HEADLESS URBAN EXPRESSION

There Is Much To See Here

Infomatique

PAINT-A-BOX STREET ART AT WEAVER PARK

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I SUSPECT THAT THIS IS YET TO BE FINISHED

Unfortunately I know nothing about this other than it is on Cork Street near Weaver Park. I will check it again in a week or two.

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES BY EMILY KOURI

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OUTSIDE HOLLES STREET NATIONAL MATERNITY HOSPITAL

“The Birds And The Bees” … I did not get the hidden joke until today. My mother was a nurse/midwife at Holles Street The National Maternity Hospital and on the first day of 1950 I was born there. This example of Paint-A-Box street art is directly outside the hospital.

The Birds & the Bees is inspired by Dublin’s urban gardens, Merrion Square and St. Stephen’s Green; space where nature and urban life intertwine in perfect harmony. This illustration highlights how these gardens bring colour to the city-centre and provide a tranquil gathering place for the people of Dublin.

Emily Kouri is a Canadian graphic designer and illustrator, currently living in Dublin. Using digital and traditional mediums, Emily is passionate about producing work that communicates thoughtful messages. Emily’s projects and collaborations are diverse, that range from branding start-up businesses to creating outdoor urban murals.

The hospital was established through charitable donations in 1894 and received a royal charter, in line with other maternity hospitals in Dublin, in 1903. The Linen Guild, a charity to help mothers and babies in need of financial assistance, was established in 1912.

Elizabeth O’Farrell, a member of Cumann na mBan, served as a midwife, training and working in Holles Street in the early years of the 20th century before carrying the white flag delivering the surrender at the Easter Rising in 1916. The hospital became the first such facility to benefit from the Irish Hospitals’ Sweepstake which funded extensive redevelopment in the 1930s. Antrim House, the former home of the Earls of Antrim on Merrion Square, was demolished to facilitate the construction of the hospital by G&T Crampton, in 1936. A new Charter was received in 1936 altering the governance of the hospital such that it was administered by a board consisting of the Archbishop of Dublin (or a representative) as chair of the board, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, two City Councillors and two nominees of the Minister of Health.

In 1998, Holles Street set up the Domino (Domiciliary Care In and Out of Hospital) and Home birth scheme through its team of community midwives. The National Maternity Hospital Foundation, a charity which raises funds for a number of projects in the hospital with special emphasis on the neonatal intensive care unit, was established in 2012.

PAINT-A-BOX STREET ART BY JULIETTE O’BRIEN

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AT LOLLY AND COOKS ON MERRION STREET

Juliette O’Brien designed and painted 9 mini murals on traffic light boxes for the Dublin Canvas project during the summers between 2017 and 2020. The project is a competitive opportunity for artists to submit art to be chosen by DCC to brighten up Dublin City.

Lolly And Cooks is a family run business dedicated in producing deliciously fresh savouries and cakes directly from their own bakery in Dublin.

Most of their ingredients come directly from the family farm in Tipperary, where sustainability is at the forefront of the operation.

PAINT-A-BOX STREET ART

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OUTSIDE JAMES ADAM & SONS

James Adam and Sons Ltd, trading as Adam’s, is Ireland’s leading Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers. Founded in 1887, it is situated in the heart of Dublin on St Stephen’s Green.

Over the last century the company has developed its expertise in many fields and currently offers specialist sales ranging from Important Irish Art, Fine Period Furniture, Silver & Object’s Of Vertu, Contemporary & Modern Art, Militaria & Memorabilia as well as Vintage Wine Sales and we are adept at the appraisal and sale of private collections.

CITY FOXES BY SHANE SUTTON

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VINCENT’S AT DRUMCONDRA END OF DORSET STREET

“City Foxes” by Shane Sutton Art on Dorset Street: Shane is an highly skilled artist with a fervent passion for multiple disciplines, including traditional painting, film-making, and street art. His diverse range of talents spans various mediums, and his current focus is on street, canvas, and digital art, which he explores through his street art persona, SPACER. Shane’s work embodies the intersection of art and technology, producing technically resonant works that delve into themes and ideas in innovative and unexpected ways.

Shane’s notable achievements include an art residency with the European Space Agency (ESA UK) and winning the Graffiti without Gravity street art competition with the ESA (Holland). As a painter, he has created a body of work that explores a wide range of subjects, from the impact of technology on our lives to themes within the street art genre. Shane’s contributions to film have also garnered significant recognition, with multiple awards from international film festivals and a nomination for best editing at the Irish Film and Television Awards.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) was founded in Ireland in 1844. It is the largest voluntary charitable organisation in Ireland. During its history, it has helped people in need through Famine, a Civil War, a War of Independence, two World Wars and several economic recessions.

