URBAN EXPRESSION

All Types And Styles Of Urban Expression

2017

SAINT BENEDICT’S GARDENS MARIAN GROTTO

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SAINT BENEDICT’S GARDENS MARIAN GROTTO

I discovered this grotto in 2015 but the photographs that I took back then were not really useable so I needed to revisit the street but did not manage to do so until 2017.

In 2017 I made the mistake of asking someone who I thought was a local about the history of the statue and things went downhill very quickly … they did not like photographers and they were against everything including religion.

As Ireland has become much less religious over the last few decades I am surprised that these statues and grottos still survive and all that I have seen to date are in good condition.

According to some studies there are at least 28 ‘Marian Statues’ in Dublin and most, if not all, are located in working class areas. I am not sure if this particular statue is one of the 28 because I cannot find any mention of it. It might not be even be a so called ‘Marian Statue’

My understanding is that the majority were erected in 1954, the first Marian Year, on what would have been public property without formal permission so I suppose that there is a possibility that some of them may eventually be removed but that would be a great pity.

There is a map showing the location of statues throughout Ireland https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1hma9sq84sLdMvYMuqWuOCVXCheQ&hl=en_US&ll=53.088536507040885%2C-7.041859296875032&z=8

THE CLADDAGH AREA OF GALWAY AT SUNSET AND LATER

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THE CLADDAGH AREA OF GALWAY AT SUNSET AND LATER

The Sony A7RII does not perform well in low light and the sky had an unusual purple colour which was reflected by the water.

Claddagh is an area close to the centre of Galway city, where the River Corrib meets Galway Bay. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the Spanish Arch, which was the location of regular fish markets where the locals supplied the city with seafood as recently as the end of the 19th century. People have been gathering seafood and fishing from the area for millennia. It is one of the oldest former fishing villages in Ireland – its existence having been recorded since the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century.

During the 19th century the Claddagh attracted many visitors, including writers who spread its fame. The original village of thatched cottages was razed in the 1930s and replaced by a council-housing scheme.

The Claddagh is most famous internationally for the Claddagh ring, which is popular among those of Irish heritage as both a friendship and wedding ring. This traditional design consists of two clasped hands holding a crowned heart, and symbolises love, friendship and loyalty.

The Claddagh area contains a national school, Community Centre and a Catholic Church as well as the new Claddagh Arts Centre.

Notable natives of the area include Thomas Grady, recipient of the Victoria Cross.

ST. MARTIN DE PORRES SCULPTURE BY JAMES McKENNA

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ST. MARTIN DE PORRES SCULPTURE BY JAMES McKENNA – CHURCH ON CLADDAGH QUAY IN GALWAY

The first time that I tried to photograph this statue back in 2015 a lady in a large black SUV insisted on parking in such a manner as to block my view of this statue and she was very rude. I had to wait until my 2017 visit to get this photograph [in 2016 I forgot to photograph it].

Naomh Máirtín de Porres. The patron saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony.

Irish Sculptor, JAMES McKENNA (1933 – 2000)

This statue caught me by surprise as I had originally believed it to be a “Mother And Child” statue however it is a granite sculpture showing St. Martin de Porres in the act of pouring soup into a bowl for a hungry child while laying a comforting hand on the youngster’s head.

Martin de Porres Velázquez, O.P. (December 9, 1579 – November 3, 1639), was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony.

He was noted for his work on behalf of the poor, establishing an orphanage and a children’s hospital. He maintained an austere lifestyle, which included fasting and abstaining from meat. Among the many miracles attributed to him were those of levitation, bilocation, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and an ability to communicate with animals.

St. Mary’s Dominican church was designed by William Hague. With its rock-faced granite walls and finely detailed round-headed arches, this handsome church has often been described as being of Norman style. Features such as a carved tympanum and moulded surrounds at the front entrance as well as fine windows enliven the composition. This structure is a good example of the return of the Romanesque style linked with the Celtic Revival-style church architecture of the late nineteenth century. The well-preserved and decorated interior with its richly ornamented reredos, altar and font is especially worthy of note.

THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS GALWAY CITY

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THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS GALWAY CITY

The University opened for teaching in 1849 as “Queen’s College Galway” with 68 students. A year later it became part of the Queen’s University of Ireland. The Irish Universities Act, 1908 made this college a constituent college of the new National University of Ireland, and under a new charter the name of the University changed to “University College Galway”. It was given special statutory responsibility under the University College Galway Act, 1929 with respect of the use of the Irish language as a working language of the University. It retained the title of University College Galway until the Universities Act, 1997 changed it to the “National University of Ireland, Galway”.

Located close to the city centre, it stretches along the River Corrib. The oldest part of the University, the Quadrangle with its Aula Maxima was designed by John Benjamin Keane; it is a replica of Christ Church, one of the colleges at the University of Oxford. The stone from which it is built was supplied locally

More modern parts of the university sprang up in the 1970s and were designed by architects Scott Tallon Walker. The 1990s also saw considerable development, including the conversion of an old munitions factory into a student centre. Under the early 21st-century Presidency of Iognáid G. Ó Muircheartaigh, NUI Galway announced details of plans to make the University a “campus of the future” at a cost of around €400 million. Ó Muircheartaigh’s successor James J. Browne continued with that plan.

BOHERMORE CEMETERY IN GALWAY

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BOHERMORE CEMETERY IN GALWAY – RESTING PLACE OF THE FAMOUS AND THE NOT SO FAMOUS

This was my second visit and while I did visit again in 2018 and 2019 the weather was too wet and windy for me to spend enough time there.

In 2016 I described this as a Victorian Style Graveyard but some people disagreed with this description. For example one person, who provided much useful information, commented as follows “ Victorian Style means meandering paths, lots of trees, and some water features to make it more like a park to visit. Also, Victorian cemeteries tend to be a bit more non-conformist with religious affiliation, but Bohermore, as you saw, is still very religious and pretty much just laid out to maximize the use of space.”

Another person complained, in a very long email, that I was in breach of copyright which was a claim that I did not understand. Note I had had asked for permission to photograph and was invited to return.

According to Wikipedia “The origins of the Victorian cemetery were based on Victorian ideas of regulation and structure, much like other parts of Victorian society such as workhouses, asylums and prisons. The Victorian cemetery was a new way of burying people due to innovative landscape design and architecture. After 1800 dedicated garden cemeteries were created to solve earlier problems with overcrowding and sanitation. Their designs were based on the idea of Arcadia.”

Bohermore is located in Galway, Ireland. The name is derived from the Irish literally meaning “the big road”. On the last day of my 2016 visit to Galway I walked at random around the area and came across this interesting cemetery and it was not what I would have expected if I had been looking for it. It is very well organised, well maintained and rather modern which may explain why the locals refer to it as the ’new cemetery’. This year, during a break in the weather, I revisited the cemetery but for some reason I was not as impressed as I had been back in 2016 but I cannot explain why I was less impressed.

As already mentioned I visited again in 2018 and 2019 but had to cancel my 2020 visit to Galway. I have booked a hotel for a week in June but I beginning to doubt that I will be able to travel because of travel restrictions.