DONATED FOUNTAIN IN MEMORY OF JAMES A POWER INSIDE CASTLE STREET ENTRANCE TO DUBLIN CASTLE
This fountain is located immediately inside the Castle Street entrance to Dublin Castle and have never seen it mentioned in any tourist guide and I cannot determine why it was donated to the state. In fact I cannot find any details of James Power or Three Bridges House.
“This Fountain Was Donated By The Family Of James A. Power, Three Bridges House, Carrick-on-Suir, In His Memory, October 1988.”
I have frequently complained that the majority of fountains and water features in Dublin are inactive or dry. However, much to my surprise, this installation on Wolf Tone Quay actually has water. I have noticed a few visitor reviews in which they mentioned that they did not feel safe at this specific location especially at night and to be honest I have to agree because I have had issues in the past. Of course, I should mention that this was once a very active “red light” area.
Wolfe Tone Quay is one of several quays along the Liffey, part of maritime developments within the city stretching back to the thirteenth century. Formerly known as Albert Quay, but known as Wolfe Tone Quay since the early twentieth century, this section dates from the early nineteenth century and is the most westerly of the northern quays. The quay wall is of well-built ashlar granite and presents a strong visual statement. The quays are of significance in the context of the economic and maritime development of Dublin city as one of Ireland’s principal ports. They are representative of early nineteenth-century engineering technology.
CHANCERY PLACE FEATURING CHANCERY HOUSE AND PARK [FEBRUARY 2022]
The Dublin Christian Mission is located at Chancery Place. it serves as a Christian community centre for a variety of different ministry opportunities. Some of the opportunities include youth clubs, community events, Cafe, small groups, transitional housing, short-term teams, food pantry and office space.
For me the most interesting thing about Chancery Place is the Chancery Place Flats [Chancery House] complex which was designed by Herbert G. Simms.
The Chancery Park flats have been described as, “a small carefully conceived building containing 27 flats with an adjoining enclosed garden which was completed in 1935.” A plaque on the gateway to the complex is dedicated to Herbert Simms who was appointed Housing Architect for the city of Dublin in 1932. Herbert George Simms, died September 28 1948.
Until 1932 new housing in Dublin had been the responsibility of the city architect, Horace O’Rourke. Between 1923 and 1931 new dwellings were being erected at an average rate of 555 per annum, but the shortage of adequate housing in the city remained acute. In 1932 or 1933 a separate housing architect’s Department was formed with specific responsibility for the design and erection of new dwellings, as distinct from their administration and maintenance. Simms was appointed to the new post of Corporation housing architect. He immediately recruited a temporary staff to assist him in the task which confronted him. In 1935 alone 1,552 dwellings were completed. During the sixteen years he was in office, Simms was responsible for the design and erection of some 17,000 new homes, ranging from striking blocks of flats in the central city [influenced by new apartment blocks by de Klerk in Amsterdam and J.P. Oud in Rotterdam] to extensive suburban housing schemes such as those at Crumlin and Cabra.
Created by artist, designer and nightclub pioneer Niall Sweeney, Club Chroma Chlorologia is a newly commissioned series of site-specific works installed in the gardens and grounds of the 17th-century Royal Hospital Kilmainham, which combine to create unlikely interventions that you can encounter, discover and take part in every time you visit the formal garden.
On August 1 and 2 2021, Saturn was at opposition, meaning the Earth was located between the ringed planet and the sun. This is when the outer planet is at its most luminous, making for a brilliant night sky view.
Sweeney is a graphic designer from Dublin who makes up one half of Pony Ltd. The studio team were, as their website states, “born from the big smoke of Dublin and the seven hills of Sheffield, this studio is a perfect example of pulling fragments from all directions until the last piece completes the jigsaw.” Pony Ltd are well known for their theatrical and minimalist posters for Panti Bliss.
THE FORMAL GARDEN AT ROYAL HOSPITAL KILMAINHAM ALSO KNOWN AS THE MASTERS GARDEN
The Formal Garden was also know as the Masters Garden lies below the North Terrace on the Royal Hospital’s principal front and forms an important feature of the overall design. The hospital minutes of 1595 note “The gardens walls to be arranged so the garden may lie open to the north part…. for the greater grace of the house.”
Over the years, gardens, by their very nature, change and we know that the Royal Hospital Garden not only changed but was also periodically neglected. In restoring such early gardens one of the difficulties is in the inconclusive nature of historical evidence. The Minute Books of the Royal Hospital refer to planned works but it is not always clear that all the works were ever carried out or to which of the three gardens which once occupied the site they refer. Old maps indicate significant changes to the Formal Garden but there is no specific information of the original design.
In the early 1900’s when it was decided to restore the Garden the ‘ideal’ classical layout for a garden published by John Evelyn in 1664 was considered to be close to its original layout. The decision was made to use this ‘ideal’ plan as a basis for the first phase of the restoration. The more elaborate decorative form which the garden took at one stage was considered inappropriate and impractical to restore.
The basic layout having been established, the second phase of the restoration was initiated in the late 1980’s. To develop the gardens three dimensional features work began on the garden house, the walls, the paths, the structural planting of the hedges, topiary and pleached trees and, latterly, the fountain, entrance steps and terrace. The third and final phase developed the historical planting, including training structures for espalier trees along the walls, the planting of small trees and bulbs in the ‘wilderness’ quarters as well as statuary urns and garden furniture.
The intention in this restoration is to create features which represent 17th and 18th century Formal Garden design based on extensive research of the site and the interpretation of features of the time. In that sense it is important to understand that this is not an historical reconstruction but a restoration in the spirit of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The garden was restored to its present state by the Office of Public Works under the supervision of architect Elizabeth Morgan.
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