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organisation in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor.

Innumerable Catholic parishes have established “conferences”, most of which affiliate with a diocesan council. Among its varied efforts to offer material help to the poor or needy, the Society also has thrift stores (charity shops in Ireland such as Vincent’s) which sell donated goods at a low price and raise money for the poor. There are a great variety of outreach programs sponsored by the local conferences and councils, addressing local needs for social services.

STREET ART ON NORTH MONASTERY ROAD IN CORK CITY

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PHOTOGRAPHED IN 2022

I have delayed processing some photographs from my 2022 visit to Cork until now for a variety of reasons. The actual visit was a bit strange as the city had yet to recover from Covid-19 restrictions. For example my hotel had been block-booked by the Department Of Health up until a few days before I arrived. I also had problems with public transport as scheduled buses failed to arrive and as a result I ended up being stranded for hours in unfamiliar locations and in some cases had to walk long distance in order to return to the city centre.

In May 2023 I spent a week in Cork City and my hotel cost Euro 345 when I tried to book for a week in May 2024 I was quoted Euro 900 (the newspapers are claiming that hotel prices have increased by 18%) which I am not willing to pay. I had to cancel most of my 2023 city visits because of cost but I had a back up booking for a week in August 2023 in Cork so I will visit Cork for a second time in 2023. Going forward I will change my approach and will undertake day trips to locations that are closer to Dublin (an hour or two from Dublin).

Up until now I had the option to cancel or reschedule my bookings and I did not have to pay in advance … now the hotels are seeking non-refundable payments in advance and some are seeking no-damage deposits of up to 200 Euros (this is new to me). What really annoys me is that I have been a regular guest at many of the hotels for 15 to twenty years.

I was trying to locate the North Monastery when I came across some examples of street art. For various reasons I did not actually visit the North Monastery which is a school.

The North Monastery, commonly known as The Mon, is a co-educational education campus comprising Scoil Mhuire Fatima Primary School, North Monastery Co-educational Secondary and Gaelcholáiste Mhuire AG[4] located at Our Lady’s Mount, Cork, Ireland.

The North Monastery was founded on 9 November 1811 when Brother Jerome O’Connor and Brother John Baptist Leonard were given charge of a school in Chapel Lane by the Bishop of Cork, Rev Dr Moylan. Seventeen students attended on the first day. In 1814, a 14-acre sloping site was acquired from a wealthy Catholic businessman, Sir George Goold, Baronet, and a new school was built. The North Monastery had found its permanent home. An outbreak of typhus fever in the city in 1816 saw the school being used as a temporary hospital.

Brother Griffin, a poet and novelist, became a member of the North Monastery in 1839. He died on 12 June 1840 in his 37th year. His remains are interred in the cemetery in the grounds of the school. It was shortly after the death of Griffin that Daniel O’Connell visited with the Founder of the Order, Edmund Ignatius Rice.

In 1857, Brother James Burke arrived at the North Monastery and under his guidance the students began the study of natural philosophy (science). At this time John Philip Holland (inventor of the submarine) studied under the guidance of Br. Burke. In 1879, Patrick J. Kennedy, a past pupil, was installed as Lord Mayor of Cork, the first of a long and distinguished list of past pupils to hold this office. In 1901 the Lord Mayor of Cork, Edward Fitzgerald, organised an Industrial Exhibition.

The school represented the Department of Education and Br. Burke and his students built an electric tramway which was the high point of the exhibition. Burke died on 23 March 1904 as the result of an accident and was accorded a public funeral with a procession through the streets of Cork city. He was buried in the cemetery at the North Monastery.

In 1911, the school celebrated its centenary and the Br. Burke Memorial Extension, was formally opened in 1913. On the advent of the First World War the British army confiscated lathes, drilling machines and other machinery from the school. They closed and sealed the wireless room and cut down the aerial mast. These precautions were carried out under the Defence of the Realm Act.

In March 1920, Lord Mayor Tomás Mac Curtain, a past pupil, paid an official visit to the school and addressed the boys in Irish. Shortly afterwards he was murdered at midnight by a gang of armed assassins. He was given a public funeral at which nearly 2,000 North Monastery boys marched in procession. Terence McSwiney, who was also a past pupil, was his successor. He died in October 1920 in Brixton prison after 74 days on hunger strike.

The school continued to flourish and produced many more past pupils who distinguished themselves in all walks of life including business, politics, sport, the arts and academia, including former Taoiseach and sportsman Jack Lynch who formally opened a new secondary school building in 1967.

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