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MARCH 2023 PHOTO DIARY

Photo Diary By William Murphy For Excellent Street Images

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MARCH 2023


I HAVE CANCELLED MY VISIT TO KILKENNY

Unfortunately I had no option but to cancel my visit to Kilkenny and because of the difficulty of getting Hotel Rooms at reasonable cost I may need to cancel my visits to Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.

MARCH 2023


ABOUT ST PATRICK'S FESTIVAL

The National St. Patrick’s Festival, Dublin runs from March 16 to 19, 2023 and is made possible by the generous support of Principal Funders: the Government of Ireland, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Fáilte Ireland and Dublin City Council. St. Patrick’s Festival 2023 is supported by many organisations, civic and commercial partners and funders including Kia Ireland, Disney, Dublin Airport, National Museum of Ireland, Bulmers, Irish Ferries, Waterways Ireland, The Arts Council of Ireland, GOAL, the Welsh Government in Ireland, French Embassy in Dublin, the Gaeltacht under the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, RTÉ, The Irish Independent, FM104, Irish Central and many more.

Established in 1996, St. Patrick’s Festival has grown from a single-day to a four-day event featuring music, performance, spectacle, dance, theatre, literature, visual arts, food, wellness, community activations and much more. It is recognised globally as one of the world’s biggest festivals, with a global reach of over 700 million people in 2022. The Festival is a key driver for the Tourism industry, presenting a world class event that showcases the very best of Irishness and Ireland as a destination, platforming our incredible unique culture, heritage and traditions to a global audience through quality experiences.

St. Patrick's Festival continues to be a key driver of employment and opportunity for the creative sector, providing nearly 12,000 days of employment in 2022. The 2023 Festival will continue to provide these opportunities, driving employment through direct investment in these vital industries that uplift Ireland across the world. The Festival team is made up of many of Ireland’s most experienced professional artists, arts workers, creatives and live events workers, in support of a small core team who work throughout the year planning the St. Patrick’s Festival and Parade. Year on year, St. Patrick’s Festival employs thousands of Irish artists, arts workers, arts organisations, live events workers, community workers and volunteers. St. Patrick’s Festival is an independent

MARCH 2023


ST PATRICK'S FESTIVAL QUARTER

Returning for 2023 after an incredibly successful debut last year is the St. Patrick’s Festival Quarter at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks which will be home to a magical day-to-night urban Festival for all, from March 16th to 18th. The grounds of one of Ireland’s most spectacular and historic heritage sites in the heart of Dublin will feature Tent Mór and Tent Beag, a 3,000 capacity outdoor Main Stage, Story Yurt, performance spaces, relaxation areas, a mini-funfair including Ferris Wheel and the Irish Food and Craft Village.

All daytime events will be free of charge, along with the full day and night programme on St. Patrick’s Day, supported by Dublin Airport. Night time events on the 16th and 18th of March will require a pre-purchased ticket that will be valid for the full evening’s programme. Tickets available stpatricksfestival.ie. Festival Quarter will be open to all ages throughout the day, and will be reserved for adults only from 6pm to 10:30pm. Just a short walk from the city centre, easily accessible by Luas and bus, and adjacent to Heuston Station, Festival Quarter will be a bustling hub for locals and visitors alike, from March 16th to 18th.

DUBLIN INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES10 BURLINGTON ROAD

In April 2021 two Modern Movement buildings of the early 1970s were added to the Record of Protected Structures. One of these is no. 24 St Stephen’s Green by Michael Scott and Partners; the other is the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) School of Theoretical Physics at no. 10 Burlington Road by Stephenson Gibney & Associates.

RED CARDINAL BY JOHN BURKETHE DAY AFTER SAINT PATRICKS DAY

Merrion Square Park sits at the centre of one of Dublin city's most beautiful Georgian squares. The park has been restored to its historical layout. It also has a playground and sculpture trail. The Houses of the Oireachtas (the Irish Government), the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery of Ireland sit along the west of the square.

THE JOKER'S CHAIR IS A MEMORIAL TO DERMOT MORGANBEST KNOWN AS FATHER TED

Already a celebrity in Ireland, Morgan got his big break in Britain with Channel 4's Irish sitcom Father Ted, which ran for three series from 1995 to 1998. Writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews auditioned many actors for the title role, but Morgan's enthusiasm won him the part.

MERRION SQUARE PUBLIC PARK THE DAY AFTER SAINT PATRICKS DAY

Merrion Square Park sits at the centre of one of Dublin city's most beautiful Georgian squares. The park has been restored to its historical layout. It also has a playground and sculpture trail. The Houses of the Oireachtas (the Irish Government), the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery of Ireland sit along the west of the square.

GEOMETRIC REFLECTIONS BY MICHAEL BULFIN SOUTH LEINSTER STREET 18 MARCH 2023

Miesian Plaza (formerly known as the Bank of Ireland Headquarters) is an office building complex on Lower Baggot Street, Dublin. It is designed in the International Style, inspired by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, particularly his Seagram Building.

