NORTH OF THE RIVER AS EXPERIENCED BY THE URBAN CARTOGRAPHER

Original Images By William Murphy

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Building Of Interest

AN POST WHITEHALL DELIVERY OFFICE

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GRIFFITH AVENUE 12 SEPTEMBER 2023

A characterful postal sorting office building, remaining in its original use. It retains many of its original features, such as timber sash windows and north-light roof. Its public front presents a formal elevation to the street, contrasting with the more industrial curved sorting office roof behind, and its long cornice and recessed porch give it the feel of a colonial veranda. It is complemented by the post office exchange building on the opposite side of the courtyard, and also the neighbouring former Garda station, reflecting the development of Griffith Road as a suburb in the 1930s.

IRISH METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE BUILDING

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TODAY I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT GLASNEVIN HILL

The Irish Meteorological Office in Glasnevin was built in 1979 to designs by celebrated Irish architect Liam McCormick (1916-1996), who is best known for his ecclesiastical buildings in north-western Ireland. It is a striking building in the form of a truncated pyramid, characteristically designed by McCormick to respond to the particular requirements of the client.

The sloped elevations incorporate numerous windows and balconies designed to give a good view of the sky from inside the building, while the flat roof supports the necessary monitoring equipment.

There are some familiar McCormick devices, including the porch chains and the use of landscaped pools to collect rainwater, eschewing the need for gutters. The building is generally retained as built, but the original Ballinasloe limestone cladding, which was not the architect’s first choice, proved unsuitable and has been replaced with metal panels. The original material proposed for cladding was imported blue slate, but concerns were raised about the use of imported material.

The Irish Meteorological Service, Ireland’s weather forecasting service, started in December 1936. Its first job was to take over weather forecasting in Ireland from the British Meteorological Office, the transfer taking place on 1st April 1937. The building stands on the site of Marlborough House, a large five-bay three-storey eighteenth-century house used as a teacher training college and later (until 1972) as a detention centre for boys.

THE OLD HOUSE AT 34 MAIN STREET

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A LARGE UNOCCUPIED BUILDING IN CAPELIZOD

The house was in better condition when I photographed it in 2018 but it may not be as bad as it appears to be in my photographs.

The privately owned property at 34 Main Street, dates back to the 1730s, but it is claimed by some that neglect has led to collapse of the building’s internal floors.

The structure is described by the National Inventory Of Architectural Heritage as follows: “A well proportioned early Georgian house occupying a prominent location in Chapelizod, contributing to its eclectic character, and one of the earliest houses remaining in the village. Its close proximity to the church and picturesque churchyard, and the narrow lanes which bound it to either side, contribute to its setting and context. 34 Main Street was immortalised in “The House by the Churchyard” (1863) by Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-73).”

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