THE HEADLESS PHOTO BLOG
WELL WORTH A VISIT
Merrion Square Park sits at the centre of one of Dublin city’s most beautiful Georgian squares. The park has been restored to its historical layout. It also has a playground and sculpture trail. The Houses of the Oireachtas (the Irish Government), the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery of Ireland sit along the west of the square.
ST PATRICK’S DAY 2023
When Guinness is poured, the gas bubbles appear to travel downwards in the glass. The effect is attributed to drag; bubbles that touch the walls of a glass are slowed in their travel upwards. Bubbles in the centre of the glass are, however, free to rise to the surface, and thus form a rising column of bubbles. The rising bubbles create a current by the entrainment of the surrounding fluid. As beer rises in the centre, the beer near the outside of the glass falls. This downward flow pushes the bubbles near the glass towards the bottom. Although the effect occurs in any liquid, it is particularly noticeable in any dark nitrogen stout, as the drink combines dark-coloured liquid and light-coloured bubbles.
A study published in 2012 revealed that the effect is due to the particular shape of the glass coupled with the small bubble size found in stout beers. If the vessel widens with height, then bubbles will sink along the walls – this is the case for the standard pint glass. Conversely, in an anti-pint (i.e. if the vessel narrows with height) bubbles will rise along the walls.
17 MARCH 2023
For many years I had a media pass to for the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin but in recent years I have decided to give the parade a miss mainly because security became mote and more restrictive to the extent that I impacted on my photograph. This year I was not going to undertake any photography during the festival mainly as I was scheduled to travel to Kilkenny this weekend. However, I cancelled my trip to kilkenny.
Today, 17th March, I had lunch at Eatokyo on Capel Street and as I was finished by 2PM I decided to wander around and take some random photographs using my iPhone. Up until today I had not realised that I had a Lightroom App which allowed me to take .DNG [RAW files] images so I decided to experiment but when I returned home I discovered a number of unexpected problems which I will not discuss here.
The grounds of one of Ireland’s most spectacular and historic heritage sites in the heart of Dublin will feature Tent Mór and Tent Beag, an outdoor Main Stage, performance spaces, relaxation areas, a mini-funfair and the Irish Food and Craft Village.
All daytime events will be free of charge, along with the full day and night programme on St. Patrick’s Day, supported by Dublin Airport. Night time events on the 16th and 18th of March will require a pre-purchased ticket that will be valid for the full evening’s programme.
Festival Quarter will be open to all ages throughout the day, and will be reserved for adults only from 6pm to 10:30pm. Just a short walk from the city centre, easily accessible by Luas and bus, and adjacent to Heuston Station, Festival Quarter will be a bustling hub for locals and visitors alike, from March 16th to 18th.
PHOTOGRAPHED 29 JANUARY 2023
Many of Dublin’s best schools and University College Dublin are located within easy reach, including Blackrock College, St. Andrew’s College, Sion Hill and three National Schools. The area is served by an excellent public transport network including both Booterstown and Blackrock DART stations and bus with the QBC within a five minute walk. Blackrock Park at the end of Booterstown Avenue.
Booterstown is a coastal suburb of the city of Dublin in Ireland. It is also a townland and civil parish in the modern county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is situated about 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Dublin city centre.
There is some debate on the origin of the town name Booterstown. Historically known in English as “Ballyboother” the name “Booterstown” is an anglicised form of the original Irish name Baile an Bhóthair, meaning “The Town of the Road”. In its original Irish form it shares the same name as Batterstown in County Meath, as well as Ballinvoher in Kilkenny, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Longford and Mayo.
The area is home to Booterstown marsh, a bird sanctuary which has been leased for many years by An Taisce, who have worked to protect it. Species seen regularly include mallard, Eurasian teal, common moorhen, water rail, grey heron, little egret, common redshank, greenshank, Eurasian curlew, common snipe, Eurasian oystercatcher, bar-tailed godwit, common kingfisher, sedge warbler and dunlin.
The Catholic Church of the Assumption is a focal point of the area along Booterstown Avenue.
Booterstown has a dedicated Circus Field located along the Rock Road, where both Tom Duffy’s Circus (June/July) and Fossett’s Circus (October) are set up once a year.
The Old Punch Bowl pub, which stands at the bottom of Booterstown Avenue, was established in 1779.
Merrion Cemetery is an old cemetery that was used from the 13th century to 1866 and is located at Bellevue between Booterstown and Merrion off the Rock Road.
Booterstown was recorded in 1488 as one of the locations for the boundary of The Pale.
PHOTOGRAPHED 29 JANUARY 2023
Sandymount is an affluent coastal suburb in the Dublin 4 district on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. Sandymount is located between 3 and 4 km south-east of Dublin’s city centre. At the northern end it begins where Newbridge Avenue meets Herbert Road, running to Church Avenue at the coast, west along the DART rail line, and south to Merrion Gates. Sandymount Promenade runs along the coast road (Strand Road) from Sandymount Strand, down to Merrion Gates. It lies a little south of the Great South Wall in Dublin Bay.
The River Dodder passes nearby to the west, and three streams, the Elm Park, Nutley and Trimleston, come to the coast to the south. In the past, the Nutley Stream came to the coast in what is now Sandymount, and severe flooding occurred on the old course in 1963.
Sandymount Strand is a large strand on the east coast of Ireland, adjacent to the village and suburb of Sandymount. It is part of South Bull – a major component of the south side of Dublin Bay, and part of the Dublin Bay Biosphere Reserve. South Bull is a mirror to the North Bull sandbank, which grew into North Bull Island.
Sandymount Strand is a popular place for locals to take a walk. People, and in the past – there is no longer public vehicular access – cars, have been occasionally trapped by the incoming tide. A large inlet of water that remains even at low tide is known locally as “Cockle Lake”.
In October major road works began on the Strand Road in Sandymount with a single lane closure in place until late spring 2023 or later.
Uisce Éireann in partnership with Dublin City Council is replacing a critical trunk water main on Beach Road and Strand Road, Sandymount, Dublin to provide a more reliable water supply for east Dublin, to improve supply resilience across the city and reduce high levels of leakage.
The arterial water main along Beach Road/Strand Road, Sandymount, located between Merrion Gates and Ringsend Park, is a 3.15km strategic transfer main servicing the eastern area of Dublin City. Due to its age and fragile nature, this 600mm water main is currently being operated at a greatly reduced capacity and is prone to frequent bursts and high levels of leakage. The works to rehabilitate this critical trunk water main are planned using engineering techniques which greatly reduce the project duration, truck movements, noise and limit the overall impact of the works on the local community.
Works are taking place on Beach Road and Strand Road from Sean Moore Road to Merrion Gates and will be delivered in phases. Works commenced at the Ringsend Park end of the project at the Sean Moore Road in late September 2022. Works have now progressed to the southbound carriageway on Beach Road/Strand Road.
The works are being carried out on behalf of Uisce Éireann by GMC Utilities Ltd and are expected to be completed in Summer 2023.