PAINT-A-BOX STREET ARTSOUTH LEINSTER STREET 18 MARCH 2023

I learn something new every day. I thought that this example of paint-a-box street art was located on Nassau Street but it is actually on South Leinster Street which I have been unaware of until today.

THE VICTIMS BY ANDREW O’CONNOR IN MERRION SQUARE PARK]I FOUND THIS UNSETTLING THE FIRST TIME I SAW IT

When I first photographed this work I thought that it depicted the removing of Jesus from the cross and while I was photographing a young girl asked her mother “is that God lying on a table” but I discovered that it is a lot more complicated that that.

WHAT AN AMAZING DOOR86 MERRION SQUARE

I am often asked why are doors so colourful in Dublin and unfortunately I must admit that I am not sure. Some claim When Queen Victoria died, it was decreed that all doors must be painted black in mourning. Instead, the Irish painted their doors every colour of the rainbow. Any colour except black .

MY FIRST TIME TO SEE A BLUE POST BOX IN DUBLINCELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

An Post’s first stamp of 2023 marking the 50th anniversary of Ireland joining the European Communities (EC), now the European Union (EU), was unveiled in January by the Minister for European Affairs, Mr. Peter Burke TD and the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuinness.

OSCAR WILDE ON A ROCK AND BY DANNY OSBORNE18 MARCH 2023

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. As the result of a famous trial, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of "gross indecency". The scholar H. Montgomery Hyde suggests this term implies homosexual acts not amounting to buggery in British legislation of the time.

ANNA LIVIA PLURABELLE BETTER KNOWN AS THE FLOOZY IN THE JACUZZI

The monument is a personification of the River Liffey which runs through the city. Anna Livia Plurabelle is the name of a character in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake who also embodies the river.

A LOVELY DAY FOR A GUINNESSST PATRICK'S DAY 2023

When Guinness is poured, the gas bubbles appear to travel downwards in the glass. The effect is attributed to drag; bubbles that touch the walls of a glass are slowed in their travel upwards. Bubbles in the centre of the glass are, however, free to rise to the surface, and thus form a rising column of bubbles. The rising bubbles create a current by the entrainment of the surrounding fluid. As beer rises in the centre, the beer near the outside of the glass falls. This downward flow pushes the bubbles near the glass towards the bottom. Although the effect occurs in any liquid, it is particularly noticeable in any dark nitrogen stout, as the drink combines dark-coloured liquid and light-coloured bubbles.

ST. PATRICK'S FESTIVAL QUARTERAT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND 17 MARCH 2023

Today, 17th March, I had lunch at Eatokyo on Capel Street and as I was finished by 2PM I decided to wander around and take some random photographs using my iPhone. Up until today I had not realised that I had a Lightroom App which allowed me to take .DNG [RAW files] images so I decided to experiment but when I returned home I discovered a number of unexpected problems which I will not discuss here.

INTERESTING PROPERTY FOR SALE54 ARBOUR HILL STONEYBATTER 10 MARCH 2023

When I was young one would would not haven chosen to live in the Arbour Hill area of Dublin but by the 1970s it started to become a very desirable location and over time houses there became expensive so I was a bit surprised to see this large building on the market for Euro 795,000. However, after seeing photographs of the interior I understand the price.

KING BILLY'S WHITE HORSE

The myth is that William, who was dressed in gleaming armour, was riding a white horse while his banner bore the words 'God and the Protestant religion'. According to historic records the horse that featured in the Battle Of The Boyne was brown.

When I was young I remember my Grandmother saying as we passed a large house "protestants live in that house" when I asked her how she knew she replied that they have King Billy's horse above the door. I was a bit surprised by Grandmothers's comment as her sister happened to be a Protestant.

INTERESTING PROPERTY FOR SALE54 ARBOUR HILL STONEYBATTER 10 MARCH 2023

When I was young one would would not haven chosen to live in the Arbour Hill area of Dublin but by the 1970s it started to become a very desirable location and over time houses there became expensive so I was a bit surprised to see this large building on the market for Euro 795,000. However, after seeing photographs of the interior I understand the price.

WHY ARE THE DOORS SO TALL AND NARROWARBOUR HILL DUBLIN 7

Arbour Hill is derived from the Irish Cnoc an Arbhair which means "corn hill". The area was owned by Christ Church Cathedral during the medieval period and was used to store corn. The area first appears on a map in 1603 as "Earber-hill".

As part of his commissioned symphonic work "Irishmen and Irishwomen", the composer Vincent Kennedy included a movement titled "Arbour Hill". This movement is a tribute to the Easter Rising participants buried at Arbour Hill.

WHY ARE THE DOORS SO TALL AND NARROWARBOUR HILL DUBLIN 7

Arbour Hill is an area of Dublin within the inner city on the Northside of the River Liffey, in the Dublin 7 postal district. Arbour Hill, the road of the same name, runs west from Blackhall Place in Stoneybatter, and separates Collins Barracks, now hosting part of the National Museum of Ireland, to the south from Arbour Hill Prison to the north, whose graveyard includes the burial plot of the signatories of the Easter Proclamation that began the 1916 Rising. St Bricin's Military Hospital, formerly the King George V Hospital, is also located in Arbour Hill.

