This is my first upload for the year 2024 and it is also my birthday. I wish everyone a wonderful New Year.
I had intended to devote about four hours to photographing the streets of Trim in County Meath. After about two hours the weather became so bad that it was impossible to use my Canon 5DIII and I decided to walk back to base but I decided to use my iPhone 12 Pro Max but after about twenty minutes not even that idea was practical so I had to phone for a taxi.
The term “High Street” usually referes to the primary business street in a town or city. The name likely originated from the fact that these streets were often built on higher ground than the surrounding areas, providing a vantage point and making them prominent locations for commerce.
The term High Street is far less commonly used in Ireland than Britain [I am not sure about Northern Ireland]. Here, like in the United States, Main Street tends to be used instead. Neither of Dublin’s two main shopping streets (Grafton Street and Henry Street) carry this name, for example, nor does its main thoroughfare (O’Connell Street).
While Dublin has a street named High Street near Christchurch, formerly the centre of the medieval city, it is not a shopping street. The city of Cork’s main shopping street is St Patrick’s Street. The city’s oldest streets are named North Main Street and South Main Street. Limerick’s principal thoroughfare, like Dublin, is also O’Connell Street (the name is used in a number of other Irish towns in honour of Daniel O’Connell).
The term Main Street (Irish: An tSráid Mhór, literally “The Big/Great Street”) is used across various types of settlements; from densely populated inner suburbs of Dublin such as Ranelagh, to satellite suburbs of the capital such as Swords, and also in villages and small towns throughout the country. For example, the OSI North Leinster Town Maps book lists sixteen “Main Streets” and only two “High Streets” in its thirty-town index of street names. Similarly, the OSI Dublin Street Guide (covering all of Dublin City and County Dublin) lists twenty “Main Streets” and only two “High Streets”.
Some Irish towns do have a major shopping street named High Street (Irish: An tSráid Ard), including Killarney, Galway, Wexford, Ballinrobe, Westport, Bagenalstown, Macroom, Tuam, Wicklow, Trim, Monaghan, Kilkenny, and Kilrush.
Bantry, County Cork is an interesting variant; the main shopping street is called High Street in its western part and Main Street in its eastern part. The same is found in Athlone and Birr, County Offaly.
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LACKANASH ESTATE ON LINK ROAD IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH
I first photographed this cow on Christmas Day 2022 and was a bit surprised that it was still at the same location this Christmas.
Lackanash from Leacain Ais meaning the hill-side of the milk. It is a small townland near to the town of Trim and there is little historical information available online … can you supply more information?
I first saw this type of cow back in July 2003 and the story was not a happy one. A collection of life-size cows designed by Irish artists and public figures had to be taken off the streets of Dublin after vandals destroyed several of them. About 70 cows had been located on the streets of Dublin and Dundalk as part of the Bailey’s CowParade 2003, an international cultural art exhibition which visits cities all over the world. The initial 10 cows which were placed at city-centre locations were all damaged so badly that the organisers had no option but to remove them. Since then such sculptures are now usually installed at locations which are indoor or protected at night [I do not know if Dublin is/was unique].
CowParade is an international public art exhibit that has featured in major world cities. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city centre, in public places such as train stations, important avenues, and parks. They often feature artwork and designs specific to local culture, as well as city life and other relevant themes.
After the exhibition in the city, which may last many months, the statues are auctioned off and the proceeds donated to charity.
There are a few variations of shape, but the three most common shapes of cow were created by Pascal Knapp, a Swiss-born sculptor who was commissioned to create the cows specifically for the CowParade series of events. Pascal Knapp owns the copyrights to the standing, lying, and grazing cow shapes used in the CowParade events.
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