NORTH OF THE RIVER AS EXPERIENCED BY THE URBAN CARTOGRAPHER

Original Images By William Murphy

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ANOTHER VISIT TO COKE LANE

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SMITHFIELD AREA OF DUBLIN

I have no idea as to why it is named Coke Lane but about ten years ago a gentleman came out of a doorway on this street/laneway and told me to go back to America and to stop taking photographs that disrespected the people of Ireland. I decided that it was best to keep my mouth shut and to move on and to return at a later date. Since then I visit on a regular basis but not much has changed over the years.

I am frequently mistaken as being American and have never worked out why.

BAGGOT STREET WAS HOME TO SOME INTERESTING PEOPLE

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OF COURSE BAGGOT IS NOT ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CITY

SOUTH OF THE RIVER LIFFEY

Baggot street runs from Merrion Row (near St. Stephen’s Green) to the northwestern end of Pembroke Road. It crosses the Grand Canal near Haddington Road. It is divided into two sections:

Lower Baggot Street – between Merrion Row and the Grand Canal. It was called Gallows Road in the 18th century.
Upper Baggot Street – south of the Grand Canal until the junction with Eastmoreland Place, where it continues as Pembroke Road.
Lower Baggot Street is distinguished by Georgian architecture, while Upper Baggot Street has mainly Victorian architecture with a few buildings of 20th century vintage. The Royal City of Dublin Hospital, Baggot Street, opened in 1834, is on the east side of Upper Baggot Street, just south of the junction with Haddington Road. Cook’s Map of 1836 shows the north side of Upper Baggot Street and Pembroke Road almost entirely built on.

The Sheares Brothers, members of the Society of United Irishmen, who died in the 1798 rebellion, lived at no. 128.
In 1830, Thomas Davis, the revolutionary Irish writer who was the chief organiser and poet of the Young Ireland movement, lived at 67 Lower Baggot Street.

Catherine McAuley, a nun, founded the Sisters of Mercy order in 1831 and built what is now the Mercy International Centre on Lower Baggot Street where she later died in 1841.

In 1909, Francis Bacon was born at 63 Lower Baggot Street.

The poet Patrick Kavanagh frequented Baggot Street and regarded it as his favourite place in Dublin. In his poem “If ever you go to Dublin Town” Kavanagh addresses Dubliners 100 years after his own time and tells them to “Inquire for me in Baggot Street/And what I was like to know”.

Singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor had a property here.

THE CREW FROM EATOKYO SUPPLIED THE SUSHI

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THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON CELEBRATION ON CAPEL STREET

I returned at about 4PM and all the sushi had been sold even though stock was replaced three of four times.

It is claimed by some that there are typically marked spikes in the birth rates of countries that use the Chinese zodiac or places with substantial Chinese populations during the “Year of the Dragon”, because these births are considered to be lucky and have desirable characteristics that supposedly lead to better life outcomes. The relatively recent phenomenon of planning a child’s birth in a “Year of the Dragon” has led to hospital capacity issues. [I cannot verify this]

I was born in the Year of the Golden Tiger [1950].

Generally, the year of the Golden Tiger falls into two, 2010 and 1950. The next gold tiger year will be in 2070. Those born in this year of the tiger are usually considered commanding, magnetic, and strongly valued. They are also family-oriented. Gold tigers, in particular, are regarded as enthusiastic and powerful but generous and manage to keep work and family clearly separated. A gold tiger rarely brings work home and is often considerate of family.

Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, plus a variety of ingredients, such as vegetables, and any meat, but most commonly seafood. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is “sushi rice”, also referred to as shari, or sumeshi.

I USUALLY AVOID THE DOMINICK STREET LUAS TRAM STOP

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BECAUSE OF EXTREME DRUGS RELATED ANTI-SOCIAL ACTIVITY

About a week before Christmas I met my next door neighbour and he asked me if I knew why the building beside the Luas Tram Stop was being boarded up .. . that is discussed below. Anyway, the following day I went to Trim, County Meath, for Christmas but on my return to Dublin I discovered that my neighbour had sold his apartment and had moved to Athy. Despite the fact that he had lived in his apartment for about thirty years no one appears to have known of his plan to move however I was aware that he was very upset by the riot that took place nearby a few weeks ago.

In the 1960s, Dublin City Council cleared Dominick Street of a number of the terraced houses that were in use as tenements and replaced them with eight blocks of five-storey flats, containing 198 units. With a renewed commitment to regeneration and the creation of sustainable communities, the decision was made to demolish these flat complexes and replace them with a mixed-use, mixed tenure scheme, within the 1.26 ha site.

The Dominick Street Regeneration Project has seen a small number of new homes built directly across the road from the old flats which are now derelict. The redevelopment project took at least two decades to complete and resulted in the replacement of about 200 sub-standard homes with about seventy two new units. The complex now includes 72 new homes, a community centre, a residential courtyard, ground floor commercial space, car parking and street improvement works on Dominick Street and Dominick Place. The design of the building aimed to separate the private world of the residents from the public nature of the city centre

Public access to the vacant Dominick Streets flats and an associated car park are now being boarded up to prevent constant and extreme drug-dealing and anti-social behaviour.
Dublin City Council will secure the walkway and car park along the flat complex on Dominick street Lower following requests from local residents and gardaí (police).

The site will eventually be secured by hoarding at the front of the complex facing onto the Luas stop and the back of the complex will be secured by steel fencing.

DID SOMEONE USE LEGO BRICKS TO REPAIR A WALL OR WAS IT A FORM OF URBAN ART

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PHOTOGRAPHED USING A SONY NEX-5 IN FEBRUARY 2012

I photographed this in Temple Bar in February 2012 using a Sony NEX-5 camera and the images were not great nevertheless I decided to publish the three photographs today [4 January 2024].

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