Francis Street

WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A REALLY REALLY PINK TOY SHOP

July 6, 2023 by infomatique

THE DOLL SOCIETY AT 101 FRANCIS STREET

The pink is overpowering to say the least.

I first noticed this in June but it was raining so I did not investigate I had assumed that it was a Dolls Hospital or a Toy Shop. I also considered the possibility that it could be some scheme to promote the new Barbie Film. Anyway, I now know that it is a replacement for the recently closed Anti Social cocktail bar.

I recently read that Warner’s long-awaited Barbie movie has been banned in Vietnam. The film, which had been due to open in the country on 21 July, has been banned from domestic distribution over a scene featuring a map that shows China’s unilaterally claimed territory in the South China Sea.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 73

July 6, 2023 by infomatique

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”.

BACK IN JULY 2022 THIS PUB HAD TO CLOSE BECAUSE OF A FIRE

July 6, 2023 by infomatique

DROP DEAD TWICE ON FRANCIS STREET

Kelly O’Malley, one of the co-founders of Drop Dead Twice, has launched a Go Fund Me campaign in order to rebuild and reopen the popular Dublin bar, following a very destructive fire. Now a year later the pub is still closed. My understanding was that they needed to raise €10,000 and they manage to raise more than €5,000 within a week.

FRANCIS STREET IN DUBLIN

June 4, 2023 by infomatique

NO LONGER A NEVER ENDING CONSTRUCTION SITE

The residents of of Francis Street (Dublin’s Art & Antique Quarter) have effectively lived on a construction site for five or six year, maybe longer. I have visited the street at least once a month to see if there has been any major changes and today I was pleased to discover that the redevelopment work appears to have been completed. However, I am a bit surprised by the fact that there is no sign of dedicated cycle lanes.

Francis Street was a significant part of medieval Dublin in 1200, it was known as Great Street, the King’s highway in 1325, St Francis‘s Street in 1337, St. Francis Street in 1363 and 1446, St Fraunces Street in 1575, and St Francis Street in 1610. Now overflowing with markets, cafés, nightlife, educational centres and history, there’s lots to appreciate about the area. Francis street is a glimpse into the old heart of Dublin.

At a later date I will publish photographs of the buildings that populate the street.

WHERE IS THE BICYCLE LANE

February 17, 2023 by infomatique

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.