To the best of my knowledge Dillon's Park is named after a Miss Dillon who operated a tearoom. Also, the sculptures shown in my photographs may have been decommissioned.
Photographed 16 March 2008 which is more than 14 years ago and I used a Canon 1Ds MkIII and a 100-400mm lens. I no longer have the lens and back then I had lot of problems with the camera body as auto-focus was faulty. I no longer have the lens but I still use the camera but in manual mode. The images were re-processed in June 2017 (do not remember why).
I first came across Katy Goodhue's work in March 2008 when I visited Dillon's Park and a few years later I revisited the area and could not find the concrete goats and was somewhat confused. Later I was supplied with the following information:
MEETING OF DÚN LAOGHAIRE AREA COMMITTEE 22 NOVEMBER 2010
Fixing of Goat sculptures in Dillon’s Park, Dalkey
Question: Councillor S. Fitzpatrick - “To ask the Manager to fix the damage to the goat sculptures in Dillon’s Park, Coliemore Road, Dalkey, and to ask the Manager to explore the feasibility of installing a more robust goat sculpture in replace of the concrete sculpture?”
Reply: In 2007, Dlr Arts Office engaged Jason Ellis, a sculpture conservator, to undertake a condition audit of the public sculptures in the County. It was noted that Katy Goodhue’s Goats, sited in Dillon’s Park, ‘would be hard to restore/conserve’.
In 2008, the Public Art Steering Group developed internal guidelines around the decommissioning of artworks sited in public places in the County. Deaccession is the complete removal of an artwork from public display and from the County Collection of public artwork and would only take place after a considered process.
Certain conditions have to apply before an artwork would be considered for deaccession, for example, if the work has significantly deteriorated or if it requires a level of maintenance and/or conservation which constitutes an unsustainable expenditure level.
This sculpture is on the list of public artworks to be actioned over the course of the next arts strategy. Due to the poor condition of the sculpture, the Arts Office will be recommending that the work be decommissioned. At present, due to financial constraints, the commissioning and installation of a new sculpture at that location will not be feasible.
There are several small harbours on the coast of Dalkey. Bulloch Harbour is the biggest; it is towards the northern part of Dalkey at Harbour Road and is a declared seal sanctuary. Coliemore Harbour is much smaller but very picturesque and is in the southern part of Dalkey at Coliemore Road. In the Middle Ages Coliemore was the main harbour for Dublin City. Bulloch Harbour is still a working harbour with boats that fish for lobster and crab. It is also used by locals and tourists who hire boats for nearby fishing, sightseeing and for getting to Dalkey Island.