infomatique

IT IS AN ART DECO STRUCTURE

July 29, 2023 by infomatique

I VISITED QUARRY ROAD IN ORDER TO PHOTOGRAPH THE CABRA GRAND CINEMA

Quarry Road was originally called Quarry Lane, after a small quarry which was situated near where the current statue of Our Blessed Lady is located at the roundabout with Fassaugh Road (originally Fassaugh Lane.) This quarry was filled in the early part of the 1900s and the family who lived in the Homestead grew cabbages on the reclaimed land.

The real landmark on Quarry Road was the Cabra Grand Cinema which was built in a Art Deco style and had a distinctive neon sign. The interior of the cinema was decorated in a luxurious style, with red velvet seats and a crystal chandelier.

The Cabra Grand Cinema was a popular venue for films in the 1950s and 1960s. It showed a wide variety of films, including Hollywood blockbusters, foreign language films, and arthouse films. The cinema also hosted a number of concerts, including performances by The Ramones, The Skids, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

In 1975, the Cabra Grand Cinema closed and was converted into a bingo hall. The bingo hall is still in operation today.

The cinema is listed on the Record of Protected Structures by Dublin City Council, which means that it is protected from demolition.

According to some reports the cinema is currently undergoing a renovation and is expected to reopen in 2023 as a mixed-use development with a cinema, a restaurant, and a hotel. However, there was no obvious sign of any ongoing renovation work when I photographed the area today [28 July 2023]

MARY QUEEN OF LOURDES MARIAN STATUE

July 28, 2023 by infomatique

FASSAUGH AVENUE TRAFFIC ISLAND – OR IS IT A ROUNDABOUT

Bliain na Maidine (Marian Year) 1954 Erected by parishioners and friends A Mhuire A Bhainrion Lourdes Guidh Orainn (Mary, Queen of Lourdes, pray for us)

The Marian Statue in Cabra is a concrete statue of the Virgin Mary, located in the middle of a roundabout on Fassaugh Avenue. It was erected in 1954, during the Marian Year, and is one of a number of Marian statues that were built in Dublin during this time.

The statue is about 10 feet tall and depicts Mary in a traditional pose, with her hands folded in prayer and her head slightly bowed. She is wearing a long white dress and a blue cloak, and she has a crown on her head. The statue is standing on a pedestal, which is surrounded by a low wall.

The statue is well-maintained and is regularly cleaned and decorated.

Until today I did not realise that this Marian Statue is described, in some guides, as being on a traffic island rather than a roundabout so I had to go and check if there is a difference.

“Yes, a traffic island and a roundabout are different. A traffic island is a raised or painted object in a road that channels traffic. It can also be a narrow strip of island between roads that intersect at an acute angle. Traffic islands can be used to reduce the speed of cars driving through, or to provide a central refuge to pedestrians crossing the road.”

“A roundabout, on the other hand, is a circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island. Roundabouts are designed to improve traffic flow and safety, and they are becoming increasingly popular in many countries.”

A PUB THAT DIED BECAUSE OF A GANGLAND KILLING

July 28, 2023 by infomatique

MATTS CABRA HOUSE PUB

I have noticed in old photographs of the building and advertisements that it is spelled ‘Faussagh’ but elswhere it is ‘Fassaugh’ … are there two different spellings?

This pub was also known as Matt Whelans and I also believe that it may have been known as the Fassaugh House Pub when the gangland killing took place in April 2010.

Matt’s Cabra House Pub, also known as the Fassaugh House Pub, was a pub located at 2A Fassaugh Avenue in Cabra, Dublin. It was established in the early 1900s and was a popular local watering hole for many years. The pub was known for its friendly atmosphere and its traditional Irish music sessions.

In April 2010, the pub was the scene of a gangland murder. Eamonn ‘The Don’ Dunne, a leading figure in the Dublin crime scene, was shot dead at the pub. Dunne was sitting with his 16-year-old daughter when he was attacked. He was shot twice in the head and a number of times in the body. His daughter was unharmed.

The murder of Eamonn Dunne sent shockwaves through Dublin. He was a well-known figure in the city and his death was seen as a major escalation in the gangland violence. The Gardaí (Irish police) launched a major investigation into the murder but no one has ever been brought to justice for the crime.

In the years since the murder, Matt’s Cabra House Pub has remained closed. The building is now derelict and it is unclear what will happen to it in the future.

DO PEOPLE IN IRELAND CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN

July 23, 2023 by infomatique

ACTUALLY IT IS MOST LIKELY THAT THE FESTIVAL ORIGINATED IN IRELAND

This series of images was captured in 2017/2026/2015 and the photographs have been very much processed and modified because the original RAW files were close to unusable.

