Please be aware that these photographs were taken on the 16th April 2016 and that the circle has been restored but the water feature has been infilled. I plan to publish more recent photographs later in July or August [2023].
Back in 2015 I was getting more than worried about the future of the “follies” in St. Anne’s park as most, if not all of them were in very poor condition.
When I visited in April 2016 there was still a basin at the Park, minus its central statue however the hedges were no longer in an overgrown state.
An account from 1873 (W. Heale, 1873) describes the yew circle in detail: “On the east side of this [Dutch style flower] garden is an amphitheatre some 150 feet in circumference; the outer portion is a well-kept Yew hedge with five entrances; equidistant from each entrance are four marble statues representing Europe, Asia, Africa and America; Australia is not yet represented. The centre is a costly marble basin with fountain and stocked with gold and silver fish.‟
In a quarter of the walled garden was a circular yew hedge with alcoves and arches in which stood allegorical Italian statues representing the five continents. These statues were reflected in the great circular marble basin which occupied the centre (Malins and Bowe, 1980). The 1939 auction catalogue included these statues: “Lot 1471 – 4 carved stone figures representing the continents, on square bases with carved mouldings‟ (Adam, 1939).
The description below refers to the Yew Circle as it was prior to my visit in April as it was anything but overgrown when I had visited in April of that year. The yew trees had been cut back to what appeared to be to an extreme degree.
The Yew Circle at St Anne’s Park in Dublin was created in the 1830s by Benjamin Lee Guinness, a member of the famous brewing family. The circle is made up of a circular yew hedge that was originally planted with five alcoves, each of which contained an Italian statue representing one of the five continents. In the centre of the circle was a fountain, which is now no longer extant.
The Yew Circle was part of the formal gardens that were once located at St Anne’s House, the Guinness family’s mansion on the site. The gardens were designed in the Italianate style, and they included a number of other follies, such as a Roman-style viewing tower and a cast-iron floral temple.
The Yew Circle fell into disrepair after St Anne’s House was demolished in 1939. However, it was restored in the 1980s, and it is now one of the most popular attractions in St Anne’s Park. The circle is still overgrown, but the five alcoves and the fountain base are still visible.
The Yew Circle is a fascinating example of 19th-century garden design. It is a reminder of the time when St Anne’s House was a grand estate, and it is a popular spot for visitors to the park today.
Here are some additional details [that no longer apply] about the Yew Circle:
The yew hedge is about 100 feet in diameter. The five alcoves are each about 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep. The fountain base is about 10 feet in diameter. The statues in the alcoves represent the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. The Yew Circle is located in the northeastern part of St Anne’s Park.
I think that we, in Ireland, refer to them as nest boxes rather than birdhouses.
I asked Google BARD AI for an essay describing Bird Avenue and the result is more than a little confused.
I am unaware of a new shopping centre. I would have thought that the really large church building that dominates the area should have been mentioned. I cannot find any information relating to the bird houses but it could be true that nesting boxes were installed and I really hope that it is true. The restaurants are clustered at either end of the road rather than along the road or nearby rather than being on the road. What I am saying is that I would not suggest Bird Avenue for shopping or dining out. I would describe the bus service as unreliable. I use the 17 bus service four times a week and often have to wait more than 4o minutes even the service frequency is supposed to be 20 minutes. According to locals the problem is due to staff shortages. The 11 bus service has a frequency of thirty minutes but is frequently full. My advice is to walk to the tram stop at Windy Arbour.
Sure, here is an essay about Bird Avenue in Dublin, Ireland:
Bird Avenue is a short street in the suburb of Dundrum, Dublin, Ireland. It is located just off the Dundrum Road, and is home to a variety of businesses and residential properties. The avenue is named after the Bird family, who were once the owners of the land.
Bird Avenue was originally developed in the early 1900s, and was primarily residential. However, in recent years, the avenue has seen a number of commercial developments, including a new shopping center and a number of office buildings.
