DONATED FOUNTAIN IN MEMORY OF JAMES A POWER INSIDE CASTLE STREET ENTRANCE TO DUBLIN CASTLE
This fountain is located immediately inside the Castle Street entrance to Dublin Castle and have never seen it mentioned in any tourist guide and I cannot determine why it was donated to the state. In fact I cannot find any details of James Power or Three Bridges House.
“This Fountain Was Donated By The Family Of James A. Power, Three Bridges House, Carrick-on-Suir, In His Memory, October 1988.”
IRISH VOLUNTEER MONUMENT IN PHIBSBOROUGH PHOTOGRAPHED USING A SONY FE 20mm F1.8 G LENS
Dublin City Council refer to this as the ‘Irish Volunteer Monument in Phibsboro’.
As this monument was not included on Google Maps I added a pin a few years ago so that you can locate it if you ever nearby. I checked today and it is now included on Google Maps.
For many years I could not gain full access to this memorial as the gates were usually locked which I assumed was to protect against anti-social behaviour. The monument was vandalised in the 1970’s, and the Volunteer stood for many years with no rifle in his hand, until his restoration in 1991. However it would now appear that Dublin City Council are adopting a different approach and are now leaving the gates open twenty four hours per day and from what I have seen so far indicates that vandalism has reduced.
It was only recently that I noticed that this monument was originally build as a fountain but the water supply must have been removed as is often the case in Dublin.
The Irish Volunteer Monument commemorates members of the Dublin Brigade of the Irish Volunteers who fought and died during the Easter Rising (1916) and the War of Independence (1919-21). The monument depicts a soldier and below the soldier scenes from Irish mythology and ancient Irish history: the arrival of the Milesians (the first inhabitants of Ireland), Cuchulainn fighting at the ford and the death of King Brian Boru at Clontarf in 1014.
[24 January 20220]: I am currently planning a number of city trips with the intention of spending a week in Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Kilkenny and Waterford. I have booked hotel rooms in the hope that Covid does not interfere with my plans. Today I purchased a Sony 20mm lens which was discounted by Euro 300 the main reason for getting this lens is that I wish to greatly the weight and bulk of the equipment that I need t carry when I am travelling and I also need good low light performance.
DR ISSAC WILLIAM USHER MEMORIAL – HE DIED AS THE RESULT OF A CAR ACCIDENT 1917
Dr Isaac Usher was a popular resident of Dundrum at the beginning of the 20th Century. He did a lot for the town but unfortunately he was killed in one of the first accidents involving a motor car in Ireland, when a car struck him while reversing near the station in 1917. The residents decided to build a monument to honour him.
The monument was a stone obelisk with a source of water and a trough to provide drinking water for passing horses. There were also brass cups on chains which could be used for drinking by humans. The monument was placed right in the middle of the northern crossroads.
Note: It’s about 152 years since the world’s first-ever death due to a motor car accident. Irish scientist Mary Ward died on August 31, 1869, in Birr, Co Offaly. She died instantly when she fell out of her cousin’s steam-powered car and under its wheel. However, the first pedestrian killed by an automobile was Bridget Driscoll, who received fatal injuries when she walked into the path of a car moving at 4 mph (6.4 km/h), as it was giving demonstration rides in the grounds of Crystal Palace, London, UK on 17 August 1896.
This is located on Hawkins Street and as a matter of interest Hawkins House, Dublin’s ugliest buildings, is scheduled to be levelled, three years after its demolition and redevelopment was granted planning permission. My father had an office in the building for about a year and he hated it.
Constable Sheahan was a member of the Dublin Metropolitan Police force. He lost in life in tragic circumstances in May 1905 when he was overcome by deadly gas in the sewers of Dublin as he attempted to rescue unconscious workmen. Sheahan’s heroics touched the heart of native Dubliners, as this young man of only 29 had given everything in an attempt to save others. In 1906 a monument to Sheahan was erected, paid for my public subscription, and placed at the site of the tragedy.
This memorial incorporates a water fountain and for many years I have complained that in general fountains in Dublin appear to lack water and in most cases they are badly maintained. Unfortunately, one of my photographs may explain why fountains in Dublin no longer contain water … they are used as asktrays by people smoking outside pubs.
This particular memorial is well maintained but it should be noted that it has been recently relocated [slightly] to make way for the new Luas tram tracks.
DR ISSAC WILLIAM USHER MEMORIAL – DIED AS THE RESULT OF ONE OF THE FIRST CAR ACCIDENTS
Note: It’s about 150 years since the world’s first-ever death due to a motor car accident. Irish scientist Mary Ward died on August 31, 1869, in Birr, Co Offaly. She died instantly when she fell out of her cousin’s steam-powered car and under its wheel.
Dr Isaac Usher was a popular resident of Dundrum at the beginning of the 20th Century. He did a lot for the town but unfortunately he was killed in one of the first accidents involving a motor car in Ireland, when a car struck him while reversing near the station in 1917. The residents decided to build a monument to honour him.
The monument was a stone obelisk with a source of water and a trough to provide drinking water for passing horses. There were also brass cups on chains which could be used for drinking by humans. The monument was placed right in the middle of the northern crossroads.
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