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Dublin Docklands

PIGEON HOUSE ROAD IN RINGSEND

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A COMPLEX OF STREETS RATHER THAN A SINGLE STREET

Pigeon House Road is a residential area and reports from elected Councillors and members of the public outlined that there were on-going issues of speeding, congestion, rat-running, noise and air pollution. Dublin City Council proposed a scheme to promote cycling and pedestrian transport while make the neighbourhood a more liveable community where conditions are better for all residents in the area. In August 2020 temporary traffic calming measures were implemented to create a pedestrian and cycling friendly zone on Pigeon House Road.

The trial closed a section of road to motor vehicles and retained access for pedestrians, cyclists, and emergency vehicles through the use of bollards and planters east of the Poolbeg Quay apartments and north of Ringsend Recycling Centre. The trial also included the appropriate traffic and road markings and signage. The trial commenced on the morning of 16th August 2020 for an initial period of four weeks, and was extended as agreed by elected Councillors for a further period of 12 months.

It is important to note that emergency services continue to have access through the filtered permeability measures in cases of emergency and this was one of the critical design briefs taken into consideration at initial design stages.

Based on observational surveys of the Pigeon House Road Area and research into the impacts of filtered permeability measures, the following positive impacts of the trial were observed:

  • Cut-through traffic (rat-running) has been eliminated on Pigeon House Road so that drivers are no longer able to use this local route as a short-cut from Sean Moore Roundabout to Ringsend via Pigeon House Road, and vice versa.
  • Less traffic has created a safer space for local residents, pedestrians, cyclists which include children attending local schools in Cambridge Road and surrounding areas.
  • Permeable neighbourhoods benefit the public health by encouraging walking and cycling, interaction and inclusion.
  • Reduction in motorised traffic has led to improvement in local air quality and reduction in noise pollution.
  • Safer cycling routes to the local Ringsend Park and the local amenities it offers.
  • These measures have created a safer and more liveable area for residents of Pigeon House Road, Poolbeg Quay Apartments, Cambridge Avenue, Ringsend Park, Cambridge Road, York Road, Thorncastle Street, and other local streets.
  • Local vehicular access to Pigeon House Road has been retained.
  • Access through the bollards has been maintained for emergency vehicles.
  • Positive health benefits.

The following negative impacts were observed:

  • Local residents who travel by car are required to take a more circuitous route.
  • Drivers who used to travel down Pigeon House Road to access to the Sean Moore roundabout (and vice-versa) have to take a longer more circuitous route on the Arterial roads.

MV NAOMH ÉANNA IS AN ABANDONED DECOMMISSIONED FERRY

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I SUSPECT THAT THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY OF SAVING IT

Naomh Éanna, Ireland’s oldest remaining merchant ship, completed in Liffey Dockyard in 1958. It is moored in the number 2 graving dock in Grand Canal Dock, Dublin Port.

MV Naomh Éanna is a decommissioned ferry which historically operated as the primary connection on the Galway to Aran Islands route for Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) replacing the SS Dun Aengus.

The vessel featured in the 1996 film Michael Collins.

Despite plans to salvage the ship being mooted over the years, including making it part of a Maritime Quarter in Dublin, it has been left to languish in Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock.

Back in June 2017 I commented as follows: “The bad news is that this ship is due to be scrapped because the location is to be redeveloped and thus the ship must be removed.” As you can se the ship is still visible but its condition is getting worse by the day.

In August of 1958, three months after entering service, she was among the ships to respond to the loss of KLM Flight 607-E.

KLM Flight 607-E, a Lockheed Super Constellation named Hugo de Groot and registered PH-LKM, was an international scheduled flight that crashed 180 kilometres (110 mi) northwest of Shannon Airport, Ireland on 14 August 1958. All ninety-one passengers and eight crew died in the accident, including six members of the Egyptian fencing team. The “E” in the flight number stood for the designation of being an extra economy class flight to match the increased seasonal tourist demand.

Flight 607-E departed Shannon at 03:05 UTC on the second leg of a transatlantic trip from Amsterdam to New York City with intermediate stops in Shannon and Gander, Newfoundland. Radio contact with the aircraft was lost at approximately 03:40 UTC; a rescue operation was launched which found light debris on the surface of the ocean approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi) west of Shannon. The remains of thirty-four of those on board were also recovered.

Due to the lack of evidence, Irish and Dutch investigators could not pinpoint a probable cause for the accident. They examined the possibility of a bomb, electrical failure, or pilot error, but believed that the most likely possibility was a catastrophic mechanical failure. The investigating Board believed the most likely cause of the accident to be a malfunctioning over-speeding outboard propeller caused by metal particles obstructing oil feed line regulator valves. The particles may have been formed by a gear that was damaged when the supercharger of the corresponding engine was accelerated (gear ratio shifted). The malfunctions of the propeller pitch might have provoked a flight disturbance and as a consequence the propeller may have sheared off.