I receive many requests for information and, excluding questions relating to Leprechauns , the most common question that I receive is “do people in Ireland have Halloween?”. I received such a question yesterday so I decided to ask Google’s BARD AI. Here is the answer that I received:

Yes, people in Ireland celebrate Halloween. In fact, Halloween is thought to have originated in Ireland as the Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts believed that on the eve of Samhain, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead was weakened, allowing spirits to pass between them. To ward off these spirits, the Celts would light bonfires, wear costumes, and tell stories of the dead.

Today, Halloween is celebrated in Ireland in much the same way as it is in other parts of the world. People dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, and light bonfires. However, there are still some traditional Irish Halloween customs that are still observed, such as:

Eating barmbrack, a traditional Irish fruitcake that is often baked with a small trinket inside. The person who finds the trinket in their slice of barmbrack is said to have good luck for the year ahead.
Telling ghost stories. Ireland has a rich tradition of ghost stories, and Halloween is a time when people gather to tell them.
Going to haunted places. There are many haunted places in Ireland, and Halloween is a popular time to visit them.
Halloween is a fun and festive occasion in Ireland, and it is a great time to experience Irish culture. If you are ever in Ireland on Halloween, be sure to participate in the festivities!

I actually lived in a haunted house.

Macnas is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed performance group based in Galway, Ireland. The company was founded in 1986 by Páraic Breathnach, Tom Conroy, Ollie Jennings, and Pete Sammon. Macnas’s productions are immersive and spectacular, and the group’s repertoire includes parades, theatre shows, installations, film, and performance art. Any site can become a stage for Macnas: city streets, GAA clubs, disused warehouses, bogs, mountains, car parks, and sheds.

THE ROMAN TEMPLE AT ST ANNES’S PARK AND PLENTY OF RED SAWDUST

July 21, 2023 by infomatique

PHOTOGRAPHED IN 2016 BEFORE RECENT RESTORATION

On Tuesday I had intended to visit St Anne’s Park as I needed to photograph the 12 garden follies but I ended up exploring Dollymount Strand and the Bull Wall instead. I wanted to compare the condition of the structures as they are today and as they appeared in photographs from 16 April 2016. Despite not yet having current photographs I decided to begin publishing remastered versions of older photographs which have been downloaded from my Flickr catalogues. However, a few days ago I managed to find the original RAW files which are much superior to the processed JPEGS that I had produced back in April 2016.

The one thing that I stood out was the red sawdust so I asked Google Bard AI about it and got the following response: Both red cedar and European redwood are relatively rare in Ireland, so you are not likely to see them very often. However, if you do see a tree with red sawdust, you can be sure that it is one of these two species.

The Roman Temple (Herculanean House) is situated near what was originally the northwestern corner of the walled garden near the house. It was a perfect replica in classical Roman style, with a courtyard and interior paved with tiles copied from a design found during the excavations of the original Herculaneum. During recent restoration work these original courtyard mosaic tiles were unexpectedly unearthed and found to be remarkably intact and in very good condition. Works to the dome structure involved reinstating the stone parapet, reinstating the marble tiles and installing new stainless steel railings to the six bays. Works to the courtyard involved repointing and consolidating the surrounding brickwork and installing a new column at the entrance to match the existing.

Here are some additional facts about the Roman Temple:

It is made of limestone and granite.
It is 20 feet high and 15 feet wide.
The courtyard is paved with 2,000 square feet of mosaic tiles.
The temple was restored in 2016-2017.

St Anne’s Park has 12 garden follies.

St. Anne’s Well (Medieval)
Roman Tower ‘Tomb of Julii’
Annie Lee Bridge
Herculanean Temple
Yew Circle (Yew Circle and Fountain)
Ornamental bridge / hermit’s cave (Bridge & Hermitage)
Rustic Hermits Cave and Footbridge (Rustic Grotto – Cave)
Arch (Rustic archway & bridge)
Four-sided arched gateway axial to rear of former house (Rustic Grotto – Archways)
Rockwork feature
Boat House
Shell House / Dogs Graveyard

The follies were built by the Guinness family. The first folly to be built was Annie Lee Bridge, which commemorated the birth of Benjamin Lee Guinness’s daughter in 1837. The rest followed during the 1850’s and 60’s.

Most of the follies follow the course of the Naniken River which runs through the park, the rest can be found along an oak-lined avenue.

The condition of the follies deteriorated over the years. In 2016 Dublin City Council started conservation works to preserve the follies for generations to come. The works involved stopping decay, cleaning, clearing vegetation, removing graffiti and protecting the structures from future vandalism. Some of the follies also received new railings.

During the course of the works some interesting discoveries were made. The first was at St. Anne’s Well, the medieval well which gives the park its name. The well is on the Record of Monuments and Places and is a protected structure. The structure around the well was also built by the Guinness family. While clearing the ground by the well, an old limestone path was discovered.

The second was a tiled floor in the Herculanean Temple. The square tiles have been hand-painted to create the impression of small mosaic tiles, featuring Grecian motifs, in contrast to the Temple’s Roman design.