Ireland

SUNDAY 18 JUNE 2023

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The minute I saw this I knew that it was by Juliette Viode.

Juliette Viodé who describes herself as follows:

“I am a mural artist and illustrator based and working in Dublin. I studied animation and illustration in Dublin and since graduating have been heavily involved in the street art scene. I was formerly the lead artist for the Dublin Canvas Project. Through this initiative, I designed and painted a series of small and large scale murals around the city. I am now working as a freelance artist and have continued to paint murals, in particular for disadvantaged communities, helping them re-take pride in their areas. I have also worked extensively with kids with learning disabilities, showing them new tools to communicate ideas.”

“Street art is not my only focus though, I have pursued my work as an illustrator through several commissioned pieces and exhibitions. I’ve most recently worked for the Sun-Pilot project at the Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research centre in Trinity College Dublin (TCD) as part of their education and public engagement program. In this project I designed illustrations to explain scientific concepts to children. The artwork I created will be used in schools throughout the EU as a teaching tool.”

“My work is vibrant, cheerful and character-centric.”

The Western Way may be unknown to most people but it connects Mountjoy Street to Constitution Hill and is therefore of some importance. There is not much to see except for this painted door.

Western Way was created as a circulation route c.1880, linking Constitution Hill to the south-west with Mountjoy Street to the east.

The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) developed a train station at Broadstone from 1841, and purchased the Royal Canal in 1845.

In 1877, the MGWR was given permission to close 150 yards of the canal branch line and to construct a new forecourt for the train station. The new approach road, Western Way, was built by way of Foster aqueduct, with Saint Mary’s Chapel of Ease, or the Black Church, as its eastern focal point. The road curves around the site of former Palmerston House at the north-west corner of Dominick Street Upper.

Dominick Street Upper was developed from the 1820s, but remained largely undeveloped until the Broadstone railway terminus was built.

Sites for villas and terraces were offered in the 1860s, and the north side was owned by the Palmerston estate, where they built Palmerston House north of the junction of Dominick Street Upper and Constitution Hill. The fine cast-iron railings and granite gate piers are indicative of the wealth of the MGWR as patron and high quality craftsmanship throughout the nineteenth century.

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