One of the most notable features of Bird Avenue is its birdhouses. There are over 100 birdhouses on the avenue, and they are home to a variety of birds, including sparrows, robins, and bluebirds. The birdhouses were installed in the 1980s by the Dundrum Tidy Towns Committee, and they have become a popular attraction for visitors.
Bird Avenue is a well-maintained and attractive street. The trees that line the avenue provide shade in the summer, and the flowers that bloom in the spring and summer add to the beauty of the street. Bird Avenue is a popular place for walking, jogging, and cycling, and it is also a convenient location for getting to other parts of Dublin.
The following are some of the things that you can do on Bird Avenue:
Visit the Bird Avenue birdhouses. Go shopping at the new shopping centre. Visit the Dundrum Town Centre. Have a meal at one of the many restaurants on the avenue. Take a walk or bike ride along the avenue. Enjoy the beauty of the trees and flowers. Bird Avenue is a charming and inviting street in Dublin. It is a great place to live, work, or visit. If you are ever in Dublin, be sure to check it out.
Here are some additional facts about Bird Avenue:
The avenue is approximately 0.2 kilometers long. There are approximately 100 birdhouses on the avenue. The birdhouses were installed in the 1980s by the Dundrum Tidy Towns Committee. The avenue is home to a variety of businesses, including shops, restaurants, and offices. The avenue is also home to a number of residential properties. Bird Avenue is a popular place for walking, jogging, and cycling. The avenue is a convenient location for getting to other parts of Dublin.
I hope this essay has given you a better understanding of Bird Avenue in Dublin, Ireland.
Bard is a conversational generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Google, based initially on the LaMDA family of large language models (LLMs) and later the PaLM LLM. It was developed as a direct response to the rise of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and was released in a limited capacity in March 2023 to lukewarm responses, before expanding to other countries in May.
Google opened up early access for Bard on March 21 in a limited capacity, allowing users in the U.S. and UK to join a waitlist. Unlike Microsoft’s approach with Bing, Bard was launched as a standalone web application featuring a text box and a disclaimer that the chatbot “may display inaccurate or offensive information that doesn’t represent Google’s views”. Three responses are then provided to each question, with users prompted to submit feedback on the usefulness of each answer. Google vice presidents Sissie Hsiao and Eli Collins framed Bard as a complement to Google Search and stated that the company had not determined how to make the service profitable. Among those granted early access were those enrolled in Google’s “Pixel Superfans” loyalty program, users of its Pixel and Nest devices, and Google One subscribers.
Bard is trained by third-party contractors hired by Google, including Appen and Accenture workers, whom Business Insider and Bloomberg News reported were placed under extreme pressure, overworked, and underpaid. Shortly after Bard’s initial launch, Google reorganised the team behind Google Assistant, the company’s virtual assistant, to focus on Bard instead. Google researcher Jacob Devlin resigned from the company after claiming that Bard had surreptitiously leveraged data from ChatGPT; Google denied the allegations. Pichai revealed on March 31 that the company intended to “upgrade” Bard by basing it on PaLM, a newer and more powerful LLM from Google, rather than LaMDA. The same day, Krawczyk announced that Google had added “math and logic capabilities” to Bard. Bard gained the ability to assist in coding in April, being compatible with more than 20 programming languages at launch. Microsoft also began running advertisements in the address bar of a developer build of the Edge browser urging users to try Bing whenever they visit the Bard web app. Google is working to integrate Bard into its ChromeOS operating system and Pixel devices.
During the annual Google I/O keynote in May 2023, Pichai and Hsiao announced a series of updates to Bard, including the adoption of PaLM 2, integration with other Google products and third-party services, expansion to 180 countries, support for additional languages, and new features. The expanded rollout did not include any nations in the European Union (EU), possibly reflecting concerns about compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation. Those with Google Workspace accounts also gained access to the service. Google attempted to launch Bard in the EU in June, but was blocked by the Irish Data Protection Commission, who requested for a “data protection impact assessment” from the company. In July, Google launched Bard in the EU and Brazil, added support for dozens of new languages, and introduced multiple new personalisation and productivity features.