William Murphy

THE TRINITY KNOT BY CIARA O’NEIL

June 3, 2023 by infomatique

OUTSIDE THE CHURCH OF THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

[Update 3 June 2023]: Today I managed to obtain information relating to this example of paint-a-box street art:

Artist: Ciara O’Neil
Artwork title: ‘The Trinity Knot’
Location: Philipsburgh – Fairview Strand – Dublin 3
Artwork description: A modern twist on Celtic Ireland, the artwork features a woman with fiery hair holding a harp, the emblem of Ireland. The work is surrounded symbols of the Triquerta (the Trinity Knot) which symbolises eternal spiritual life.
Biography: I am a Dublin based artist and NCAD graduate with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art and Visual Culture. During college I mainly worked within the medium of paint however recently I have found myself working with the realm of illustration and combining the two mediums together. During the summer of 2019 I will be exhibiting some of my most recent work at K-Fest in Killorglin.

I have no information relation to the street art located on Fairview Strand but I can tell you that the construction of the Church of the Visitation started in 1847 and it opened on the 14th of January 1855 and was dedicated on the 12th of October 1856. Entrusted to Conventual Franciscans March 1987.

Fairview Strand was formally known as Owen Roe Terrace and Philipsburgh Strand. On Fairview Strand, near Luke Kelly bridge, is Dublin’s oldest Jewish Cemetery, Ballybough Cemetery. The graveyard was built in 1718 on land leased on a peppercorn rent from Chichester Phillips, but it was a different, prominent Jew also named Philips for whom Philipsburgh Avenue is most likely named. The mortuary chapel added in 1857 and contains more than 200 graves. The last burial there was in 1958.

A SELECTION OF STREET ART AND MURALS

May 26, 2023 by infomatique

URBAN EXPRESSION AND DEPRESSION

Yesterday I obtained an unused Sigma Quattro DP3 camera and, believe me, it is more than difficult to use for multiple reasons. The first problem that I had was that the internal battery was exhausted and I could not change any settings, I could not even set the date and time. The second problem was that AF would not work so I had to focus manually which was difficult without a viewfinder.

The biggest problem is that LightRoom does not recognise the RAW files and there is no point in using the JPG files and to complicate life one needs not to use any setting above ISO 100. Alto the battery life is the worse that I have encountered.

Today, the internal battery/memory has activated, the camera performed much better so I have decided to keep it.

A LARGE MURAL BY CONOR HARRINGTON

May 13, 2023 by infomatique

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.

WHERE OLD GHOSTS MEET BY ANDREW McCARTHY

April 30, 2023 by infomatique

DARTMOUTH ROAD – LEESON STREET

I must admit that I was confused when I discovered that this was described as being on Dartmourth Road rather than Dartmouth Road.

This artwork depicts the late poet Patrick Kavanagh and the beautiful Hilda Moriarty for which his poem ‘On Raglan Road’ is about. The poem originally named “Dark Haired Miriam Ran Away” laments for his love for Hilda which was not reciprocated by her – She became a Doctor and married Donogh O’Malley. “I will immortalise you in poetry, Hilda.” – Kavanagh once said and so he did. The poem has had many versions, most famous of which was sung by Luke Kelly of The Dubliners after Patrick Kavanagh requested he do so.

Today I used a Full-Frame Zeiss Batis 85mm lens with a Sony FX-30 APS-C body which may not have been a good idea as it was impossible to photograph the other side of the cabinet … the side showing Patrick Kavanagh . An APS-C sensor is able to capture more total light than a smaller sensor with equivalent technology due to its larger size. This results in less image noise and shallower depth of field than a smaller sensor taking a picture with the same focal length, f-stop, aperture, and ISO. However, as an APS-C sensor is smaller than a full-frame camera or Medium Format sensor, the opposite holds true, with larger sensors having less image noise and shallower depth of field than the APS-C sensor when taking a picture with the same focal length, f-stop, aperture, and ISO.

PAINT-A-BOX STREET ART ON SUNDRIVE ROAD IN CRUMLIN

April 23, 2023 by infomatique

PHIL LYNNOT BY AINE MACKEN

Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, lived on Leighlin Road and Rutland Avenue in Crumlin.

Philip Parris Lynott ( 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and bassist. He was known for his distinctive plectrum-based style on the bass and for his imaginative lyrical contributions, including working class tales and numerous characters drawn from personal influences and Celtic culture.

Lynott was born in the West Midlands of England but grew up in Dublin with his grandparents. He remained close to his mother, Philomena, throughout his life. He fronted several bands as a lead vocalist, including Skid Row alongside Gary Moore, before learning the bass guitar and forming Thin Lizzy in 1969. After initial success with “Whiskey in the Jar”, the band had several hits in the mid-1970s, such as “The Boys Are Back in Town”, “Jailbreak” and “Waiting for an Alibi”, and became a popular live attraction combining Lynott’s vocal and songwriting skills with dual lead guitars. Towards the end of the 1970s, Lynott embarked upon a solo career and published two books of poetry. After Thin Lizzy disbanded, he assembled and fronted the band Grand Slam.

In the 1980s, Lynott increasingly suffered drug-related problems, particularly an addiction to heroin. In 1985, he had a final chart success with Moore, “Out in the Fields”, followed by the minor hit “Nineteen”, before his death in 1986. He remains a popular figure in the rock world, and in 2005, a statue in his memory was erected in Dublin.

Today I used a Sigma Quattro DP1. A few years ago i was offered a Sigma DP1 Quattro at a very good price and while I had a bad experience with all my previous Sigma cameras I decided to accept the offer especially as the camera could produce .dng images but, as you may have guessed, there were many problems that can be really annoying. The DP1 Quattro is a fixed lens camera aimed at enthusiasts who demand the best image quality in a reasonably portable form factor. Announced in September 2014, it’s a unique camera in many respects, employing an unusually-shaped body, a fixed focal length lens and a sensor unlike any outside of Sigma’s range. It also eschews modern features we take for granted on other new cameras such as Wifi or even a movie mode. The DP1 Quattro is all about still photo quality.

TWO MURALS IN STONEYBATTER

April 13, 2023 by infomatique

CHRIS JUDGE ILLUSTRATION AND TRISKILL

Two large scale murals on gable ends of houses in Stoneybatter were Commissioned by Dublin City Council and this is one of them.

Chris Judge is an illustrator, artist, and children’s picture book author from Dublin, Ireland. Since 2011 Chris has written and illustrated over 35 children’s books, many of which are in collaboration with authors like Roddy Doyle, David O’Doherty and Eoin Colfer. His first book, The Lonely Beast won the Specsavers Irish Children’s Book of the Year 2011 in the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards.

Chris also creates large-scale artworks, most notably three large mosaics in collaboration with Triskill Design for Stanhope Street School in Dublin, Scoil Bhride in Kildare and Mountrath CS.

Getting around the city was a bit complicated as Joe Biden was in Ireland this week.

Today I used a Sony E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS lens which I do not remember buying and what is even more confusing is that I do not purchase anything other than full-frame lenses. Sony describes the lens as follows: This G Lens for E-mount cameras delivers stunning still or movie imagery with the flexibility of 6x power zoom. Maximum aperture is a constant F4 from 18mm wide angle to 105mm medium telephoto, with excellent resolution and contrast throughout. A lever and ring on the lens barrel allow zoom speed to be freely adjusted as required while maintaining a sure, stable grip.