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ALONG THE ROYAL CANAL GREENWAY FROM THE RAILWAY BRIDGE TO NEWCOMEN BRIDGE

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AN EXTENDED VIDEO BY WILLIAM MURPHY

Today I explored a short section of phase 2 … I actually walked the full length but edited the vide to include the section from the railway bridge, with the private memorial, to Newcomen Bridge.

Phase 2 of the Royal Canal Premium Cycle Route is an urban regeneration project that delivered a critical piece of walking and cycling infrastructure for Dublin and improved the quality of life of a community in the north inner city Dublin.

By reusing a disused brownfield site and finding new purpose for an underused section of the Royal Canal, the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Dublin City Council (DCC) created an attractive walking and cycling path for locals, commuters and tourists.

The project runs from the junction of Sheriff Street, Guild Street and Seville Place north along the west side of the Royal Canal to Newcomen Bridge. It forms an integral part of the Royal Canal Greenway, which aims to provide a 26km off-road cycling and walking route from Dublin City Centre at North Wall Quay to Maynooth. It also forms part of the Galway to Dublin Cycle Route, a dedicated coast-to-coast cycleway linking Dublin to Galway and stretching 270km across the country.

THE 8TH LOCK ON THE ROYAL CANAL AND NEARBY

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PHOTOGRAPHED USING A SIGMA DP3 QUATTRO

The 8th Lock on the Royal Canal is a well-constructed canal lock that forms part of a wider collection of locks, bridges and lock-keepers’ houses associated with the Royal Canal on its journey from Spencer Dock to Longford town. Displaying quality masonry skills and early eighteenth-century engineering, it attests to the importance of the canal’s role at the time of construction. Fully functioning, this lock serves recreational use today and remains an important element in the architectural and industrial heritage of north Dublin.

The 8th Lock residential project comprises five sections which are between four and thirteen storeys high and due for completion between October 2023 and March 2025. It is just 300 metres from the new Pelletstown railway station which I also visited today.

The 8th Lock complex, on the site of the former Ormond Printworks (I was an employee many years ago) on Ratoath Road, will eventually comprise 218 one-bedroom and 217 two-bedroom apartments, and 4,200sq m of commercial and amenity space. This will include public plazas, a healthcare centre, pharmacy, own-door offices and a gym. Some 255 car parking spaces, electric vehicle charging points, disabled parking and nearly 950 bicycle parking spaces will be provided at surface and undercroft levels.

The 8th Lock is the first large development In Ireland or in the UK to make use of a pioneering low-carbon product known as CarbonCure. This allows recycled CO₂ to be embedded into fresh concrete during mixing without compromising performance. To date CarbonCure Technologies has prevented over 174,000 tonnes of CO₂ being released into the atmosphere, with millions more set to be sequestered into the future. Ballymore is employing the technology with Kilsaran at the 8th Lock.

THERE ARE TWO TRAIN STATIONS IN LEIXLIP AND I USED BOTH TODAY – THIS ONE IS CONFEY

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LEIXLIP 14 AUGUST 2023

Confey is a townland in the civil parish of Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland. It is located on the Royal Canal, about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) southeast of Leixlip town centre.

The Battle of Confey or Cenn Fuait was a battle fought in Ireland in 917 between the Vikings of Dublin and the Irish King of Leinster, Augaire mac Ailella. It led to the recapture of Dublin by the Norse dynasty that had been expelled from the city fifteen years earlier by Augaire’s predecessor, Cerball mac Muirecáin of Uí Fáeláin, and his ally Máel Finnia mac Flannacáin, the King of Brega.

The Battle of Confey took place during a time of increased Viking attacks. The victorious Vikings were led by Sigtrygg Caech (also called Sigtrygg Gael or Sitric the Blind). The Annals of the Four Masters include among the 600 Irish dead several leaders in addition to Augaire mac Ailella the King of Leinster: “Maelmordha, son of Muireagan, lord of Eastern Life; Mughron, son of Cinneidigh, lord of the three Comainns and of Laois; Cinaedh, son of Tuathal, lord of Ui-Feineachlais; and many other chieftains, with the arch-bishop Maelmaedhog, son of Diarmaid, who was one of the Ui-Conannla, Abbot of Gleann-Uisean, a distinguished scribe, anchorite, and an adept in the Latin learning and the Scotic language.”

Augaire was killed by Palmairslau also known as Palner Tokesen from Funen, the father of Palnatoke.

Norse settlers founded the town of Leixlip after the battle.

Sitric was a member of the Norse dynasty which had ruled Dublin from the middle of the ninth century until 902. In that year the Ivar II, King of Dublin, and his family were driven from the city by Cerball mac Muirecáin Ó Fáeláin the King of Leinster and Máel Finnia mac Flannacáin the King of Brega. In the Annals of Ulster Sitric Caech and Ívarr II are both referred to as ua Ímair, “grandson of Ímar”, a reference to Ivar I, who was the King (or co-regent) of Dublin from about 853 until his death in 873 and the ancestor of most of the Norse rulers of the city. Sitric, therefore, was either a brother or a first cousin of the ousted Ivar II (who had died in Scotland in 904).[10] It is probably safe to assume that he was born in Dublin and was a young man when he and his family fled for their lives in 902.

Following his victory at Cenn Fuait, Sitric occupied Dublin, which was to remain a Norse stronghold until the King of Dublin was ousted by Diarmuit mac Maél na mBó, King of Leinster and later High King of Ireland, in the year 1052.

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’.

THE SHANDON AREA OF DUBLIN

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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.

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