginning of last week I have started to wander around the local area for an hour or two using a different lens.
Today I used a Sigma 14mm f1/8 lens which I have had little chance to use as I purchased it not long before Covid-19 arrived. It is not an easy lens to use as lens flare can be an issue especially on a sunny day like today.
The Blessington Street Basin was built in the early 19th century by Dublin Corporation. Construction began about 1803 and finished in 1810, the plant was opened as the Royal George Reservoir, named in honour of King George III. The basin is rectangular, about 120 m long and 60 m wide basin took about 4 million gallons (15.1 million litres) of water. The water came from Lough Owel in County Westmeath, carried by pipe along the Royal Canal through a 3 km long pipeline into the basin at the western end of the Blessington Street. From its construction, the site was used as a public park.
By 1869, the basin was not large enough for purpose, and water collection moved outside the city. The basin continued to serve the Jameson’s and Powers’ distilleries until the 1970s, and then went out of operation as a reservoir. There were worries about the stagnant water creating a typhoid outbreak in the late 1800s leading to the corporation wanting to fill in the basin and the stretch of water connecting the basin to the canal, this connection was finally filled in 1956.
In 1993 work began on the restoration of the site following a rejected proposal to extensively refurbish it in 1991. The refurbishment was carried out by the Dublin City Council aided by FÁS, and with financial support from the National Heritage Council and A.L.O.N.E. It was reopened as a park on the 4 November 1994. The site also includes a lodge house built in a Tudor style in 1811, and another modern council building.
Since its restoration, the basin now serves as a bird habitat, with an artificial island and a number of fish. Amongst the birds that can be seen there are swans, tufted ducks, chaffinches, mallards and pigeons
A QUICK VISIT TO INCHICORE MAINLY THE TYRCONNELL ROAD AREA
Last week I visited a small section of Inchicore and the one thing that immediately stood out was the amount of litter and derelict or badly maintained sites.
Inchicore is 5 kilometres west of the city centre, south of the River Liffey, west of Kilmainham, north of Drimnagh and east of Ballyfermot, most of Inchicore is in the Dublin 8 postal district; parts of the area extend into Dublin 10 and Dublin 12.
Inchicore is accessed by multiple roads and served by a range of Dublin Bus services. It is also served by the Luas tram system, which runs along a permanent way, and serves the area from Blackhorse to Suir Bridge.
Inchicore is passed on its southern edge by the Grand Canal, developed by economic progressives of the day and that was, at its peak, the major passenger and commercial trading route through central Ireland, running through the lush productive farmlands and peat bogs of the Irish midlands. While it carried significant traffic in the great boom of the eighteenth century, it is now a recreational waterway.
Inchicore’s centre, at the junction of Emmet Road and Tyrconnell Road, retains a village atmosphere. The area includes a variety of local stores including a butcher/deli, hardware, ethnic stores, and some mid-size supermarkets. The village is home to a number of pubs, including the ancient Black Lion Inn, and several restaurants and take-aways including an Italian Restaurant called O’Liva.
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