URBAN PHOTOGRAPHS

Urban Expression And Depression By Infomatique

voigtlander

NICHE by Orla de Brí

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NICHE by Orla de Brí – UNIVERSITY CAMPUS LIMERICK SEPTEMBER 2021 AND MAY 2018

When I first photographed this a few years ago I thought that this was the “diver” and could not find any relevant information but as a result of my 2021 visit and the use of a reverse image search I discovered that the artist responsible was Orla de Brí. I am now in the process of publishing the 2021 and 2018 images.

In 2021 I used a Sony A7RIV with a Voigtlander 40mm lens
In 2018 I used a Sony A7RIII with a Sony FE 24-70mm lens [the better combination]

Niche’ was commissioned for the campus of The University of Limerick. 8 meters in height, it comprises a polished bronze figure with branches on a Corten Steel pilar.

Orla is an Irish Sculptor with a studio in Co Meath. de Brí works in bronze, steel and fibreglass. She has had seven Solo Shows, and has completed 27 site-specific, large-scale public sculptures, in Ireland, London and Istanbul.

Working in both Gallery and Public Art her work is also in many significant private collections both nationally and internationally.

JANESBORO MARIAN SHRINE – ROXBORO ROAD LIMERICK

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JANESBORO MARIAN SHRINE – ROXBORO ROAD LIMERICK

This is a 1954 Marian Statue erected by the locals, across the road from Our Lady Queen Of Peace church, and it may be of better quality than most and as you can see from my photographs it is very well maintained.

The spelling of Roxborough has sometimes been shortened to Roxboro, largely due to the modern spelling of the “Roxboro Road” in Limerick City (R511), which runs from the top of William Street all the way out to Roxborough. In more recent years, a number of businesses in the Rathbane and Galvone areas of Limerick City have erroneously begun to use “Roxboro” as their address in the belief that that part of the city was once part of the townland of Roxborough. This has been reinforced by the misuse of Roxborough on directional roadsigns on a section of the N18 from the Limerick Tunnel to the Junction 1 exit. It is clearly evidenced on the Ordnance Survey of Ireland’s 6″ maps (1829–41) that this is not the case.

Roxborough is a townland in County Limerick, Ireland comprising some 24.02 km2. It lies to the south of the townlands of Ballysheedy and Routagh and to the east of the townland of Ballyclough. Its northern boundary, partially bounded by the Ballyclough River, lies some three kilometres to the south of the Limerick City boundary at Southill. The Limerick to Fedamore road (R511) bounds the west side of Roxborough.

Roxborough was historically part of the civil parish of Caheravally and the Barony of Clanwilliam and comprised 526 acres, two roods and five perches. Roxborough is in the Roman Catholic parish of Donoughmore and Knockea, which lies in the Diocese of Limerick. It is also part of the catchment area of South Liberties GAA Club.

THE LIVING BRIDGE I USED A VOIGTLANDER 40mm LENS

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THE LIVING BRIDGE I USED A VOIGTLANDER 40mm LENS

This visit to Limerick I limited myself to using primes and I am not sure if it was a good idea and I may not limit myself in this way when I visit Belfast at the end of the month. Also, much to me surprise, there was a lot of dust on the sensor which was more than annoying. Much to my surprise as I had my camera professionally cleaned a few days earlier.

The Living Bridge – An Droichead Beo is a unique design by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, London and consists of seven 50-metre spans linked together by piers which create four platforms of refuge for walkers.

The platforms are designed to accommodate social gatherings, informal teaching sessions, music and dance performances, as well as a wide array of educational, social and cultural activities – all contributing to this facility’s status as a “living” bridge”.

The bridge alternates between rhythms of bridge and island, with lightweight bridge structures joining to more solid pier locations. This is reflected by the change in construction materials from steel to concrete and the transition from open parapets to solid pillars and glazed side walls which serve to shelter the “inhabitants” of this animated facility.

The architects designed the bridge to move in a beautiful flowing line across the Shannon, mirroring the river. The design conveys the sense of a series of bridges leaping from pier to pier, each supported by one of the existing islands in the riverbed. This gives the traveller the sense that they are crossing the river on stepping stones.

From the south campus, access to the bridge is through what presents itself as a hidden gateway in the Millstream Courtyard and provides a vital link between the Glucksman Library, Concert Hall and Millstream developments to the Health Sciences and the new Irish World Academy of Music and Dance on the north bank. An impressive Plaza will welcome you to Clare once you have travelled over the bridge.

The Pedestrian Living Bridge project was resourced through a partnership of private and public funding and was assigned to Arup Consulting Engineers in Dublin. Kerin Contract Management in Limerick managed the project while building work was undertaken by Eiffel Construction, France’s largest bridge builder.