KING'S INNS BUILDINGS AND PARK THE HUNGRY TREE IS LOCATED IN THE PARK

The Hungry Tree is located in the park near one of the gates. An otherwise unremarkable specimen of the London plane, it has become known for having partially consumed a nearby park bench. It has become a tourist attraction and is frequently photographed. The Hungry Tree was the subject of a campaign by Green Party politician Ciarán Cuffe to ensure its preservation.

THE KOREAN TABLEMY FIRST TIME TO NOTICE THIS RESTAURANT ON MANOR STREET

On the 11 June 2020 I came across the following "New Cow Lane Tapas & Wine Restaurant at 50 Manor Street up near the green is reopening" and I had intended to visit but I forgot. Last Friday I was walking along Manor Street and noticed that the restaurant had changed the name to Korean Table.

GRANGEGORMAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS - BROADSTONE GATEBROADSTONE LUAS TRAM STOP

The Broadstone Gate provides a key access to the Grangegorman site and has been developed as part of the Luas Cross City works. It has been developed as a public plaza and the access provides a major linkage between Grangegorman and Dublin city. The plaza is situated off Constitution Hill on the site of the Old Royal Canal at the former Great Western Railway Station commonly known as Broadstone, and is now the most prominent entrance to the Grangegorman urban quarter.

ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE OLD RICHMOND PENITENTIARY BUILDINGDUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 103

Originally opened in 1816 as the Richmond Penitentiary, this iconic tower is one of the most well-known of the 11 protected structures on the Grangegorman site. Built to the designs of Francis Johnston, also known for the Lower House on site and for the GPO on O’Connell St, the Richmond Penitentiary was the first of the penitentiary style in Britain and Ireland. The front facade, which overlooks Grangegorman Lower and the western side of the site, is all that remains of the original structure. The Grangegorman Masterplan shows the building’s final use as academic space for the College of Engineering & Built Environment.

THE GREEK ORTHODOX COMMUNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 103

This very attractive little church is not easy to find unless you know the area. The church is a reminder that the city has undergone huge demographic changes over the past twenty year but they moved out of Arbour Hill in 2001 after they got there own church in Harold's Cross.

THE GRANGEGORMAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS 10 MARCH 2023THERE WAS SOME SNOW TO BE SEEN BUT NOT MUCH

The university was formed by the amalgamation of three existing institutes of technology in the Dublin area – Dublin Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown, and Institute of Technology, Tallaght, taking over all functions and operations of these institutions. It is the eighth university in Ireland, and the fourth in County Dublin. The university asserts an entrepreneurial ethos and industry-focused approach, with extensive collaboration with industry for research and teaching. The flagship campus is located within Grangegorman, Dublin, with two other long-term campuses, in Tallaght and Blanchardstown, and remaining legacy sites at Bolton Street and Aungier Street.

THIS IS NEW TO PRUSSIA STREETNEW BARBERS AND STREETWEAR IN STONEYBATTER

Prussia Street is named in the late 18th century after Frederick II, King of Prussia. Prior to this is had been called Cabaragh Lane, Nearby Manor Street derives its name from medieval Grangorman Manor. The name Stoneybatter, derived from 'Bothar na gloch' (road of stones) dates from at least 1603 (ibid, 128). The road follows an ancient route from Wicklow to Tara which crossed the Liffey at the ford of the hurdles.

SITE WIDE ENERGY PLANTGRANGEGORMAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS 10 MARCH 2023

The development of the Grangegorman Quarter is based on the international best practices of environmental sustainability. Early, sustainable masterplanning decisions will be augmented by the requisite governmental requirements and best practices and decisions of the designers of the individual buildings.

PHONE KIOSK REPURPOSED AS A DEFIBRILLATOR STATION PRUSSIA STREET END OF STONEYBATTER

I really like this idea when I first saw it a few years ago but at the time I had net realised that there is a company, known as Eirmed, that supplies complete Phone Box Defibrillator solutions

ROSAMOND JACOB 1888-1960PHOTOGRAPHED 2016 PUBLISHED 1 MARCH 2023

Rosamond Jacob (13 October 1888 – 11 October 1960) was an Irish writer and political activist. She was a lifelong activist for suffragist, republican and socialist causes and a writer of fiction.

She was born to lapsed Quaker parents, Lewis Jacob and Henrietta Harvey, in Waterford, where she lived until 1920. Her parents' support for Irish Nationalism placed them at odds with the majority of the Quaker community in Waterford and resulted in isolation. Rosamond was educated in Quaker schools in Waterford and amongst other things through this became proficient in languages such as French and German.

SALLY ROGERS BARPHOTOGRAPHED CHRISTMAS 2016 PUBLISHED MARCH 2023

This Pub and excellent Chinese Restaurant is located beside the river Boyne at the town-centre end of the oldest bridge in Ireland. Many other towns and cities claim to have the oldest bridge but this is the oldest complete and unaltered working bridge in the country.

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