May 30th 2019 Alex Findlater died following a riding accident in Punjab, India and headline read as follows: “Mayo man dies after horse riding accident in India”.
In 1823 Alex. Findlater & Co. began trading in Dublin. The company was founded by Alexander Findlater, a hard working spirit merchant. He set up his business on Burgh Quay opposite the Custom House. From humble beginnings, the business grew rapidly and extensively not just in Dublin but into the United Kingdom also, expanding into other fields; trading in Wines, Teas, Coffees and Groceries.
In Dublin, the Findlaters prospered. By 1906, the company had expanded into groceries, tea and provisions, with 14 shops. They built Findlater’s Church on Parnell Square, as well as the Todd Burns department store on Mary Street. Their Mountjoy Brewery, established in 1852, was Dublin’s second-largest exporter of stout by 1866. They also operated hotels in Howth and Bray.
According to Google Maps Fegan’s Cafe is currently closed which is a pity.
Moïra Fowley lives in Dublin with her girlfriend and her two daughters. Half French and half Irish, she is the author of four critically acclaimed YA novels. Eyes Guts Throat Bones is her first book for adults.
What will the end of the world look like? Will it be an old man slowly turned to gold, flowers raining from the sky, or a hole cut through the wire fencing that keeps the monsters out? Is it someone you love wearing your face, or a good old fashioned inter-dimensional summoning? Does it sound like a howl outside the window, or does it look like coming home? This startling and irresistibly witty collection from the phenomenally talented Moïra Fowley is an exploration of all our darkest impulses and deepest fears.
This bronze sculpture of a cow has been moved to Wood Quay while Wolfe Tone Park it being redeveloped and while this may be a more pleasant location I would prefer to have it at Wolfe Tone Park especially as it has been very popular with local children.
Ag Crú na Gréine “Enjoying the Sun” (2003) by Jackie McKenna
Wolfe Tone Park & Street Environmental Improvement Scheme offers a new destination point for all, as an ever-changing civic space where daily life and spectacle collide. The contextual design offers a thriving and inviting multi-use urban space for all ages and abilities, to be treasured by residents, workers and visitors. The design consists of two phases:
Phase one, the redesign and refurbishment of Wolfe Tone Street to create a more pedestrian friendly environment with new public lighting and street furniture and the use of a historic materials palette, creating both a high quality environment and character area.
Phase two involves the refurbishment of Wolfe Tone Park, everything within the park has been designed with intent: from the proposed new feature lawn, the retention of the existing mature trees, the proposed horticulture, to conservation and recognition of the parks history as a graveyard.
The new design for Wolfe Tone Park & Street Environmental Improvement Scheme will provide a green oasis and destination point in the heart of Dublin’s bustling city centre.
This project is co-funded with €1.2m from the ERDF’s S&E Regional Operational Programme 2014-20 – Designated Urban Centres Grant Scheme and Dublin City Council.
Here is an interesting inscription: “Erected to the memory of John Haltigan by the Nationalists of Kilkenny 94 who have known him to make a lifelong struggle for Ireland’s freedom for which crime British law, aided by the Informer, Nagle, consigned him to a living tomb where the fiendish torture of years shattered his vigorous form but failed to subdue his noble spirit. May his unselfish patriotism be imitated until Ireland is once again a Nation. He died 10th July, 1884 aged 66 years. Also his wife, Catherine Haltigan, died 19th January, 1899 aged 83 years.”
A picturesque graveyard containing a collection of markers of artistic design significance exhibiting high quality stone masonry. A number of markers dating to the late seventeenth century represent an important element of the archaeological heritage of Kilkenny while serving as a reminder of the mass house, later a Catholic chapel that existed on site until the late eighteenth century.
I came across this by accident and unfortunately I only had a very small camera [Sony RX0] which meant that it was not really possible to capture any inscriptions. I will revisit the next time I am in Kilkenny.
The cemetery is on the South side of the town. There are 4 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-1918 war here.
I did not intend to visit this area of the city but late in the evening I ended up at St. Kieran’s Cemetery and I had a very small camera in my pocket so I took a few photographs even though daylight was fading rapidly.
There are many burial grounds across County Kilkenny some of which are vested in Church bodies and some are in the ownership of Kilkenny County Council. The cemetery featured in my photographs is administered by Kilkenny County Council and it appears to be well maintained.
When I examined an aerial view of Kilkenny back in 2017 this looked like a huge carpark, the type that is used to store cars before delivery to dealers, but as it looked odd I decided to visit only to discover that it is a modern graveyard.
Unless you have a family connection there is no real reason to visit this cemetery, other than to kneel and say a prayer. It does not feature any historic graves and one does not learn much from viewing the headstones.
The cemetery is enclosed within a very low stone wall enclosure which provides no obvious security against anti-social activity which is surprising because my reading of local publications indicate that anti-social activity is an issue in the area. There is a large iron gate which serves no real purpose but as I already noted it is well looked after.
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