BARD AI CANNOT BE TRUSTED

27/07/2023

ST JOHN’S CHURCH OF IRELAND CHURCH AND GRAVEYARD [MUCH OF THE INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY GOOGLE BARD AI WAS INCORRECT]

I asked Google Bard AI for information about St John's Church in Limerick and was supplied the following list of people buried in the graveyard.

Sir Thomas Browne of Hospital (1597-1682), a physician and author

Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon (1672-1752), a politician and Lord Chancellor of Ireland

Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon (1720-1776), a politician and Lord Chancellor of Ireland

Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973), a novelist

Michael Collins (1890-1922), a revolutionary leader

As Michael Colins is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin I decided to check all people listed and all were false.

Question: "Is Sir Thomas Browne really buried at St John's Limerick"

Answer: "No, Sir Thomas Browne is not buried at St John's Limerick. He is buried at St Peter's Church in Norwich, England. There is a gravestone in St John's graveyard that is inscribed with the name "Sir Thomas Browne". However, this gravestone is not the grave of the famous physician and author. The gravestone actually belongs to Sir Thomas Browne of Hospital, a wealthy landowner who died in 1682. The confusion about Sir Thomas Browne's burial place may have arisen because he was born in Ireland and his family had strong ties to Limerick. However, there is no evidence to suggest that he was ever buried in Ireland. The real Sir Thomas Browne was buried at St Peter's Church in Norwich, England, on October 19, 1682. His grave is marked by a large tombstone that is decorated with a Latin inscription.

Question: "Is Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon (1672-1752) actually buried at St. John's"

Answer: "Henry Boyle was a prominent Irish politician who served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons from 1733 to 1756. He was also the first Earl of Shannon. Boyle was born in Castlemartyr, County Cork, in 1672. He was educated at Westminster School and the University of Oxford. After graduating from Oxford, Boyle entered politics and quickly rose through the ranks. He was elected Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in 1733. Boyle served as Speaker for 23 years, during which time he played a key role in Irish politics. He was a strong advocate for Irish interests and worked to improve the economy and infrastructure of Ireland. Boyle died in Dublin in 1764 and was buried at St. Catherine's Church in Castlemartyr. The confusion about Henry Boyle's burial place may have arisen because there is a gravestone in St. John's Limerick that is inscribed with his name. However, this gravestone is not the grave of Henry Boyle. The gravestone actually belongs to his son, Richard Boyle, the 2nd Earl of Shannon. Richard Boyle was buried at St. John's Limerick in 1776."

Question: "Is Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973), a novelist actually buried at St. John's"

Answer: "No, Elizabeth Bowen is not buried at St. John's Limerick. She is buried at St Colman's churchyard in Farahy, close to the gates of Bowen's Court, where there is a memorial plaque to the author (which bears the words of John Sparrow) at the entrance to St Colman's Church, where a commemoration of her life is held annually. The confusion about Elizabeth Bowen's burial place may have arisen because she was born in Dublin and her family had strong ties to Limerick. However, she was never buried in Limerick.

Elizabeth Bowen was a novelist and short story writer who was born in Dublin in 1899. She was educated at Bowen's Court, her family's ancestral home in County Cork. Bowen moved to London in 1923 and lived there for the rest of her life. She wrote over 20 novels and short story collections, and her work was praised for its psychological insight and its exploration of the themes of love, loss, and exile. Bowen died in London in 1973 and was buried at St Colman's churchyard in Farahy."

CORTEN STEEL AT THE HUNT MUSEUM

27/07/2023

CORTEN SCULPTURE OUTSIDE THE HUNT MUSEUM JUNE 2015 - NO LONGER AT THIS LOCATION [DESCRIBED AS A MILD STEEL NYMPHAEUM]

Personally I like Corten steel sculptures or works of art but when I first saw this many years ago I was not 100% sure that it was not a skip or dumpster.  Back in 2015 (or maybe earlier) a gentleman, who turned out to be a scrap dealer, asked me what I thought of this and then suggested that it was "real art" unlike much that he had seen elsewhere. Also he liked the model of a horse (see below) located nearby.

