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A COWPARADE COW SCULPTURE THAT I LIKE

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LACKANASH ESTATE ON LINK ROAD IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH

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I first photographed this cow on Christmas Day 2022 and was a bit surprised that it was still at the same location this Christmas.

Lackanash from Leacain Ais meaning the hill-side of the milk. It is a small townland near to the town of Trim and there is little historical information available online … can you supply more information?

I first saw this type of cow back in July 2003 and the story was not a happy one. A collection of life-size cows designed by Irish artists and public figures had to be taken off the streets of Dublin after vandals destroyed several of them. About 70 cows had been located on the streets of Dublin and Dundalk as part of the Bailey’s CowParade 2003, an international cultural art exhibition which visits cities all over the world. The initial 10 cows which were placed at city-centre locations were all damaged so badly that the organisers had no option but to remove them. Since then such sculptures are now usually installed at locations which are indoor or protected at night [I do not know if Dublin is/was unique].

CowParade is an international public art exhibit that has featured in major world cities. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city centre, in public places such as train stations, important avenues, and parks. They often feature artwork and designs specific to local culture, as well as city life and other relevant themes.

After the exhibition in the city, which may last many months, the statues are auctioned off and the proceeds donated to charity.

There are a few variations of shape, but the three most common shapes of cow were created by Pascal Knapp, a Swiss-born sculptor who was commissioned to create the cows specifically for the CowParade series of events. Pascal Knapp owns the copyrights to the standing, lying, and grazing cow shapes used in the CowParade events.

MAEL SEACHNAILL MAC DOMNAILL LOOKED RATHER LONELY ON SAINT STEPHEN’S DAY 2023

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A SCULPTURE BY JAMES McKENNA

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Irish sculptor, James McKenna, was born in Dublin on the 21st June 1933.

I visited the area in order to photograph this on Christmas Day but because of of weather conditions I was unable to use my camera so I had no option but to wait until St Stephen’s Day.

This area, in Trim, on the banks of the River Boyne has improved over recent years but it is still a bit untidy and the plaque which was missing last year has not been replaced.

Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, also called Máel Sechnaill Mór or Máel Sechnaill II (949 – 2 September 1022), was a King of Mide and High King of Ireland. His great victory at the Battle of Tara against Olaf Cuaran in 980 resulted in Gaelic Irish control of the Kingdom of Dublin.

Máel Sechnaill belonged to the Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill dynasty. He was the grandson of Donnchad Donn, great-grandson of Flann Sinna and great-great-grandson of the first Máel Sechnaill, Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid. The Kings of Tara or High Kings of Ireland had for centuries alternated between the various Uí Néill branches. By Máel Sechnaill’s time this alternating succession passed between Clann Cholmáin in the south and the Cenél nEógain in the north, so that he succeeded Domnall ua Néill in 980. This system had survived previous challenges by outsiders including the kings of Ulster, Munster and Leinster, and the Viking invasions.

In 980, Olav Cuarán, King of Dublin, summoned auxiliaries from Norse-ruled Scottish Isles and from Mann and attacked Meath, but was defeated by Máel Sechnaill at the Battle of Tara. Reginald, Olaf’s heir, was killed. Máel Sechnaill followed up his victory with a siege of Dublin which surrendered after three days and nights. When Maél Sechnaill took Dublin in 980, according to the Annals of Tigernach, he freed all the slaves then residing in the city.

BRONZE LIONESS SCULPTURE BY DAVIDE RIVALTA REF-226200-1

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HAS BEEN MOVED FROM THE UPPER COURTYARD IN DUBLIN CASTLE

I am planning to visit Trim in County Meath over Christmas and today i needed to decide what equipment to bring with me. I had, more or less, decided to bring the Sigma DP1 Quattro and the DP3 cameras but they are very poor in low light and do not have GPS (a major issue) therefore I decided to test them this afternoon in order to decide if I should use them rather than my Canon 5DIII. As I used my Sony FX30 and the A7RIV last year I will not use them this year.

Original sculptures by Italian artist Davide Rivalta are ob display in Dublin Castle and Lucan.

The exhibition, called Grazing in Lucan is a collaboration between Rome’s National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art and Dublin Castle.

Davide Rivalta creates life size animal sculptures using bronze, aluminium or fibre glass, and the animals are chosen by the artists to explore shapes and behaviours inherent to their nature.

Bronze buffalos are ‘grazing’ in the green park of Lucan House, the residence of the Ambassador of Italy in Ireland, while the courtyard square of Dublin Castle features a bronze lioness.

MY OLD FRIEND THE BEACH BEAR [REF-225942-1]

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A BEAR WITH ATTITUDE ON HIS WAY TO THE BEACH IN GREYSTONES

The last time that I photographed my old friend the Beach Bear I mentioned that he had turned green maybe because of the salt from the sea. Today I noticed that the green surface that he once stood/walked on has been removed.

I really like this bear who appears to be on a mission to enjoy themself at the beach. However, a number of local residents have complained that the sculpture is inappropriate in an area of protected architecture and sweeping marine views and others have complained that the bear will scare young children as it is too aggressive “marching fast with its outsized feet it cuts a swastika like shape against the sky”.

The bear was donated to Greystones Tidy Towns Committee by local property developer and guardian of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dermod Dwyer. Mr Dwyer donated the bear in memory of his daughter, Caroline Dwyer Hickey, a teacher at the local St Brigid’s school, who died well before her time.

The Caroline Foundation set up by Mr Dwyer raises money for cancer research at St Vincent’s hospital.

I would visit Greystones to meet this guy … what about you?

The artist Patrick O’Reilly was born in 1957 in Kilkenny. At the age of 17 he studied at the Art College of Belfast, but left after on year.

THE LINESMAN SCULPTURE BY DONY MacMANUS REF-225482-1

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LOCATED ON CITY QUAY – DUBLIN DOCKLANDS

This bronze sculpture, by Irish artist Dony MacManus, commemorates the tradition of docking in the area, which disappeared with the containerisation of shipping cargo. Located on City Quay, it was the winning entry in a public art competition organised by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to celebrate the new life of the quayside or campshires, along the River Liffey., which disappeared with the containerisation of shipping cargo. Located on City Quay, it was the winning entry in a public art competition organised by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to celebrate the new life of the quayside or campshires, along the River Liffey.

I worked for a shipping company back in the late 1960s and we employed people to do this sort of work but I not sure that we referred to them as linesmen and it may surprise many to learn that some were better paid than other dockers.

At the time we were in the process of switching to containerisation and reducing the number of casual workers which was bad news for many living in the area and it was especially difficult as nearly all the dockers employed by the company were, to some degree.family members [I was the only exception].

The campshires are the stretches of land between the quay and road on both the north and south quays in Dublin. They are so named because various British military regiments, such as the Gloucestershires or Leicestershires, would camp there before setting off or returning from overseas, making ‘campshire’ a portmanteau of ‘camp’ and ‘-shire’.

It is not clear when the word was first used, but it must date to the First World War or earlier. The term appears in a 1957 issue of The Irish Times.

Before the Dublin Port facilities moved down river, this was the area of the Dublin quays where ships were loaded and unloaded. As a result, the area had a number of storage warehouses and travelling cranes. The campshires were renewed and renovated by the now-defunct Dublin Docklands Development Authority between 2000 and 2005, adding walkways and cycleways on both sides of the river Liffey, including parts of the Sutton to Sandycove project. A number of buildings on the campshires were also subject to renovations during the first decade of the 21st century.

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