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IGLESIA NI CRISTO CHURCH IN BELFAST

PHOTOGRAPHED MAY 2017

MUCH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CHURCH

The Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) Church in Belfast is located in a building that was formerly the Christian Science Church. It was purchased by the INC in 2013. The INC is a global Christian denomination headquartered in the Philippines, and it established its presence in Northern Ireland in the late 1980s.

HISTORIC CALDER FOUNTAIN

LOCATED AT CUSTOM HOUSE SQUARE IN BELFAST

I photographed this in June 2016 but forgot to publish it until today 30 November 2023.

Back in 1990-91 minimal restoration work was done to the Calder Fountain before it was later relocated to its current location near the Lagan Weir. It is a small Classical monument to Lt Calder who built horse troughs and who established what was to become the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

It features the following text:

Erected by Public Subscription
As a memorial to the labours of
Francis Anderson Calder, Commander, R.N.

In the cause of humanity
And to whom is mainly to be attributed the erection,
between the years 1843 and 1855, of
ten watertroughs for the use of cattle in
Belfast.

“A righteous man regarded the life of his beast”

Erected by Public Subscription
In commemoration of
Francis Anderson Calder, Commander, R.N.,

Founder of the Belfast Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and for
twenty years its active Honorary Secretary.

“Blessed are the Merciful.”

The Ulster Society for the Prevention Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) is the second oldest Animal Welfare Charity in the world. It was founded in 1836 by Commander Francis Anderson Calder, a retired navy officer, as the Belfast SPCA. The eventual name change from Belfast to Ulster SPCA acknowledged the scale, scope and success of the Charity’s expanded operations across the province.

The Charity’s first initiative was to erect water troughs across the city for the sustenance of the heavily burdened working horses in industrial Belfast. Just over a year after its inception the charity had successfully lobbied for the Act of Parliament ‘relating to the cruel and improper treatment of animals’ to be extended to Ireland.

The purpose of our founders to ‘Prevent Cruelty and Relieve Suffering’ remains as the driving force for our charitable activities today. Whilst there are heartless individuals willing to inflict unnecessary suffering on animals the need for a USPCA remains.

ULSTER UNIVERSITY IN BELFAST

PHOTOGRAPHED IN JUNE 2016 USING A VOIGTLANDER 15MM LENS

I used a Sony A7RII and a wide-angle Voigtlander lens and it was late in the evening and there was a lot of distortion in the resulting images.

The original images were unusable so I decided to process the RAW files using AI software which did remove much of the motion blur and a car or two.

Ulster University has been expanding and developing the Belfast campus since 2009 as part of one of Northern Ireland’s largest-ever urban developments, and nearly 15,000 students and staff will soon be based in the city centre. The first phase of this development opened in 2015 and completion of the project was due in 2019. The campus redevelopment was largely complete by 2021 however finalisation of construction is ongoing towards the end of 2023.

LIKE ARCHITECTS AT 3 LINENHALL STREET WEST IN BELFAST 16 MAY 2018

I PHOTOGRAPHED THIS BUILDING BECAUSE I LIKED IT

The Linen Quarter is the area of Belfast city centre south of the City Hall. Traditionally the district was understood to occupy an approximate square shaped area bounded by Howard Street/Donegall Square South/May Street, Great Victoria Street, Ormeau Avenue and Joy Street. Since the formation of Linen Quarter BID in 2018, however, the district is often considered to have a wider footprint that includes the Europa Transport Hub and parts of Dublin Road.

Like Architects was established in 2011 by Michael Martin and Ciaran Deazley at the end of the last recession. Initially drawing upon relationships with the local banks, the practice grew out of transforming failed residential assets into viable planning approvals thereby reshaping derelict portions of Belfast city centre.

NEW ULSTER UNIVERSITY CAMPUS IN BELFAST

WAS VERY MUCH A WORK IN PROGRESS IN MARCH 2019

I was somewhat surprised to learn that on 20 June 2023, the Government of Ireland announced that it was providing approximately €45 million in funding to Ulster University. As well as funds for the new campus, the government also announced financial supports for the construction of two new all-island bioeconomy demonstrator facilities for the agriculture and marine sectors (€7 million), a new respite and therapeutic centre for children diagnosed with cancer and their families from across the island of Ireland (€2.5 million) and completion this year of the tender process for the Narrow Water Bridge project (€2 million).


Additionally, a new Youth Forum will also be set up under the Shared Island initiative, in which 80 young people from communities across the island of Ireland can set out their vision and values for a shared future.

Back in March construction work ongoing at the new Belfast campus and it was there for all to see and it dominated the Belfast skyline. At the time the new campus is scheduled to start welcoming students from September 2021.

The Ulster University at Belfast is in the city’s Cathedral Quarter, its artistic and cultural centre. Although traditionally associated with art and home to the university’s School of Art, originally inaugurated as the Belfast School of Art and Design in 1849, the campus has a range of subjects including architecture, hospitality, event management, photography and digital animation. The award-winning[citation needed] Law Clinic is based at the Belfast campus, offering free legal advice on social security and employment law.

Ulster University has been expanding and developing the Belfast campus since 2009 as part of one of Northern Ireland’s largest-ever urban developments, and nearly 15,000 students and staff will soon be based in the city centre. The first phase of this development opened in 2015 and completion of the project was due in 2019. The campus redevelopment was largely complete by 2021 however finalisation of construction is ongoing.

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