On the 30th March 2021. Dublin City Council refused planning permission for the owner of 92/93 Francis Street to demolish it, but another section of the organisation ordered the owner to undertake “minimal taking down/making-safe works”. Unfortunately the end result was that a derelict four-storey building had been totally demolished and the site is to be seen in some of my [2 May 2022] photographs of Francis Street.
In June 2021 An eagerly awaited refurbishment of Francis Street in The Liberties is set to begin but I cannot see any positive signs of the promised improvements listed in the plan below.
With a strong emphasis on pedestrians, the plan envisaged widened pavements and new threshold spaces to the front of the Iveagh Market and St Nicholas de Myra Church. The, then, current awkward widening and narrowing of the carriageway was to give way to a consistent width and measures to reduce speeds and allow for more relaxed cycling and easier crossing. Changes to car parking and loading arrangements, 20 new street trees and landscaped areas, sustainable urban drainage measures (SUDs), new street lighting, street furniture and utilities were designed to create a much improved street and establish Francis Street as a destination.
THE BARLEY MOW PUB HAS BEEN DEMOLISHED 92-93 FRANCIS STREET
The Barley Mow was at the corner of Francis Street and Mark’s Alley West. When I photographed it a few weeks I noted that its condition was getting worse at an increasing rate.
Here is an extract from the planning application: “Demolition of the existing structures and the construction of a four-storey, plus set-back fifth, aparthotel consisting of a ground floor community space/ café with 19 suites above and bin store to the rear.”
The Dublin InQuirer featured a photograph of the building being demolished claiming that “Dublin City Council has refused permission to tear down a derelict building at 92 and 93 Francis Street in Dublin 8 and replace it with an aparthotel”.
A few days ago the same publication featured the following headline “Council Both Refused and Gave Permission for Francis Street Building to Be Torn Down”.
A barley mow is a stack (mow) of barley, especially barley that was cultivated and then harvested. Barley is a grain that is commonly malted for brewing beer.
The Barley Mow is a cumulative song celebrated in the traditions of the folk music of Ireland, England, and Scotland. William Chappell transcribed the lyrics in his two-volume work The Ballad Literature and Popular Music of the Olden Time (1855).
“The Barley Mow” has become a drinking song sung while comrades empty their glasses. In one “Barley Mow” drinking game, any participant who fails to sing the song’s (progressively expanding) refrain in a single breath must drink. In another, participants drink just after singing the second line in each verse (“Good luck to the barley mow”); if one’s glass is not empty by the final verse, one must finish the drink after singing the line.
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