URBAN PHOTOGRAPHS

Urban Expression And Depression By Infomatique

ormond quay

AN UGLY GAP IN THE STREETSCAPE

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AN UGLY GAP IN THE STREETSCAPE – WHERE THE ORMOND HOTEL WAS

All construction workers can return to work tomorrow [4 May 2021] and it then that it becomes obvious that some projects have been abandoned. It would be very disappointing if the construction of the new hotel does not restart this week.

The iconic Ormond Hotel on the north quays was purchased for just €2.5 million by Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes in the middle of the recession. In 2013, planning permission was sought to demolish the old building and replace it with a 170 bedroom hotel but the plan was rejected but eventually the owner was granted permission to develop a smaller 121 room hotel.

The €25 million redevelopment project was expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2020 but there were many problems and the project was delayed and then there was was Covid-19.

CYCLING ALONG ORMOND QUAY

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CYCLING ALONG ORMOND QUAY

Ormond Quay was the first of the quays to be built on the north side of the River Liffey, complete by c.1680, developed by Sir Humphrey Jervis and named in honour of the Duke of Ormond who instigated the trend for building houses facing the river.

The Dublin quays refers to the two roadways and quays that run along the north and south banks of the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. The stretches of the two continuous streets have several different names. However, all but three of the names (Swift’s Row, Bachelors Walk and Usher’s Island) share the same “Quay” designation. The quays have played an important part in Dublin’s history.

Much of the southern roadway and about half of the northern roadway is part of the R148 road while the other half of the northern roadway is part of the R801 road.

Both roadways run approximately 4.3 km (2.7 mi) from Sean Heuston Bridge in the west. The eastern end of the north roadway is at East-Link Bridge while the south roadway turns southward at the Grand Canal. Seventeen bridges cross the river along the line of The Quays; three of them are exclusively pedestrian bridges, one a railway bridge, one other for Luas trams (with another planned) and pedestrians, and the remainder for vehicular and pedestrian use.

The name designations of the north roadway are (from west to east): Wolfe Tone Quay, Sarsfield Quay, Ellis Quay, Arran Quay, Inns Quay, Upper Ormond Quay, Lower Ormond Quay, Bachelors Walk, Eden Quay, Custom House Quay and North Wall Quay.

The name designations of the south roadway are (from west to east): Victoria Quay, Usher’s Island, Usher’s Quay, Merchant’s Quay, Wood Quay, Essex Quay, Wellington Quay, Crampton Quay, Aston Quay, Burgh Quay, George’s Quay, City Quay, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay and Britain Quay.

A majority of the roadways in the city centre are one-way with the north roadway being eastward and the south being westward.

THE ORMOND HOTEL

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THE ORMOND HOTEL DURING ITS DERELICT PERIOD

This photograph was taken in September 2012. Demolition started on the site in June 2018 but at a later date a the owners of a restaurant located beside the site claimed that noise dust and vibrations were at such a level they were forced to cease trading. In August 2019 a high court judge dismissed claims that redevelopment works at the Ormond Hotel in Dublin were in breach of the planning laws.

https://www.igs.ie/conservation/risk/ormond-hotel-7-11-upper-ormond-quay

The Ormond Hotel which featured in James Joyce’s Ulysses was derelict for many years but was purchased by Monteco Holdings for €2.5m and their €25 million redevelopment was expected to complete by the first quarter of 2020 but currently [March 2021] it is nowhere near completion.

Before the Covid-19 a large number of hotels were under construction in the city centre and there is speculation that as many as 20% will never open as the demand for hotel rooms in Dublin may be greatly reduced for at least two or three years. The indications that the new Ormond Hotel will actually open as it is well financed and is in a position to take a long-term view. I do hope that this project will be completed.

Note: The overall site numbers 7-13 on Ormond Quay Upper and includes a protected structure at number 12. It adjoins number six, a national monument which dates to the 17th century.

ORMOND SQUARE AND ORMOND PLACE

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ORMOND SQUARE AND ORMOND PLACE DUBLIN 7

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.

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.

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