There was no church of any denomination in Terenure until the second half of the 19th Century. The original Catholic church of St. Joseph was designed by William Henry Byrne & Son, constructed between 1897 and 1905, and it’s an asymmetric romanesque building separated from the street by a short fence.

The current building is a large Gothic revival church started in 1904 but later extended in 1952, leaving the altar in the centre of the long nave, and two main entrance fronts. The intended spire was never completed. Inside, there are stained glass windows by Harry Clarke dating from the 1920s – the Crucifixion, the Annunciation, and the Coronation of Virgin in Glory, but unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to photograph them this visit.

From The Building News, May 20, 1898: “At Terenure a new Roman Catholic Church, dedicated to St. Joseph, is in course of erection from designs by Mr. W. H. Byrne, of Suffolk-street, Dublin. The building is Romanesque in style. It consists of nave 46ft. by 30ft., with north and south aisles lift, wide, chancel and sanctuary 70ft. in length and 30ft. wide, side chapels and transepts, and a tower and spire rising to a height of 160ft. The architects are Messrs. Michael Moade and Sons, of Great Brunswick-street, Dublin.”

Architect, of Dublin. William Henry Byrne was born on 17 May 1844. Byrne is particularly associated with Catholic church architecture and was architect to the Catholic dioceses of Killala, Ossory, Tuam, and Achonry and to the Sisters of Charity in Ireland, who ran the Mater, St Vincent's and Temple Street hospitals in Dublin. He was also architect to the South City Markets Co. Dublin, responsible for the reconstruction of the markets after the fire of 1893, and to Pim Brothers' large drapery establishment on the opposite side of South Great George's Street. He was architect to the North Dublin Union and architectural adviser to the Congested Districts Board and to the Inspectors of Lunatics. In 1903 he acted as assessor in the competition for a new public library in Drogheda.

These stepping stones are frequently used by pedestrians from Rathfarnham and Churchtown to access Bushy Park in Terenure. However, if the water level is high the route becomes unusable but there is now a new footbridge nearby.

Stepping stones or stepstones are sets of stones arranged to form a simple bridge or causeway that allows a pedestrian to cross a natural watercourse, such as a river; or a water feature in a garden where water is allowed to flow between stone steps. Unlike other bridges, they have no spans. Although their origin is unknown, stepping stones, along with log bridges, are likely to have been one of the earliest forms of crossing inland bodies of water devised by humans.

In traditional Japanese gardens, the term "iso-watari" refers to stepping stone pathways that lead across shallow parts of a pond. Using iso-watari for crossing ponds, or shallow parts of streams, one can view the fish and plants around or in the pond, like carp, turtles, and waterfowls. It works like a bridge, in a slower way of crossing.

On a previous visit I was told that this is a "folly" but today I realised that is [was] a shell house. It would appear that it was decorated with shells inside rather than outside.

A shell is usually a small building, of distinctive shape, and decorated with sea shells. The degree of decoration can vary, from simple lines or features, to a full wall and ceiling covering. Time consuming to make, expensive now to maintain and restore, they are always going to be a rarity.

On a previous visit I was told that this is a "folly" but today I realised that is [was] a shell house. It would appear that it was decorated with shells inside rather than outside.

A shell is usually a small building, of distinctive shape, and decorated with sea shells. The degree of decoration can vary, from simple lines or features, to a full wall and ceiling covering. Time consuming to make, expensive now to maintain and restore, they are always going to be a rarity.

On a previous visit I was told that this is a "folly" but today I realised that is [was] a shell house. It would appear that it was decorated with shells inside rather than outside.

A shell is usually a small building, of distinctive shape, and decorated with sea shells. The degree of decoration can vary, from simple lines or features, to a full wall and ceiling covering. Time consuming to make, expensive now to maintain and restore, they are always going to be a rarity.

I have never been able to decide if there are three distinct lakes or one lake divided into three sections by walls and waterfalls but there are two separate bridges. To the best of my knowledge, the water for the lake(s) is fed from an underground supply and flows downhill [of course] in the same direction as the River Dodder.

Bushy Park dates back to 1700 when Arthur Bushe, Secretary to the Revenue Commissioners, built the house known as "Bushes House" on a site of four hectares. The property was obtained by John Hobson in 1772. He changed the name to Bushy Park.

In 1791, the park was purchased by Abraham Wilkinson who added almost 40 hectares to the estate. He gave it as a dowry to his daughter Maria when she married Robert Shaw in 1796.  The Shaws (distant relatives of George Bernard Shaw) remained connected with Bushy Park until 1951, when they sold the estate to Dublin Corporation.

Today, I spend about three hours exploring the streets of Terenure including Ashdale Road and the streets off Ashdale Road.

Extract from the property section of a national newspaper: "There is a lovely mix of period and between-the-wars houses, dozens of good schools within cycling distance and the facilities of Rathgar, Rathfarnham and Harold's Cross are less than a mile away. Shops in the village reflect a fairly well-to-do population which likes to eat out (plenty of interesting restaurants), cooks organic and has a sense of style in home decor and fashion."

The Dodder Valley is the latest section of public land to be developed into a greenway for pedestrians and cyclists and to the best of my knowledge there are three pedestrian bridges. One of the bridges is located in Rathfarnham and crosses the Dodder from Dodder View Road into Bushy Park.

Approximately 14km in length, the greenway travels along the Dodder Valley from Orwell/Terenure, through to the outer suburbs of Tallaght and up into the rural and upland community to the entrance of the Bohernabreena reservoir at Glenasmole.

The scheme includes a number of elements, including the widening and upgrading of existing paths, bridges, underpasses and junctions – and the construction of new paths and bridges.

Improved landscape treatment is also on the cards alongside ecological enhancements including species rich grassland management, the planting of native trees and the provision of bat boxes and bat friendly public lighting.

New entrances to the greenway now exist.

The pedestrian bridges mentioned above are located over the River Dodder at the Tallaght Bypass and to the rear of the Bolbrook Enterprise Centre, which links the eastern part of Tallaght the N81 to the Greenway. The second bridge passes over the Dodder from Kilvere to Riverside cottages, linking Templeogue Village with the greenway park while the third bridge is the one shown in my photographs.

Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year To All My Friends.

Photographed on St. Stephen's Day 2021.

Artist: Mickey Shu-Ting Chan ​ Artwork Title: ‘Mime in the box' ​ Artwork Location: Terenure Road North/Ashdale Road, Terenure, Dublin 6W ​ Artwork Description: The incarnation of the famous invisible box illusion performed by mime’s has just been hijacked! Just this time - the mime is trapped in a REAL box! It’s a humorous piece that aims to put a smile on people’s face. ​ Biography: Mickey’s Taiwanese name is Shu-Ting, it means “book, pretty”. She was given the nickname Mickey by her mates at a young age, because they thought she looked like that famous mouse; ever since then she’s known as Mickey Chan, sometimes as an art director and sometimes as a graphic designer. She has only recently found out that in Ireland, Mickey could also mean...a male organ.