THE WYVERN IN FRONT OF McDONALDS IN BRAY – BRABAZON MONUMENT
A wyvern is a legendary bipedal winged dragon usually depicted with a tail ending in a diamond- or arrow-shaped tip. The wyvern in its various forms is important to heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams
In front of the main entrance to the Town Hall, now McDonalds, and facing down Main Street is a monument surmounted by a wyvern holding a shield with the Brabazon crest on it. The underside of the basin is elaborately carved and the pedestal, which has robust lion heads, has in inscription so weathered it has become illegible.
Reginald Brabazon, Lord Ardee, was the owner of much of the Bray estate in the 1880s.
Reginald Brabazon, was an Irish politician and philanthropist. He is buried in the graveyard of the Church of Ireland parish church in the village of Delgany, County Wicklow, Ireland, along with his wife and son. There are some streets and squares in The Coombe, Dublin, named in his honour: Reginald Street, Reginald Square and Brabazon Square.
I had a business in Bray in the 1970s but in 1979 I got the opportunity to join Memorex in Santa Clara.
I really enjoyed my time in Bray and I try to visit a few times a year however I could be two years since I last visited.
The town is situated on the east coast to the south of County Dublin. Shankill, County Dublin lies to the north, and Greystones, County Wicklow to the south. The village of Enniskerry lies to the west of the town, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. People participate in such sports as sailing, rowing, and swimming. The beach and seafront promenade are used by residents and visitors. While Bray’s promenade and south beach is to a Blue Flag standard, the north beach has been impacted by erosion and leaching pollution since the closure and sale of a municipal landfill in the late 20th century.
The River Dargle which enters the sea at the north end of Bray rises from a source near Djouce, in the Wicklow Mountains. Bray Head is situated at the southern end of the Victorian Promenade with paths leading to the summit and along the sea cliffs. The rocks of Bray Head are a mixture of greywackes and quartzite. There is a large cross at the summit.
Earlier this year it was announced that the Bray Harbour area will be upgraded in the coming years as a sum of €7.14 million is allocated for its regeneration, via the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF).
I must admit that this is my first time to see Clonturk House and that I was not expecting to see much of interest on Ormond Road in Drumcondra.
Clonturk is an area on the Northside of Dublin, in Ireland. It is located in the south of the suburb of Drumcondra, just north of the River Tolka, but previously, Clonturk had been an alternative name for Drumcondra and the wider area.
Clonturk lies within the Dublin 9 postal district. The name Clonturk translates from the Irish as “Pasture of the boars”.There is some evidence that the name originally was Ceann Torc or the “Headland of the boars”, but had changed to Clonturk by the middle of the 16th century.
Clonturk House on Ormond Road was built in 1830 by the then City Architect, as a gentleman’s residence and was one of Drumcondra’s fashionable big houses. It was extensively renovated in 1880 and given its Georgian frontage. The carved stone balustrade which now forms its boundary came from the original Carlisle Bridge (built by James Gandon) and was moved there by the builder of the present O’Connell Bridge (who was living in Clonturk House circa 1880).
For a number of years until 1960 Clonturk House was run by The Presbyterian Church which gave accommodation to girls attending school in dublin both as fee paying and on a susidised basis.
In 1955, The Rosminians were appointed by the Archbishop of Dublin to run services for the Blind in St Joseph’s, Drumcondra, Dublin. The School which became known as St Joseph’s School for the Blind, and Visually Impaired, was residential and was officially opened in 1960 by the Dept. of Education. Until 2009 Clonturk House was a home for blind men.
A number of neighbouring streets bear the name Clonturk, including Clonturk Park, Clonturk Gardens, and Clonturk Avenue, probably as a result of their proximity to Clonturk House. There is also Clonturk Community College, further north on the Swords Road at Whitehall.
NEW STYLE PHONE KIOSK BESIDE A YELLOW DOOR- DORSET STREET
This street already has more than enough street furniture and I was a bit disappointed to see that a new digital advertising platform, disguised as a payphone, has been added.
Back in 2008, when I last checked, there were about 4000 telephone kiosks, public payphones, remaining in Ireland but there were only about 450 at the beginning of this year [2021]. Many were removed because they attracted anti-social behaviour and others were removed because of lack of use.
Earlier this year Eir applied for planning permission to replace 22 replace old payphones in Dublin with upgraded versions that include Wi-Fi, interactive touchscreens and information services for tourists. The new structures were described as “open stand-alone kiosks designed to reduce instances of anti-social behaviour, improve street furniture and provide enhanced services to users including interactive, digital information points.”
THE LEAFY STREETS OF DRUMCONDRA – LOWER DRUMCONDRA ROAD
I have always liked these trees.
Many years ago I had a house on Carlingford Road off Lower Drumcondra Road and I really liked the area but I still live nearby and frequently walk the area.
The village of Drumcondra was the central area of the civil parish of Clonturk, and the two names were used equally for the religious and civil parishes, but the modern suburban district of Drumcondra also encompasses the old Parish of St. Mary. Clonturk had been an alternative name for Drumcondra and the wider area for some time.
The Cat and Cage Pub, on the corner of Drumcondra Road and Church Avenue, was the site of an old postal stop and the point at which rebels, during the 1798 rebellion, seized a postal cart in order to signal to others in North County Dublin to revolt.
The southern stretch of the ‘Slige Midluachra’ passed through Drumcondra and on into the City where it crossed the Liffey at a location known as the ‘ford of the hurdles’. The present-day Drumcondra main road is built on top of the exact route the ancient highway took, the road was one of five ancient roads to meet at Tara, albeit in myth only, in reality, the five roads may have met at a point on the River Liffey in Dublin.
One of the main sights of Dublin is Croke Park, where Ireland’s national games of Gaelic football and hurling may be seen. It has a capacity of 82,300 people, it is one of the largest sports stadiums in Europe. ‘Croker’ (as it is colloquially known) is the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association and also houses the official GAA Museum (on St Josephs Avenue, which is off Clonliffe Road). The stadium hosts the finals of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. The stadium is a 20-minute walk from Dublin city centre or a 5-minute bus ride.
Fagan’s Public House, Drumcondra Road Lower, where Bertie Ahern took U.S. President Bill Clinton in September 1998. Kennedys Pub on Lower Drumcondra Road is one of the oldest pubs in Drumcondra, predating Fagans by a number of years. Formerly called McPhillips, it has been named Kennedys since 1961.
The National Council for the Blind at Whitworth Road, is located near the Church of St. George cemetery.
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