SCULPTURE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE UL CAMPUS – THE WALL OF LIGHT BY SEAN SCULLY

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SCULPTURE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE UL CAMPUS – THE WALL OF LIGHT BY SEAN SCULLY

The wall is known as ‘Crann Saoilse’ (2003) or the ‘Wall Of Light’.

The UL campus is truly one of the most beautiful university campuses anywhere in the world. Visitors never fail to be impressed by this peaceful green place with its trees, its fountains and the beautiful river Shannon flowing majestically through it all.

In November 2019 the University of Limerick announced details of its plan to develop a second campus in the heart of Limerick city on the old Dunnes Stores site. The Dunnes site has been derelict for a number of years and was purchased by the university in 2019.

Sean Scully RA (born 30 June 1945) is an Irish-born American-based artist working as a painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His work is held in museum collections worldwide and he has twice been named a Turner Prize nominee. Moving from London to New York in 1975, Scully helped lead the transition from Minimalism to Emotional abstraction in painting, abandoning the reduced vocabulary of Minimalism in favour of a return to metaphor and spirituality in art.

Scully has also been a lecturer and professor at a number of universities and is highly regarded for his writing and teachings, collected in the 2016 book, Inner: The Collected Writings and Selected Interviews of Sean Scully.

MOUNT ST LAWRENCE CEMETERY IN LIMERICK

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MOUNT ST LAWRENCE CEMETERY IN LIMERICK

On Tuesday I travelled by bus from Limerick University Campus to Mount St Lawrence Cemetery but the bus was diverted because of a very large funeral which could be described as “traditional” and I decided that it would better to return the next day. The weather forecast for Wednesday was not good, with rain predicted, but when I awakened early in the morning the weather was beautiful so I decided to walk to the cemetery and to bring a 15mm manual Voigtlander lens which explains why some of the images are distorted. As a matter of interest I use a Zeiss Batis 25mm lens when I visited in 2019 and I think that the images were slightly better.

As of August 20th 2013, Mayor of Limerick Kathleen Leddin launched an online database which holds information on the 70,000 buried in the graveyard, dating from 1855 to 2008. This database will contain information such as the names, addresses, times of death, position of graves, ages and dates of deaths of those buried in Mount St. Lawrence. This will contribute greatly to the city and surrounding areas. The city can use the information on the records to give accurate figures on the mortality rate, for example. It will also help to discover what the problems were in the hospitals of Limerick back in those times and why the death rate was so high.

Cemeteries in Limerick began to fall under immense pressure due to cholera epidemics in the 1830’s and the Great Famine in the 1840’s. This led to the founding of Mount St. Lawrence cemetery. Originally it formed part of the larger medieval parish of St. Lawrence in Limerick. This parish also contained a leper hospital, granted by King John, which was later returned to Limerick Corporation. They then leased some of the land to the Limerick Diocese for use as burials grounds. Mount St. Lawrence was officially opened on March 29th 1849 in a ceremony presided over by Dr John Ryan, Bishop of Limerick at this time.

The Neo-Gothic Church was designed as a mortuary chapel by architects M & S Hennessy, who also designed the tall spire of St. John’s Cathedral, which is now a notable point in Limerick City. It was designed in Celtic and Gothic Revival styles with an Arts and Crafts influenced interior. Mount St Lawrence graveyard was the primary place of burial in Limerick City for all members and classes of society, from the wealthy and powerful to those poverty stricken.

Mount Saint Lawrence has always contained plots reserved for certain groups, for example, religious graves, diocesan graves and a Republican plot.

On the 29 March 1849 Mount Saint Lawrence Cemetery was opened on an 18 acres site on Mulgrave Street to alleviate the overcrowded city graveyards. From 1849 until 1979 the cemetery was run by the Catholic Church and in 1979 it was taken over by Limerick City Council and the day to day running of the Cemetery is by the Environment Department.

Mount Saint Lawrence Cemetery was the primary place of burial in Limerick for all strata of society, from the wealthy to those who died in the Lunatic Asylum and Workhouses. The more prominent families tended to be buried along the central path close to the chapel. The ‘Poor Squares’ were located at the top of the cemetery at the left hand corner and in the bottom right corner.

Burial Records date from March, 1855 and the Burial Register records that over 70,000 individuals have been interred in Mount Saint Lawrence, up to 2009. The oldest individual recorded in the register is Mary Keane of Thomondgate, buried on 24th January, 1880 at the age of 110.

https://www.limerick.ie/discover/explore/historical-resources/limerick-archives/cemetery-records/mount-st-lawrence-burial