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IF YOU PLAN TO VISIT THE I MONELLI RESTAURANT

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DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 43 IS YOUR BEST OPTION

I have never visited I Monelli and I am almost certain that they have moved here from another location, possibly in Terenure.

“Chefs Gianni De Santis and Ivano Addabbo share a passion for food that was cultivated in their childhoods and developed whilst working at some of the top restaurants in the world. Together, at I Monelli, they strive to provide their patrons with food that is not only exceptional in flavor, but in its presentation as well”.

In 2009, Dublin City Council launched dublinbikes, a city-wide bicycle sharing scheme to address health, environmental, and traffic congestion issues across the city. ‘Just Eat dublinbikes’ is now regarded as one of the most successful bicycle-sharing initiatives undertaken worldwide. The scheme has expanded from 450 bicycles across 40 stations in 2009 to 1,600 bicycles across more than 115 stations in 2023, each of which have been strategically distributed through out the city centre to enable easy access and optimal use.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 73

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AT THE OLD IVEAGH MARKETS BUILDING ON FRANCIS STREET

I visited Francis Street twice within a four period and used two different cameras. One camera was a very old Canon 5D III DSLR which I purchased in an unused a few months ago. Apparently the original owner won it as a prize and had no interest in using it. To be honest, I am impressed by its performance. The Second camera was a Sony FX30 APS-C camera without a mechanical shutter and at the moment it is my go-to camera as it is light an produces acceptable images but it does not have an EVF.

The Iveagh Markets is a former indoor market built in the Edwardian architectural style on Francis Street and John Dillon Street in The Liberties neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, that was open from 1906 until the 1990s. The site remains derelict despite attempts to redevelop the site into a new food market complex.

Until the creation by The 1st Viscount Iveagh, as he then was, of the park north of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1901, hundreds of street traders had stalls in the neighbourhood. Lord Iveagh (who was later created, in 1919, The 1st Earl of Iveagh) obtained an Act of Parliament to build and gift the markets, subject to the condition that they be run by Dublin Corporation as public markets or the title would revert to his heirs. The site for the markets was cleared by 1900, with the objective of the new indoor market to offer local traders a dry place to sell vegetables, fish, and clothes. It was built by the Iveagh Trust, which was initially a component of the Guinness Trust, founded in 1890 by Lord Iveagh. The building was designed and built by Frederick G. Hicks. Construction started in 1902 and the market opened in 1906. Maintenance of the market was entrusted to Dublin Corporation (now Dublin City Council). The market building was built in the Edwardian style.

The market was split into a dry market facing Francis Street and a wet market in the rear facing John Dillon Street. The dry market sold clothes while the wet market sold fish, fruit and vegetables.

An adjoining building housed laundry, disinfecting and delousing facilities. This was an innovation in the Dublin market world, and was influenced by Iveagh’s sponsorship of the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine in London a decade earlier.

By the 1980s, the market had become rundown. In 1993, the council announced plans for a IR£1.25 million refurbishment.] Over the following years, the sum was determined to be inadequate and the council announced in 1996 that it was seeking a private developer to redevelop the market. In 1997, hotelier Martin Keane secured a 500-year lease with a €2 million tender. In 2007, Keane was granted planning permission to develop the market and an adjacent site into a food market complex with restaurants, a 97-bed hotel, music venue and apartment hotel. The planning permission was renewed in 2012, and a €90 million redevelopment was expected to begin in spring 2015 and finish in 2017.

In January 2018, the city council announced that it would repossess the market site and refund Keane’s €2 million tender due to his failure to redevelop the site. In September 2019, an architectural condition report commissioned by the city council found that the market was “unsafe” and in an “advanced state of dereliction”. The report estimated that essential repairs would cost approximately €13 million, which the city council’s head of planning said cannot be covered by the city council’s budget.

On 8 December 2020, it was revealed that The 4th Earl of Iveagh had commissioned a security team to gain occupancy and forcibly repossess the site in the early hours of that morning, citing the provisions in the 1901 Act that ownership would revert to the Guinness family if the site was not actively developed as a market. Lord Iveagh and the Iveagh Trustees Ltd. reported through a spokesman that they intended for the site to be developed “in a manner conforming with the wishes of the First Earl”.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 103

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ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE OLD RICHMOND PENITENTIARY BUILDING

Originally opened in 1816 as the Richmond Penitentiary, this iconic tower is one of the most well-known of the 11 protected structures on the Grangegorman site. Built to the designs of Francis Johnston, also known for the Lower House on site and for the GPO on O’Connell St, the Richmond Penitentiary was the first of the penitentiary style in Britain and Ireland. The front facade, which overlooks Grangegorman Lower and the western side of the site, is all that remains of the original structure. The Grangegorman Masterplan shows the building’s final use as academic space for the College of Engineering & Built Environment.

A green area – the Cultural Garden – has been strategically placed directly opposite, framing the Clock Tower and offering a place for celebration and commemoration of this historic building and the wider Grangegorman site. This was developed as part of the Site Infrastructure and Public Realm (SIPR) Project over 2013/14. The four-sided clock on top of the building also has historic significance as it is the oldest flatbed mechanical clock in Britain and Ireland. This is now regularly maintained and can be heard chiming the hour throughout the Grangegorman area.

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WHERE IS THE BICYCLE LANE

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WHY IS FRANCIS STREET STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS

SEE HIGH-RES SLIDE SHOW

The Street is on one way street but there is no sign of a bicycle lane despite the fact that there is a DublinBikes Docking Station at one end of the street. Here is an extract from the mission statement: “Francis Street Environmental Improvement Scheme aims to upgrade the public realm of this key part of Dublin’s street heritage through the realignment of the street and footpaths. The main aims and objectives of the Francis Street Environmental Improvement Scheme include providing a more pedestrian-friendly environment along the street, improving the environment for vulnerable road users (pedestrians and bike users) and providing a safe environment for people of all ages and all levels of physical ability, by providing designated crossing areas.”

I cannot that FrancisStreet has been, effectively, a building site for at least six years and while I was lead to believe that all work would be, according to the most recent updates, completed by completed by now but there has been little sign of progress since my last visit.

In July 2021 Dublin City Council published the following Tweet: “Work on the Francis St Environmental Improvement Scheme is set to start on Mon 5th July. When completed, the scheme will provide wider footpaths, new granite paved public spaces to the front of the Iveagh Market & St Nicholas de Myra Church. 20 new trees & landscaped areas, new street furniture, and the reorganisation of car parking and loading on the street. The project will take 10 months to complete. #Dublin #YourCouncilDay”.

Previously I read the following: “With a strong emphasis on pedestrians, the plan envisages widened pavements and new threshold spaces to the front of the Iveagh Market and St Nicholas de Myra Church. The current awkward widening and narrowing of the carriageway will give way to a consistent width and measures to reduce speeds and allow for more relaxed cycling and easier crossing. Changes to car parking and loading arrangements, 20 new street trees and landscaped areas, sustainable urban drainage measures (SUDs), new street lighting, street furniture and utilities will all serve to create a much improved street and establish Francis Street as a destination.” At the time I did not notice that there was no mention of bicycle lanes.

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