Dublin

THE SHANDON AREA OF DUBLIN

April 20, 2023 by infomatique

NEAR THE ROYAL CANAL AND THE CABRA TRAM STOP

Shandon is a small collection of roads on Dublin’s Northside within the district of Phibsboro. It consists of three terraces of Edwardian (Victorian style) houses along the banks of the Royal Canal, built around 1926.

The area was expanded in 1952 by the addition of a terrace of concrete houses, Shandon Gardens, and more recently Shandon Crescent and Shandon Green.

The area is home to Shandon Pitch and Putt Club, an 18-hole course affiliated to the Pitch and Putt Union of Ireland.

NANNY O’SHEAS PUB ON MOUNTJOY STREET

April 20, 2023 by infomatique

WAS THE BERKELEY

Nanny O Shea’s Limited was set up on Thursday the 21st of April 2022 but I am not sure as to when the pub began trading as Nanny O’Shea’s.

The last time that I photographed this pub it was The Berkeley and it was described as a family pub. Back then the building appeared to be not as well maintained as it could be.

The Berkeley was/is located on Mountjoy Street in a densely populated residential area close to the Mater Hospital, Mountjoy Prison and the GAA headquarters at Croke Park. The property, which is a large and extensive three storey over basement licensed premises with residential accommodation overhead, was sold early in 2015 on behalf of Tom Reddan who is retiring after a lifetime of dedicated service to the licensed trade. The property was acquired by a private investor from Northern Ireland

The National Inventory Of Architectural Heritage describes the building as follows: “Elaborate stone detailing to the fine shopfront enlivens the façade and adds textural interest to the streetscape, while moulded window surrounds are used to good effect to enhance and articulate the upper floors. It appears as early as 1840 in Thom’s Directory as the property of James Sinnott, provisions dealer, while its late nineteenth-century character, with single-pane sash windows and render decoration, is derived from a later remodelling. It was the premises of James Dodd Family Grocer and Wine Merchant in the late nineteenth century. Prominently sited, this elegantly proportioned facade contributes positively to both Mountjoy Street and Wellington Street Lower. The beginnings of Mountjoy Street can be noted on Corbet’s map of 1821 and the street is shown as being built on Wilson’s map of 1829.”

ICONIC MAYES PUB CEASED TRADING

April 18, 2023 by infomatique

NOW A CENTRA – AT LEAST THEY KEPT THE CLOCK

Late in May 2021 is was announced that the iconic Mayes Pub on Dorset would cease trading. Since then I was not paying attention so I was really surprised to discover that the building was now home the a Centra. I suppose that the good news is that they retained the clock.

Centra is a convenience shop chain that operates throughout Ireland. The chain operates as a symbol group owned by Musgrave Group, the food wholesaler, meaning the stores are all owned by individual franchisees.

The chain has three different formats available to franchisees — smaller Quick Stop outlets, mid-sized Foodmarkets, and larger Supermarkets. The majority of the stores follow the Quick Stop format, or are simply branded Centra, as Musgrave also offers the SuperValu format, which is geared towards larger supermarkets. There are currently approximately 480 Centra stores in the twenty six counties and approximately 80 in Northern Ireland. In 2016, Centra posted a 3% increase in sales to €1.59bn.Centra’s main competitors are Gala, Spar and Londis, as well as a number of smaller groups such as Costcutter.

The chain was originally launched in the Republic of Ireland as “VG” in 1960. In 1979, the VG chain was rebranded SuperValu with the smaller outlets subsequently rebranded as Centra. The company brought both of these stores to Northern Ireland, the latter through the acquisition and subsequent rebranding of Wellworths stores.

NOW A CENTRA - AT LEAST THEY KEPT THE CLOCK 001

NOW A CENTRA - AT LEAST THEY KEPT THE CLOCK 002

WHERE THE FAIRIES LIVE

April 1, 2023 by infomatique

SEAN WALSH MEMORIAL PARK IN TALLAGHT

While I was photographing these fairy homes a young girl arrived and started kicking one of the little doors so it was somewhat obvious that she did not fear the wrath of the fairy-folk and that could be a bad mistake as Irish fairies are not at all pleasant.

There are numerous fairies specifically associated with Ireland and I mention a few below.

Banshee: The Banshee is a harbinger of death. According to legend, she appears to members of certain Irish families to warn them of impending death. In the 17th-century text Memoirs of Lady Fanshawe, the Banshee is described as a woman in white with a ghastly pale complexion and white hair. She appears as a wailing spirit and sometimes wears the bloodstained clothing of the person about to die.

Leprechaun: The Leprechaun is, without doubt, the most famous Irish fairy. They are Earth Fairies that specialise in shoemaking. Leprechauns are known for being extremely small, wearing green clothes and hiding treasure. Despite their popularity, the first accounts of Leprechauns don’t appear in English literature until the early 17th century. According to W. B. Yeats in his 1888 book Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, leprechauns are small, withered old men. The popular image of these little men also suggests they are ill-tempered and mischievous.

Pooka: Also spelled Puca, this Irish fairy is one to fear because he appears after nightfall and can transform its shape into all manner of horrific forms. There are various tales of the Pooka which tell of its ability to change into bats, eagles, dogs, goats or black horses. In the middle of the night, the Pooka may destroy crops and terrify livestock, but not all stories are negative.

Dullahan: This Irish fairy appears as a ghostly horseman and is associated with County Sligo and County Down. A number of people claim to have seen the Dullahan as it rode past; it is depicted as a headless horseman who holds his head under the crook of his arm. The head apparently glows, so the Dullahan uses it as a lantern to help guide him during the night.

Changelings: The legend of the Changelings is popular throughout Europe, especially in Ireland. These creatures are the deformed children of fairies who are abandoned. The parents tend to swap the Changeling with a human baby, and these creatures are described as sickly and abnormal. They either fail to pick up language or else their language skills are remarkably advanced. Some Changelings are constantly hungry and always crying. The W. B. Yeats poem The Stolen Child was inspired by tales of fairies stealing human children and leaving Changelings in their place. The tale of these unwanted fairy babies continues to inspire literature and even movies in the modern era. The famous movie Labyrinth acknowledged the famous work of Maurice Sendak who wrote about Changelings in Outside over There in 1981.

PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE ACROSS THE GRAND CANAL

March 31, 2023 by infomatique

DRIMNAGH TRAM STOP

Drimnagh was farmland until the mid-1930s, when some of the first tenement clearances brought city centre residents from one-room hovels to terraced and semi-detached houses in a series of roads named after the mountain ranges of Ireland. The suburb consists of one area close to Drimnagh Castle and Lansdowne Valley, with three-bedroom private housing built by Associated Properties, and another area (the larger part) built by Dublin Corporation and consisting of three-bedroom ‘Kitchen Houses’ and two-bedroom ‘Parlour Houses’ bordering the Grand Canal and Crumlin. The two areas meet at the parish church, the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, in the centre of Drimnagh, built in 1943.

The Dublin Corporation housing area was originally considered part of an area known as North Crumlin from its construction in the mid-1930s until the introduction of the postal code system during the mid-1970s.