PLANT HIRE – LOWER GRANGEGORMAN
Years ago I worked with a lady who had been employed by a business directory and within months was fired because she included all the entries for “Plant Hire” in the “Garden Centre” section.
university campus
ST. PATRICK’S COLLEGE CEMETERY
ST. PATRICK’S COLLEGE CEMETERY – MAYNOOTH COLLEGE CAMPUS MAY 2021
Yesterday I had to abandon my visit to Maynooth because of heavy rain that began almost as soon as I had arrived. When I got up today the weather was really good so I decided to give Maynooth one more try and when I arrived at 2pm the weather was warm and sunny so I took the opportunity to visit the University Campus.
It may surprise many visitors to discover that Maynooth College has its own graveyard. The cemetery can be found past the Junior Garden on campus.
While the College was founded in 1795, the first to be buried in the new College Cemetery was Rev Francis Power from Cork (1737 – 1817), who was the first Bursar and Vice President, was appointed Professor of French in 1802, and died in 1817. Four members of the College staff, who died before 1817, were buried in Laraghbryan Cemetery on the Kilcock Road, west of the Campus.
There are a number of students, Sisters and staff resting in the College Cemetery. Many of the students died of consumption, as tuberculosis was called at the time. The Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul provided the healthcare for students and staff. The most recent burial was that of Maurice Dunne from Tralee (1939 – 2009). He had worked in the College since 1961 and died on his 70th birthday. [Note: I noticed two new graves today 17 May 2021].
Years ago I came across the following story: “If you visit Maynooth today, you might come across an old building on the campus called Rhetoric House. You might notice that one of the windows on the top floor is boarded-up and you might wonder why. If you ask someone, they will tell you this is The Ghost Room. Many years ago, students who went to Maynooth would live on the top floor of the building. There was one young man who was assigned to sleep in Room No.2. One day, when he didn’t show up for lectures, his friends went looking for him. They found his dead body lying in a pool of blood on the floor of Room No.2 with his throat slit from ear to ear. Clutched in his hand was a bloody razor and it appeared that he had taken his own life. Ireland was a Catholic country and, at the time, suicide was seen as a terrible sin.”
“The matter was hushed up by the college and the student was buried in an unconsecrated part of the college cemetery, away from the other graves.”
As you may have guessed, according to local legend, this story was repeated the next year [note: according to the records the deaths were nineteen years apart]. Some locals claim, that three people died in a similar manner while in the same room but while the official records indicate that the two students are buried in within the walls of the graveyard there is no mention of a third student.
BROADSTONE GATE THE SIGNS ARE THERE
BROADSTONE GATE THE SIGNS ARE THERE – BUT WORK IS SUSPENDED
The area where I live has been effectively a building site and I was really hoping that all projects, that impact on me, would be completed by the end of 2020 and then a health crisis arrived. Initially the lockdowns did not shutdown all building projects and the Grangegorman Gate/Plaza project continued but stalled towards the end of 2020. Today, 27 March,2021 there is no indication as to when the project will be completed but I really do hope that it is before the end of this year.
According to the development plan that I received many years ago – The Broadstone Gate will provide a key access to the Grangegorman site once complete and is being developed as part of the Luas Cross City works. It will be finished as a public plaza and the access will provide a major linkage between Grangegorman and Dublin city. The plaza is situated off Constitution Hill on the site of the old royal canal at the former Great Western Railway Station commonly known as Broadstone, and will mark a prominent entrance to the Grangegorman urban quarter.
The Broadstone site, which borders Grangegorman on its east side, was subject to a Part VIII planning process in 2014 in order to facilitate the site development and gate access. Under the Grangegorman Masterplan, the primary urban path through Grangegorman – St Brendan’s Way will link with the Broadstone Gate which when completed will reach as far as Prussia Street. The link with Broadstone can also be seen as an extension to the 18th century historic spine of Dublin City which covered Dublin Castle across Grattan Bridge, along Capel Street/Bolton Street, Henrietta Street [where I live] and King’s Inn.
In May 2016, the boundary wall dividing Broadstone and Grangegorman was removed, creating a historic pathway joining the two sites for the first time. The Luas Cross City works are continuing to progress at Broadstone with a target completion date for the end of 2017. The Broadstone Gate entrance will mark the first access to the Grangegorman site from Constitution Hill.
Note: The Luas tram service is operational for a number of years however the St Brendan’s Way pathway is not fully operational as access to one section is limited to certain times and days. Also the entrance from Henrietta Place and Kings Inns is closed at weekends and bank holidays and at night.
THE TU NEW EAST QUAD ON ST BRENDAN’S WAY
THE TU NEW EAST QUAD ON ST BRENDAN’S WAY – GRANGEGORMAN CAMPUS
Construction still appears to be underway but at a slower pace.
Under the Grangegorman Masterplan, the primary urban path through Grangegorman – St Brendan’s Way will link with the Broadstone Gate which when completed will reach as far as Prussia Street. The link with Broadstone can also be seen as an extension to the 18th century historic spine of Dublin City which covered Dublin Castle across Grattan Bridge, along Capel Street/Bolton Street, Henrietta Street and King’s Inn.
The current phase of development at Grangegorman required that the East Quad should open in late 2020 [has been delayed] while the Central Quad will open in early 2021. The buildings, when fully operational, will accommodate 10,000 students. Further to this, three existing buildings will be significantly upgraded and refurbished to offer a range of facilities and services to both students and staff – Lower House, Rathdown House, and Park House.
The East Quad, located just across from the main Rathdown entrance to the campus, will be a Cultural Hub not only for the Grangegorman campus but also for the city. Due to open in late 2020, it will be accessed directly via the Broadstone Gate – a new public plaza being developed that will incorporate the Broadstone/University Luas stop on the Green Line. East Quad will be home to students of:
[1] Art
[2] Design
[3] Music
[4] Social Sciences
[5] Drama
[6] Media
[7] Law
The fluid nature of the design and the vibrancy of the learning environment will facilitate exhibitions of students’ visual artwork as well as dramatic and musical performances in the 400-seat Concert Hall, 80-seat Black Box Theatre and 80-seat Recital Hall, all of which will be accessible to general audiences. The design of the external spaces and landscaping outside the building will also be conducive to a variety of uses such as performance, media projection and exhibition of sculpture.
TU UNIVERSTIY CAMPUS
TU UNIVERSTIY CAMPUS – THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AT GRANGEGORMAN
Technological University Dublin or TU Dublin is Ireland’s first technological university, established on 1 January 2019, taking over all functions and operations of the three preceding institutions.
The university was formed by the amalgamation of three existing institutes of technology in the Dublin area – Dublin Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, and Institute of Technology Tallaght, and it is the second-largest third-level institution in Ireland based on student population of 28,500, behind University College Dublin. It is the eighth university in Ireland, and the fourth in the Dublin Region, following Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, and Dublin City University.
The institution has a continuous unbroken history stretching back to 1887, with the establishment of the first technical education institution in Ireland, the City of Dublin Technical Schools.
