Infomatique

THIS IS WHERE THE SCREEN CINEMA WAS

January 13, 2023 by infomatique

WORK IN PROGRESS 20 MARCH 2022

A few days ago I published some photographs of Mr Screen and here are some photographs, from about a year ago, showing where the much loved sculpture was locate. Over the next few weeks I will publish some photographs as it is now in January 2023.

In 2017 Dublin City Council granted permission for the development of a mixed-use office scheme at the site which included College House, Number 2-3 Townsend Street, Number 16-19 Hawkins Street, and the former cinema. The new development will consist of the construction of a ten-storey building. On the ground level there will be space for a café, shops and a restaurant unit. It will also have landscaped roof terraces. A 500-seater venue will be situated in the basement, which will hold a bar, restaurant and box office.

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YOU CAN RING MY BELL AT THE PANTIBAR

January 9, 2023 by infomatique

PAINT-A-BOX STREET ART ON CAPEL STREET

I really liked Ring My Bell but I could never remember the name of the singer and when I asked anyone (with one exception … @ronanleonard) they would always say Gloria Gaynor and that always annoyed me because I was not a fan of “I Will Survive” after hearing it too many times.

“Ring My Bell” is a 1979 disco song written by Frederick Knight. The song was originally written for then eleven-year-old Stacy Lattisaw, as a teenybopper song about kids talking on the telephone. When Lattisaw signed with a different label, American singer and musician Anita Ward was asked to sing it instead, and it became her only major hit.

“Ring My Bell” went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the Disco Top 80 chart and the Soul Singles chart. It also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. It also garnered Ward a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1980 Grammy Awards.

THE REFURBISHED BATHS BUT WHERE IS THE POOL

January 8, 2023 by infomatique

DUN LAOGHAIRE 8 JANUARY 2023

After an almost twenty year local campaign Dún Laoghaire baths reopened as a public amenity in December 2022 but without a pool. Apparently a rectangular concrete void has been left below the surface of the amphitheatre and will allow for the inclusion of a tidal pool in future works.

My birthday was on New Years day and my brother had organised a party for me at his home not far from Scotsman’s Bay and I had planned to photograph the recently refurbished baths while I was in the area. Unfortunately, on the last day of 2022, my brother and his wife discovered that they had contracted Covid so my visit to Dun Laoghaire as well as my birthday party was cancelled and I did not get an opportunity to visit until today.

When I arrived the first thing that caught my attention was the number of dogs and I mention this because three dogs jumped over a wall into the water without knowing what was on the other side. One owner was very distressed but the dog survived and did not appear to be in any way distressed. The other two dogs were on leads and did not hit the rocks and were easily recovered.

Two separate bathing areas existed in, what is now, Dun Laoghaire in the 1790s. Baths were built by the Royal Hotel in 1828 but were removed to make way for the construction of the railway in 1836.

In 1843, John Croswaithe built baths on the corner of Scotsman’s Bay. Originally known as the Royal Victorian Baths, they were only used by those who had the means to afford them. This is the site of today’s Dun Laoghaire baths.

Victoria Baths were public baths on Queens Road. Over the years, they had a number of different configurations. They provided salt-water or fresh water baths, baths for swimming or baths for washing or “turkish” baths for cleansing the pores, hot, cold, or tepid baths, individual or shared baths. In their last configuration as Rainbow Rapids in the 1980s, they provided water slides and other ways of enjoying the water.

Restoration Works at the Dun Laoghaire Baths were substantially completed on 2nd December 2022. Works included the retention and securing of the existing Baths Pavilion and the removal of dilapidated structures to the rear of the Pavilion to create a new route between Newtownsmith and the East Pier. This walkway is at a level that provides a safe and secure walk offering panoramic views over Scotsman’s Bay.

The walkway features sitting and viewing points and the land adjoining this walk has been be regraded to create sloping grassed areas.

The long derelict Baths Pavilion together with a smaller outbuilding was retained, weathered and secured while the remaining dilapidated outbuildings to the rear and side of the Pavilion were removed.

The original Baths entrance along Windsor Terrace was restored to provide access. An outdoor ‘café terrace’ linked to the new café will provide an attractive sitting area for viewing eating and relaxing.

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CAPITAL DOCK AT BRITAIN QUAY

January 3, 2023 by infomatique

BREWDOG AND NEARBY

BrewDog is a multinational brewery and pub chain based in Ellon, Scotland. With production of over 800,000 hectolitres,BrewDog claims to be the leading Craft Brewer in Europe”. It was founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, who together own 46% of the company.

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.

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.

BREWDOG AND NEARBY

DUBLIN’S SÉAN O’CASEY BRIDGE

January 3, 2023 by infomatique

COULD NOT BE OPENED FOR FOUR YEARS BECAUSE OF LOST REMOTE CONTROL

The Seán O’Casey Bridge is a very useful, for me and many others, pedestrian swing-bridge spanning the River Liffey. It connects City Quay in the Grand Canal Docks area and North Wall Quay as well as the IFSC.

The bridge was opened by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in July 2005. It is named after the playwright and Irish Citizen Army member Seán O’Casey (1880–1964) who lived in the North Wall area of the city.

It is often the case when I am out photographing a local decided to provide me with some important information relating to what I am currently photographing. When photographing the area near the Sean O’Casey Bridge, a few weeks ago, I was told that it was no longer possible to open the bridge because the remote control had been lost. I must admit that I did not believe the claim but when I checked I discovered that the story was more-or-less true.

The Seán O’Casey Bridge, which has been unable to open to shipping for many years, was finally re-opened in 2014 after experts created a new remote control for the structure. A new remote control had to be created at a cost of cost of about €1,800 as it had been impossible to open the bridge as the original had been lost. Of course the story was a bit more complicated than described here.

Designed by architect Cyril O’Neill and O’Connor Sutton Cronin Consulting Engineers (for which they won an Institution of Structural Engineers Award for Pedestrian Bridges in 2006), the bridge was built in 2005 as part of a large-scale urban renewal scheme under the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to link the north and south quays and rejuvenate both. The swing bridge spans approximately 100 metres and has two balanced cantilever arms that swing open to permit boats to pass up river. As already mentioned above, in 2010 the remote control that operates the swing bridge was misplaced, and the bridge was unable to be opened until the control system was acquired in 2014.

COULD NOT BE OPENED FOR FOUR YEARS BECAUSE OF LOST REMOTE CONTROL