HEADLESS URBAN EXPRESSION

There Is Much To See Here

Large Mural

GULLIVER MURAL BY MEAGHAN QUINN AT THE OLD MART ON SUMMERHILL ROAD IN TRIM

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I USED AN OLD CANON 5DIII CAMERA

In July 2011 Trim Tidy Town’s all-out effort to win big in the National Tidy Towns Competition included a number of striking murals springing up around the town. One of the most colourful was a depiction of Gulliver at the old mart, which has become quite a tourist attraction. Until a few days ago I was unaware of the 30ft long mural. The painting of Gulliver and other murals at Spicer’s wall on Watergate Street and underneath the bridge at the Maudlins roundabout are the work of professional artist Meaghan Quinn.

The mart was the venue for the weekly livestock sales for 53 years until 2004 is destined to be used for a housing development. TE Potterton has been trading as an auctioneers since 1886, operating weekly livestock sales at Castle Street in Trim from 1957 until it relocated to an open site less than a mile away on Summerhill Road in 1962. The Trim Mart was for many years one of the largest on the north east.

Following its opening in May 2023 by Minister Heather Humphreys, Solstice Arts Centre undertook the management duties of the new Swift Cultural Centre in Trim on behalf of Meath County Council. The name reflects both the importance of the acclaimed author of “Gulliver Travels” and Trim resident, Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), as well as the significance of the swift to Trim’s wildlife and urban ecosystem. The Swift Cultural Centre will collaborate and share meeting rooms and cultural spaces with Trim Library to provide a diverse and enriching community learning, engagement and performance programme for the public. Community use by local artists, societies and community groups remain the primary and core value of the space.
The €9m development of the theatre and library included the refurbishment of the former St. Patrick’s Chapel for use as part of the centre. With a seating capacity of up to 235 people, Swift Cultural Centre provides a much-welcomed space for local drama, music and theatre groups.

Gulliver’s Travels, or Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, satirising both human nature and the “travellers’ tales” literary subgenre. It is Swift’s best-known full-length work and a classic of English literature. Swift claimed that he wrote Gulliver’s Travels “to vex the world rather than divert it”.

The book was an immediate success. The English dramatist John Gay remarked, “It is universally read, from the cabinet council to the nursery.” In 2015, Robert McCrum released his selection list of the 100 best novels of all time, where he called Gulliver’s Travels “a satirical masterpiece”.

THE KINGFISHER AT ST PAUL’S AVENUE IN CORK

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MURAL BY LONDON ARTIST CURTIS HYLTON

This mural, created by Curtis Hylton, on Lapp’s Quay near the Paul Street Carpark features The image of a kingfisher with a piece of plastic in its beak. It is the result of a collaboration between the Walls Project, the creative agency behind the annual Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival, and Blackrock Castle.

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.

A LARGE MURAL BY CONOR HARRINGTON

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AT BISHOP LUCEY PARK IN CORK CITY

This attention grabbing and larger than life painting by the Ardu Street Art Project depicts a man setting a table of fruit and veg in the style of an 18th century painting – when the English Market was built. There is a doll’s house in the background.

Conor Harrington was born in 1980 in Cork, Ireland. He attended Limerick School of Art and Design and received in 2002 a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

His work draws a fine line between classical and contemporary art, and masterfully creates a world within those boundaries. The Irish-born Harrington, a former graffiti artist, not only still enjoys painting huge outdoor murals but consistently tackles new, inventive forms of art, often in a gallery setting.

Bishop Lucey Park is a public park located between Grand Parade and South Main Street in the centre of Cork. It is one of few green spaces in the city centre and among the largest. It is often erroneously known as “The Peace Park” by locals, although this name actually refers to the area next to the River Lee at the junction of Grand Parade and South Mall where the National Monument, and the memorials to World War I and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings are located.

Cork’s iconic English market has been trading since 1788. One of the oldest and certainly the best covered market in Europe, it has survived famine, flood, war, fires, and multiple recessions to remain a strong part of Cork’s retail environment.

Significant to the City as a commercial asset, the building is also architecturally significant so is valued as a heritage and tourist attraction.

Renowned as a food market, it is an important part of food culture in Cork, with an emphasis on fresh, local produce with traditional Cork foods as well as an array of international delights.

The stallholders are local and independent food producers or retailers, often with generations of families working in the Market. The traditional serve-over-counter stall trading also ensures that the service to the customer is personal and unique.

The reputation and history of the market has attracted thousands visitors each year – heads of state, celebrities and tourists from across the globe have come to see the market.

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