Back in 2018 when I first saw this I had no idea that it was once a pedestrian bridge across the river Nore. Today [9 January 2023] I came across the following old press release:
People enjoying the River Nore Linear Park at Talbot’s Inch may have noticed that remnants of the old Talbot’s Inch Suspension Bridge have been exposed whilst Kilkenny County Council has undertaken maintenance works along this popular amenity.
The Talbot’s Inch Suspension Bridge was built by Lady Desart in 1906 to enable mill workers to cross the River Nore, from their residences in Talbot’s Inch to the mills on the opposite side of the River. The Bridge stood until it was destroyed by the Great Flood in 1947. The recent maintenance works have revealed the remnants of the concrete ramp leading upto the Bridge, the steel column supports for the bridge and the suspension cables from which the bridge deck was hung.
Kilkenny County Council recently appointed Canice Architects, a new architectural consultancy firm located on The Parade, to develop interpretation proposals for this significant heritage point of interest. The interpretation will include a new defined landscape area around the old Bridge, together with an interpretation panel summarising a brief history of the bridge and an etching of the old bridge itself. Additionally the water level for the 1947 flood will be marked on the interpretation panel
Mayor Cleere stated that he ‘was delighted to see that Kilkenny County Council was following through on its motto to preserve heritage. I’m also delighted to see that three local firms, Canice Architects, CDS Metalwork and Gus Mabelson Ceramics have been engaged to support Kilkenny County Council with this very worthwhile project. Incrementally, small, local projects such as this collectively make a huge contribution to local quality of life.’
Commenting on the proposals Simon Walton noted that ‘ When we walk along the River Nore Linear Park there is such an abundance of history and heritage all around us. I feel it is very important that we communicate and interpret that history and heritage. In this instance, taking account of Lady Desart’s contribution to this City, it is indeed appropriate.’
Ellen Odette Cuffe, Countess of Desart (née Bischoffsheim; 1 September 1857 – 29 June 1933) was a London-born Jewish woman who was best known as an Irish politician, company director, Gaelicist (President of the Gaelic League for a time), and philanthropist in Ireland. She commissioned the village of Talbot’s Inch to be built by the architect William Alphonsus Scott. along with several other projects she and Capt. Cuffe developed together. These included Kilkenny Library, Aut Even Hospital, the Woollen Mills, Kilkenny Woodworkers, Kilkenny Theatre, the Tobacco Growers Association, Desart Hall, and Talbots Inch Suspension Bridge.
1947 was the year of the ‘big snow’. Snow began in January and it snowed heavily right through until early March. The cause of the great flood was that the thaw from the big snow came very rapidly in March. The resulting floods caused extensive damage along the River Nore and nearby.
Kilkenny incurred much flooding in the mid 1900s and the local population relied on the skills of engineer Harry Shine, who used a series of gauges upstream to accurately predict flooding and gave people enough time to evacuate before the flood arrived. In recent years a new flood relief scheme has prevented the flooding problems that Kilkenny has had for centuries.
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What caught my attention was the “D – Peebles’ Buildings” plaque on the was above the restaurant.
Peebles’ Buildings is a complex of two tenement buildings located in Stoneybatter. They were built in the late 19th century by the Dublin Artisan Dwellings Company, a private body that was established to provide affordable housing for working-class people. The buildings are named after Sir Arthur Peebles, who was a philanthropist and a member of the board of the Dublin Artisan Dwellings Company.
Peebles’ Buildings are two of the best-preserved examples of tenement housing in Dublin. They are four stories high and each building contains 32 apartments. The apartments are small and basic, but they were well-designed for the time and they provided a much-needed improvement in living conditions for many working-class families.
Peebles’ Buildings were originally occupied by a mix of Irish and English families. The residents were mainly working-class people, such as labourers, factory workers, and shopkeepers. The buildings were also home to a number of small businesses, such as grocery shops and pubs.
Peebles’ Buildings remained in use as tenement housing until the 1970s. In the 1980s, the buildings were refurbished and converted into social housing.
