MARIAN STATUE – MARY QUEEN OF LOURDES ON FAUSSAGH ROAD ROUNDABOUT
Today I used a ten year old Sony NEX-7 camera combined with a Zeiss Batis 25mm lens. The Batis is a favourite of mine.
Bliain na Maidine (Marian Year) 1954 Erected by parishioners and friends A Mhuire A Bhainrion Lourdes Guidh Orainn (Mary, Queen of Lourdes, pray for us)
Other than the fact that this was erected in 1954 I cannot find much information about this statue. Back in 2013 the City Council had agreed to undertake some repair work as well as replacing the cross but I cannot find any documentation to indicate that such work has been completed. However, the installation is in good condition.
If you are not from Ireland you may be unaware of ‘Marian Statues’ and if you are younger than 35 or 40 you may also be unaware of them and even if you pass any of them on a daily basis you may not have given them much thought.
There are about 20 or 30 in Dublin alone and most of them are located on public land in what were working class areas back in the 1950s. One or two are located on private property with the statue at Broadstone Station being one example.
Most were financed and erected ahead of the Marian Year of 1954 when entire communities mobilised to have a statue in their area. If you were female and you were born in 1954 there is a very strong possibility that your name is Marian or some version of that name.
The majority are still well-kept and regularly maintained by a dedicated groups or dedicated individuals but at times it can be difficult to determine who actually maintains them.
I could be wrong but if my memory serves me well this was an “experimental graffiti wall” sponsored by Dublin City Council as an extension to their Dublin Canvas programme.
Ormond Place, which I though was named Ormond Lane, is a laneway connecting Ormond Square to Arran Street and, via a narrow alleyway, to Ormond Quay.
Back in 2013 this was a good location for street art but a few years later all the art work was painted over and any new work is now painted over within weeks.
Michael John “Johnny” Giles (born 6 November 1940, in Ormond Square, Dublin, Ireland) is a former association footballer and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. Since retirement he has served as “the Senior Analyst” on RTÉ Sport’s coverage of association football.
Giles grew up in Ormond Square, a working-class area of inner-city Dublin, where he developed much of the skills that would aid him in becoming a professional footballer. He was encouraged to enter the game through his father Christy who played for Bohemians in the 1920s and managed Drumcondra during the 1940s.
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