Beach

BOOTERSTOWN MARSH AND TRAIN STATION

May 28, 2023 by infomatique

I USED A SIGMA DP3 QUATTRO

Today I got the DART [Dublin Area Rapid Transit] to Booterstown and I then walked to Blackrock. The trains were packed and there were many visitors from the UK because it is a major holiday in the UK. I had intended to get a train from Blackrock to Dun Laoghaire but changed my mind as the last of my four batteries was at 20% [this is one of the major problems with the Sigma DP3 Quattro].

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 … “He’s out there … totally beyond the Pale of any acceptable human conduct.” That’s how the U.S. Army describes Marlon Brando’s rogue colonel, Kurtz, in the movie Apocalypse Now.

STRAND ROAD AND SANDYMOUNT STRAND

May 1, 2023 by infomatique

BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY 1 MAY 2023

Sandymount Strand is a large strand on the east coast of Ireland, adjacent to the village and suburb of Sandymount in Dublin. 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”.

Residents of Sandymount are calling for an independently led taskforce to manage a number of major projects planned along the Strand Road over the coming years. They are currently facing 12 months of disruption due to Irish Water replacing a century-old 3km water pipeline in the area.

Late last year Sandymount residents were threatening legal action against Dublin City Council for allowing “dangerous and damaging” noise levels on the coastal Strand Road.

The road is the loudest in the city according to the council’s own monitoring equipment and has breached levels which “threaten health” under the council’s noise policy.

The road that runs along Dublin Bay has been the focus of a long-running dispute over the council’s plans to install a cycle path, which would require a one-way traffic system on the road.

In March of 2023 Eirgrid announced that options for the installation of 50km of underground electricity cables across Dublin were likely to cause traffic disruption for up to five years.

The Powering Up Dublin project will require a “considerable amount of roadworks”, EirGrid has said, and will have the widest impact on the south of the city with disruption in Sandymount almost inevitable.

STRAND ROAD IN SANDYMOUNT

February 1, 2023 by infomatique

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.

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.

SANDYMOUNT OPEN AIR SWIMMING BATHS

January 29, 2023 by infomatique

DERELICT FOR ABOUT 100 YEARS

Designed by Frederick Morley, the Merrion Pier, Promenade and Baths in 1863. The baths did not operate all year round but were usually open from late May until September. A national publication noted in 1863 that the cost of admittance was well beyond what a labourer could afford, particularly if accompanied by his wife and children.

The baths measured approximately 40 by 40 metres, with a 75-metre pier added in 1884. The pier featured a bandstand halfway along it and summer concerts were regularly held there for many years. By 1920, the pier had deteriorated so much that it had to be demolished. The concrete baths section, which resembles a small harbour, remains.