SCOUT IS A SUPER YACHT NAMED AFTER THE OWNER’S DOG

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MOORED AT SIR JOHN ROGERSON’S QUAY IN DUBLIN

James Berwind’s $85m yacht named Scout is currently moored on the River Liffey at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay.

Berwind Corporation (previously also known as Berwind-White Coal Mining Company) is a large privately held American corporation historically involved in the coal industry. Today it is a diversified company involved in property leasing and ownership of unrelated businesses.

It began as a partnership of Edward Julius Berwind, Charles Berwind, and Congressman Allison White and upon White’s death became known as Berwind White Company in 1886. The company was one of the largest producers of coal at the turn of the twentieth century and created several towns in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, including Windber, Pennsylvania and Berwind, West Virginia. It was a litigant in two U.S. Supreme Court decisions: Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. v. Chicago & Erie R. Co., 235 U.S. 371 (1914) and McGoldrick v. Berwind-White Coal Mining Co., 309 U.S. 33 (1940). In 1962 the family corporation moved from directly producing coal to leasing its properties and diversification into ownership of other businesses, including Protective Industries (including Caplugs and Mokon) and, CRC Industries. By 2007 the company’s investments in real estate alone totaled over $3 billion. Berwinds founded the Wilmore Steamship Company in 1930.

LUKE KELLY’S HEAD AT GUILD STREET

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THIS IS A FAVOURITE OF MINE

The Statue of Luke Kelly is a large marble sculpted head of Irish folk singer Luke Kelly, with metal wire for hair. The statue is located at the north end of Linear Park, near the junction of Sheriff Street Upper and Guild Street, Dublin 1.

The statue, designed by Vera Klute, was unveiled along with another statue of Luke Kelly on South King Street on 30 January 2019 by President Michael D. Higgins.

It was unveiled to mark the 35th anniversary of the death of Kelly on 30 January 1984, after calls to memorialise the singer in his hometown and specifically near where Luke Kelly grew-up on Sheriff Street.

The statue has been vandalised numerous times since it was commissioned. In July 2020, the 7th incident of defacement resulted in a 40-year-old man being charged with vandalism. These repeat incidents have raised questions regarding the statue’s location and accessibility, which have included suggestions to relocate it to a more public area. As far as I am concerned it is best that it remains where it is.

The statue was designed by Vera Klute and is circa 220 cm x 170 cm x 170 cm excluding the stone base. Treated marble was used for the formation of the head while treated metal wire was used to form the hair and beard. The hair is attached through the use of a metal mesh wig while the moustache is made of individual pieces of wire which were drilled into the face of the statue.

An initial model with hair was made in smaller near life sized form. A secondary larger statue was then created from plaster but without hair. This second statue was then used for 3D scanning to create the final larger sized version replicated in marble via a 5-axis cnc milling machine in Italy.

The appearance is based on a distinctive pose of Luke Kelly with his eyes closed while performing and is said to be taken from a still from his performance of Scorn Not His Simplicity on a show hosted by Jim McCann in 1974 called ‘McCann Man’.

CAPITAL DOCK AND NEARBY – INDEED ARE LOCATED HERE

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AT THE END OF SIR JOHN ROGERSON’S QUAY

Over 200 people at Indeed’s Irish office may be subject to layoffs, with the multinational firm announcing that 2,200 people are set to be affected worldwide.

Capital Dock is a 22-storey mixed-use development at the junction of Sir John Rogerson’s Quay and Britain Quay in the Dublin docklands. Developed by Kennedy Wilson, the site was acquired in 2012 and construction finished in 2018. Upon completion, the 79-metre tower became the tallest storeyed building in the Republic of Ireland, and the third tallest on the island of Ireland.

The building was developed in a joint venture with the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) on the site of the proposed U2 Tower. Concrete foundations, as well as three floors below street level and one above level, had been completed on the original development before it was cancelled [Note: I cannot confirm this].

In 2012, Kennedy Wilson acquired the site and development started at the end of 2014. In May 2017, they sold the 130,000 sq ft (12,000 m2) 200 Capital Dock building to JPMorgan on a forward funding sale agreement. In December 2017, Kennedy Wilson signed a 20-year lease with Indeed, to fully occupy buildings 100 and 300 Capital Dock.

Retail tenants include Fresh, BrewDog, Freshii and the Art of Coffee.

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