Further research indicated that this featured in the 2010 EVA International and was described as a "mild steel nymphaeum". A nymphaeum or nymphaion (Ancient Greek: νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habitations to the local nymphs. They were sometimes so arranged as to furnish a supply of water, as at Pamphylian Side. A nymphaeum dedicated to a local water nymph, Coventina, was built along Hadrian's Wall, in the northernmost reach of the Roman Empire. Subsequently, artificial grottoes took the place of natural ones.

EVA International (previously known as Limerick Exhibition of Visual Art and e v + a) is a large-scale contemporary art exhibition that takes place every two years in the city of Limerick. It is known as Ireland's biennial, and is held in even-numbered years.

The Museum holds a personal collection donated by the Hunt family, it was originally situated in the University of Limerick, before being moved to its present location in the Georgian Custom House in 1997. The Custom House is situated on Rutland Street on the banks of the River Shannon at its confluence with the Abbey River. Among the museum's collection are works by notable artists and designers such as Pablo Picasso, Jack B. Yeats, and Sybil Connolly as well as distinctive historical items such as the O'Dea Mitre and Crozier.

In 2011 a lifesize model of a horse, painted by young people aged 10–18 was placed outside the front of the building. This was joined by a second one in 2012. The models are made of fibreglass, and are taken inside at night. The art installation was inspired by the song Horse Outside by the group The Rubberbandits.

LARGE MURAL

27/07/2023

HOODED YOUTH MURAL BY JOE CASLIN [LOWER MALLOW STREET LIMERICK]

Sadly the death of Sinéad O'Connor was announced Yesterday 26 July 2023.

Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor;(8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023), known professionally as Sinéad O'Connor, was an Irish singer and musician. Her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990), became her biggest success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Nothing Compares 2 U", was named the number-one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.

I thought that I had photographed a mural of Sinead O'Connor in Limerick back in June 2015 but when I checked I discovered that I had a number of images of a mural that I was unable to identify until now [27 July 2023] and I don't know why I believed that the mural was associated with the singer.

I have now established that the artist was Joe Caslin.

Joe Caslin is an Irish street artist, art teacher and activist. Best known for his beautifully rendered pencil drawings, which manifest as towering pieces of street art. His highly accessible work engages directly with the social issues of modern Ireland, on an unavoidable scale. Caslin confronts the subjects of suicide, drug addiction, economic marginalisation, marriage equality, stigma in mental health, direct provision, institutional power, consent and most recently, the effects of the Covid19 pandemic on young people. The monochrome drawings Caslin creates live with us and against many of us for some time before washing away. They hold a mirror up to the kind of society that we are, whilst asking us individually what kind of society we want to be a part of.

Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor;(8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023), known professionally as Sinéad O'Connor, was an Irish singer and musician. Her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990), became her biggest success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Nothing Compares 2 U", was named the number-one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.

TAIT'S CLOCK IN LIMERICK

27/07/2023

TAIT'S CLOCK IN LIMERICK [BAKER PLACE NEAR THE PERRY SQUARE]

Tait's Clock is a prominent landmark in Limerick City, Ireland. It was constructed in 1866 to honour a Limerick entrepreneur, Sir Peter Tait, who began the Tait's Clothing Factory in Limerick during the 1850s.

The clock is a freestanding carved limestone Gothic style clock tower, erected in 1867. It is 70 feet tall and has four clock faces, one on each side. The clock is topped with a decorative cast-iron finial.

The clock is located in Baker Place, a small square in the heart of Limerick City. It is a popular tourist destination and is often used as a landmark. The clock is also a popular spot for locals to gather and chat.

Tait's Clock is a reminder of a time when manufacturing and factories were the heart of Limerick's industrial landscape. It is also a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of Sir Peter Tait, who helped to shape the city's history.

Here are some additional facts about Tait's Clock:

• The clock was designed by William Deane Butler, a prominent Irish architect.
• The clock was originally powered by weights, but it was later converted to electric power.
• The clock was restored in 1998.
• The clock is listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.