The statue in my photographs, located near the tram stop, was unveiled in June 1892. The Irish Times reported that the large presence of “the trades and of the working people” showed the gratitude of ordinary Dubliners to Ardilaun. The fine granite statue was sculptured by Thomas Farrell who was also the sculptor responsible for the statues of William Smith O’Brien and Sir John Gray, both of which can be seen on O’Connell Street today.
Arthur Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, 2nd Baronet (1 November 1840 – 20 January 1915), known as Sir Arthur Guinness, Bt, between 1868 and 1880, was an Irish businessman, politician, and philanthropist, best known for giving St Stephen’s Green to the Dublin Corporation for public use.
Ulysses by James Joyce includes several references to Ardilaun, as Joyce considered him to be a prime Irish example of Victorian conventional respectability. The porter brewed by the “cunning brothers” – he and his brother Lord Iveagh – was: “a crystal cup full of the foamy ebon ale which the noble twin brothers Bungiveagh and Bungardilaun brew ever in their divine alevats, cunning as the sons of deathless Leda. For they garner the succulent berries of the hop and mass and sift and bruise and brew them and they mix therewith sour juices and bring the must to the sacred fire and cease not night or day from their toil, those cunning brothers, lords of the vat.”[15] “Bung” referred to the stopper in a wooden barrel of beer. In the “Nighttown” section, the breasts of a girl who is undressing are “Two ardilauns”, meaning “two high islands”, a play on the Gaelic meaning of the word.
In 1902-03 Joyce also wrote literary reviews in the Irish Daily Express which was owned by Ardilaun.
In 1871 Lord Ardilaun married Lady Olivia Hedges-White, daughter of The 3rd Earl of Bantry, whose family home is Bantry House in County Cork; this was a happy but childless marriage.
He died on 20 January 1915 at his home at St Anne’s, Raheny, and was buried at All Saints Church, Raheny, whose construction he had sponsored. Those present at the funeral included representatives of the Royal Dublin Society, of which Lord Ardilaun was president for many years, the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance, and the Primrose League. His barony became extinct at his death, but the baronetcy devolved upon his nephew Algernon.
On his widow’s death Saint Anne’s Park passed to Algernon’s cousin Rev. Benjamin Plunket former Bishop of Meath, who sold most of the estate to Dublin Corporation in 1937, keeping Sybil Hill as his residence. The corporation has preserved much of the estate as one of Dublin’s most important public parks, though the house itself burnt down in 1943, with the remaining lands used for housing. The outcome of Ardilaun’s extensive tree plantings came into focus a century after his death, when in 2019 the park was given Green Flag status, and was listed as one of the world’s top five urban public parks.
Gaelic handball (known in Ireland simply as handball) is a sport where players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return, and that may be played with two (singles) or four players (doubles). The sport, popular in Ireland, is similar to American handball, Welsh handball, fives, Basque pelota, Valencian frontó, and more remotely to racquetball or squash. It is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). GAA Handball, a subsidiary organisation of the GAA, governs and promotes the sport.
Lady Desart presented the newly formed Talbots Inch Handball Club with a site in 1926. The members by voluntary labour helped in the construction of the court. A generous loan from her Ladyship enabled the club to roof the building, while a simple form of agreement was drawn up between the two parties to cover repayment and was known as the Deed of Good Faith.
Ellen Odette Cuffe, Countess of Desart (née Bischoffsheim; 1 September 1857 – 29 June 1933) was a London-born Jewish woman who was best known as an Irish politician, company director, Gaelicist (President of the Gaelic League for a time), and philanthropist in Ireland. She has been called “the most important Jewish woman in Irish history”.
She was the daughter of Henri Louis Bischoffsheim, a wealthy Jewish banker of German origin. He was responsible for founding three of the largest banks in the world; The Deutsche Bank, Paribas Bank, and Societe Generale. Her younger sister, Amélie Bischoffsheim, was married to Sir Maurice FitzGerald, 20th Knight of Kerry.
She married William Cuffe (1845–1898), the 4th Earl of Desart on 29 April 1881 at Christ Church in Down Street, Mayfair.
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