PUBLIC TRANSPORT

All Photographs Supplied By William Murphy

Home » Public Transport » Page 4

Public Transport

ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GOOGLE BUILDING ON GRAND CANAL STREET

by

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 14

Google employees will be able to cycle to and from work as there is a DublinBikes docking station across the street from their workplace.

I have not visited this area for a few years and today I was surprised to discover that the Treasury Building is currently a construction site.

When I returned from California in the 1980s I lived at the corner of Eblana Villas and Lower Grand Canal Street and at the time the building was the Hertz HQ in Ireland. There were three apartments but mine was the only one that was occupied. I think that the building is now named Wentworth House and it may have been home to a language college. I was offered all three apartments at a very good price but decided against buying as there was serious anti-social activity in the immediate area.

Google bought the Treasury Building from Ronan Group Real Estate for €120 million in early 2020 to further expand their Silicon Docks campus which is nearby. In February 2022 Dublin City Council granted planning permission to Google Ireland to increase the height of the building from six to eight storeys.

The Treasury Building was the headquarters of the Irish government’s National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) for many years. Redeveloped by Ronan Group, the Treasury Building was described as a landmark six-storey Grade A office building that previously housed Boland’s Bakery. This historic building was occupied by Éamon de Valera, later President of Ireland, during the 1916 Easter Rising.

Following its purchase in 1984, a major redevelopment saw the building stripped back to its concrete framed structure and reimagined for a new commercial future with the first 20,000 sq ft floorplates ever delivered in the Irish market.

Rowan Gillespie was commissioned to create a sculpture for the outside wall of the building. The statue, named ‘Aspiration’, was originally of a naked man climbing the outside wall, but Johnny Ronan insisted that the sculpture be changed to a woman. The statue was made of fibreglass. The sculpture was removed in 2020 when the building was sold.

CHARLEMONT LUAS TRAM STOP AND BRIDGE ACROSS THE GRAND CANAL AND NEARBY

by

11 FEBRUARY 2024

At the tram stop there is a memorial plaque indicating that the bridge across the canal was dedicated to Professor Simon H Perry.

Professor Simon Herbert Perry, who died on March 15th aged 61, was professor of civil engineering, head of the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (TCD). He was also dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Systems Sciences at TCD from 1990-1996.

One of his particular interests was his crusade for light rail transit (LRT) in Dublin.

Charlemont is a stop on the Luas light-rail tram system in Dublin, Ireland. It opened in 2004 as a stop on the Green Line from St Stephen’s Green to Sandyford. It provides access to the Portobello area.

The platforms of Charlemont are located on a steel and concrete beam bridge which crosses the Grand Canal. The waiting shelters are located directly above the canal itself. The advantage of this layout is that the stop can be accessed from either side of the canal: on the south side, a staircase and lift lead from the Grand Parade to the northbound platform. On the north side, staircases lead from each of the platforms to Charlemont Place, but this end does not have step free access. Since the Luas does not have ticket barriers, the bridge can also be used by pedestrians to cross the canal. The bridge has been dedicated to Professor Simon H. Perry, a civil engineer who lead the campaign for a light railway in Dublin. The arrangement of a station on a bridge over water has since been implemented on a much larger scale at London Blackfriars station.

To the south of Charlemont, trams continue south on a viaduct built for the Harcourt Street railway line which ran along this alignment from 1854 to 1958. To the north, trams cross Charlemont Place and descend a ramp, continuing through the city centre on the streets. Trams generally run every 5–10 minutes. Northbound trams terminate at Parnell or continue to Broombridge. Southbound trams terminate at Sandyford or continue to Brides Glen.

CONNOLLY TRAIN STATION [REF-226008-1]

by

DECEMBER 2023

Connolly Station, also known as Dublin Connolly, is the busiest railway station in Ireland, serving as a vital hub for both domestic and international travel [is a train every two hours to Belfast international travel?]. Situated in the heart of Dublin city centre, the station is a bustling gateway to Ireland’s rich history, culture, and natural beauty.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 42 REF-225435-1

by

A WET COLD DAY AT SMITHFIELD PLAZA

Smithfield Square is not a place that I visit on a regular basis but I usually visit at this time as they usually have an interesting Christmas Tree but this year it was not worth photographing so I photographed the DublinBikes Docking Station instead. The weather was horrible … wet and cold.

AS THE BUS AND TRAM SERVICES WERE SUSPENDED IN THE CITY CENTRE

by

I WENT TO CONNOLLY STATION AND TRAVELLED BY DART

My plans on Thursday and today were disrupted so I decided that I would travel to Bray by train but I decided to get off at Sandymount Station and explore the immediate area.

When I arrived at the station it was full of vert confused travellers and tourists who had arrived in the city centre only to discover that many bus and all tram services within the city centre area had been suspended … much to the delight of local taxi drivers.

Connolly station or Dublin Connolly is one of the busiest railway stations in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterCity, Enterprise and commuter services to the north, north-west, south-east and south-west. The north–south Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Luas red line light rail services also pass through the station. The station offices are the headquarters of Irish Rail, Iarnród Éireann. Opened in 1844 as Dublin Station, the ornate facade has a distinctive Italianate tower at its centre.