PUBLIC TRANSPORT

All Photographs Supplied By William Murphy

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SO I PHOTOGRAPHED THE SPIRIT OF THE DOCKLANDS TURNING ON THE RIVER LIFFEY

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I HAD NOTHING BETTER TO DO

The bright red “Spirit of the Docklands” is a familiar sight gliding along Dublin’s historic River Liffey. Here’s a look at this popular river tour:

What It Is:

Purpose-Built Tour Boat: The “Spirit of the Docklands” is a modern vessel with glass roofing, specifically designed for sightseeing along the Liffey.
Departure Point: It departs from a landing stage at Bachelor’s Walk, a central location in Dublin.
The Route: The cruise takes you from the city centre, downriver past landmarks like the Custom House, under famous bridges, and into the heart of the Docklands area. Then, it turns around at the Grand Canal Basin before returning upstream to its starting point.

The Experience:

History and Sights: Throughout the tour, a guide provides commentary about Dublin’s history, the significance of the Liffey, and specific landmarks and buildings you pass.
Dublin Perspective: It offers a unique view of Dublin from the water, allowing you to see familiar sights from a new angle.
Accessibility: The “Spirit of the Docklands” is wheelchair-accessible and has facilities to accommodate visitors comfortably.

Why It’s Special:

Docklands Focus: This tour is especially interesting for those interested in Dublin’s Docklands area. This once-neglected district has seen major revitalization, and the cruise showcases its transformation into a hub of modern architecture and business.
The Liffey’s Story: The River Liffey is Dublin’s lifeblood. This tour lets you connect with the city’s history through its waterway.

How to Find Out More:

Dublin Docklands Website: https://www.dublindocklands.ie/living-docklands/things-do/sightseeing/liffey-river-cruises
Dublin Discovered Boat Tours: https://dublindiscovered.ie/
Whether you’re a Dublin local or a visitor exploring for the first time, a cruise on the “Spirit of the Docklands” adds a special dimension to your city experience.

ABOUT THE BOAT

Builder: The “Spirit of the Docklands” was built in Sweden by Westers Mekaniska, a reputable boat manufacturer.
Arrival in Dublin: It came to Dublin in June 2005, specifically commissioned for these Liffey tours.
Design: It features a low-profile design with a glass roof that maximises panoramic views for passengers.
Capacity: The boat can carry 50 passengers comfortably.
Accessibility: It’s designed to be wheelchair-accessible.
Semi-Submersible?: Initially , I couldn’t find any information to confirm that the “Spirit of the Docklands” has semi-submersible capabilities. That feature is more common in dedicated underwater touring boats. After further research I obtained the following information:

Here’s how those features enhance the cruise experience:

Variable Ballast Tanks: By adjusting the water in its ballast tanks, the boat can control its buoyancy. This means:

Low Tide Accommodation: The boat can “float high” in shallow waters during low tide, ensuring the tour doesn’t get disrupted by the changing water level.
Passing Under Bridges: At high tide, it can lower its profile significantly, allowing it to navigate under the Liffey’s historic bridges, some of which have a low clearance.
Exceptionally Low Air Draught: This term refers to the vertical space the boat occupies above the waterline. The “Spirit of Docklands” is designed to be as low as possible. This, combined with the ballast tanks, maximises its ability to pass under even the lowest bridges.

Similar Boats:

While the “Spirit of the Docklands” is tailored to Dublin’s Liffey, similar sightseeing boats can be found in other cities with rivers or canals. Here are some types:

Glass-Roofed Boats: Many cities offer river tours on vessels with large windows or glass roofs to provide unobstructed views.
Hop-On, Hop-Off Boats: Some cities operate water-based sightseeing systems where the boats stop at various points along the river, similar to bus tours.
Historic Vessels: Occasionally, refurbished historic boats offer a unique sightseeing experience combined with a connection to the city’s past.

What Makes “Spirit of the Docklands” Special:

Even without the semi-submersible feature, it’s special because:

Docklands Focus: The route highlights Dublin’s Docklands transformation, an area not always covered by other river tours.
Tailored Design: The boat’s design is well-suited to navigating the Liffey, including its lower bridges.
Historical Commentary: The guided commentary adds a layer of depth and historical context to the visual exp

ASHTOWN TRAIN STATION ON THE ROYAL CANAL

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PHOTOGRAPHED USING A ZEISS BATIS 135mm LENS

I tried to take advantage of the unusual lighting and multiple reflecting surfaces at the railway station and the fact that I had a Zeiss Batis 135mm lens which compressed the view.

The Dublin-Sligo railway passes through the area and it is served by Ashtown railway station, which opened on 1 August 1902. Stopping at Ashtown is the Western Commuter service, which runs frequently between Maynooth and Pearse Station in the city centre. The area is also served by the 120 Dublin Bus route, which terminates at the railway station, and by the 37, 38, 39 and 70 routes, which pass nearby on the Navan Road.

The Broombridge LUAS Green Line station (adjacent to the railway station) opened in December 2017. A new railway station, called Pelletstown, was opened in September 2021, lying between Broombridge and Ashtown stations.

ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GOOGLE BUILDING ON GRAND CANAL STREET

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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

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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.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 03 AT BOLTON STREET COLLEGE

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THE SUNLIGHT WAS INTENSE TODAY

As I walked along Capel Street towards I was blinded by the sunlight.

When I returned home I was a bit exhausted a somewhat lazy so decided to ask Google’s AI known as Bard [name changed to Gemini a few days ago] about Dublinbikes and after a number of attempts to get accurate information I eventually get the following: “I apologize, I made a mistake in my previous information about Dublinbikes. You are correct, there are not 600 docking stations. As of today, February 12, 2024, there are actually 115 Dublinbikes docking stations operating in the city. My information was outdated and I appreciate you pointing out the error. Is there anything else you’d like to know about Dublinbikes? I’d be happy to provide accurate and up-to-date information.”

Google explained the reasons for the name change as follows: ” “For us, Gemini is our approach overall in terms of how we are building our most capable and safe AI model and Bard was the most direct way that people could interact with our models so it really made sense to just evolve it to be Gemini because you are talking directly to the underlying Gemini model when you use it.” Does this actually explain anything?