Newstalk today carried a news story at 6pm about the removal of historic monuments for several years as part of the development of the public transport infrastructure in Dublin historic monuments. Listed in the report were the O’Connell Monument, the Parnell Monument and the Spire on O’Connell Street. 

I’m surprised at this but I would not be against the idea of removing the monuments in the same way I am against the destruction of large parts of St Stephens Green. Statues and Spires can be restored with a few weeks work and I’d rather see them removed than risk their collapse into a trench or being hit by cranes and diggers. A city center park full of mature trees takes several decades.

Add to that the rumour that the Guinness Brewery at St James’s Gate may close and move to a green field site in Clondalkin (more about that will surely come after Diageo hold a press conference tomorrow) then this year may be a good time to visit Dublin before it becomes a building site.

On a side note, a recording of Minister Dempsey was played where he said you cant make an omelette without breaking some eggs. Does he read this blog? OK, probably not but you never know

Just heard on the radio that today is Car Free Day when people are encouraged to leave their cars at home and take public transport. Parnell Square East, Merrion Square West and the main road through Herbert Park will be closed to traffic with events taking place on all of them. The radio mentioned that Parnell Square will have music and bands, Merrion will have skateboarding and break-dancing and Herbert Part will have a display of steam engines.

RECENTLY myself and The Boyfriend went to Dublin Zoo for the day and I was so impressed with the experience that I thought I’d share it with you here and recommend it for both natives and tourists alike.

First off I will say that for many years I was suspicious of zoos, I did not like the idea of animals being caged into a small compound in drizzly Dublin when they’re used to the scorching heat and space of the Serenghetti. I thought that they must have an awful life and be terribly depressed and suffering. Truth be told, I hadn’t been to Dublin Zoo or indeed any zoo since I was very very young, so I thought I’d go along and see what was what, before I made up my mind.

Currently Dublin Zoo can be divided into about three areas – the main zoo with animals such as tigers, monkeys and sea lions, the African Plains with animals such as giraffes, zebras and hippos and then the part almost on the way out with some restaurants, the petting zoo and the gift shop.

In the first part of the zoo, most of the compounds have literature and signs outside telling you about the animal and the area in which they are housed. You are informed that staff at the zoo have conferred and worked with animal experts in designing larger more comfortable compounds so that no animal suffers or is in any danger. Several of the animals in the zoo are endangered species and would not be alive were it not for zoos and I was even more impressed to learn that other animals are hopefully scheduled for release back into the wild as soon as they are ready.

The sea lions are currently being trained by staff to respond to a red marker on a stick, being rewarded with fish, meaning that if they have to be transferred or have medical assitance it’s easier for them, as they trust their trainers. We were lucky enough to see the sea lions being fed and the trainer in charge mentioned that recently a sea lion was sent to London and in the past she would have had to be sedated or bundled into a crate causing her undue distress, but thanks to the new training technique she simply hopped into her crate when prompted with the red marker and went to London with no difficulties at all, happy as Larry.

In the African Plains (I think about 13 hectares) I was impressed by its sheer vastness and the acres of fields the animals have to run around in. We saw hippos bathing and then being fed, zebras munching lazily while eyeing us, giraffes wandering around in the manner of supermodels with their fantasitc legs and even an unblinking lion, lounging in the sunshine.

Towards the end of the day we headed for the petting zoo (actually I think it’s called the Farm or City Farm) where we saw and petted cows, horses, goats, pigs, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs and cats. Some of the animals, such as the cats, have the full run of the zoo and all those we saw seemed to have plenty of room, food and water and responded well to the children and adults cooing at them. Equally as impressive were the large signs all over the place reminding us to wash our hands on the way out, accompanied by several sinks boasting hot water and soap.

Which leads me on to general impressions of the zoo. Overall it is superbly clean and tidy with loads of different plants, trees, flowers and shrubs. There are litter bins and picnic tables at every turn and dotted throughout are toilets (with wheelchair access) which, while basic and functional, are clean with toilet paper, soap and handdryers. There are also a number of cafes and restaurants and even vending machines selling snacks and drinks. You’re also free to bring a packed lunch with you if you’re trying to save some cash, though it’s important to clean up after yourself. We left it too late to get into the gift shop, but I understand there are loads of souvenirs available from posters to stuffed toys to keyrings.

Adult tickets cost 14 euro per person, which you may think is a bit steep, but you can literally spend the day there for that price and when you think that cinema tickets cost about a tenner each, for just two hours maximum, it’s a small price to pay. Children under three go free, and those under 16 pay 9.50 euro. There are various other prices for the unwaged, students and OAPs, all available at www.dublinzoo.ie which also gives you admission times and other information about the zoo, as well as directions.

We spent the entire day there, from about noon til around 5.30pm and really enjoyed ourselves. In addition to the zoo itself, just outside is the magnificant Phoenix Park and the area where the zoo is boasts fantastic scenery, a lake, stream, a playground and gorgeous walkways. So the fun doesn’t have to end when you leave the zoo!

All in all, we had a wonderful day and judging by the amount of couples, families and students there, we weren’t the only ones. In order to be balanced, I did try to find some negative aspects to our visit, as I didn’t want this to come across as a puff piece but in all honesty our experience was entirely positive, as I hope it will be for you. As we went in off-season time, we didn’t have to queue and had plenty of space to view the animals, but I suspect during the summer things get extra busy, so maybe try to get in early if you’re visiting on holidays.

I had inteneded to post some pictures but I recently got a new phone and lost all my pictures on that and a disposable camera I had with me went awol, so my apologies for that. The pic of the lion accompanying this is taken from Dublin Zoo’s website www.dublinzoo.ie where there are many more splendid pictures to browse through.

I hope you all enjoy the zoo as much as I did. I was certainly reassured about how they work and how the animals are looked after and I intend to visit again in the near future. 

Going through St Stephen’s Green yesterday afternoon I came across a wedding party taking advantage of the beautiful weather we are having to have their pictures taken. Always carry your camera you never know what photo opportunities will appear.

There has been some discussion recently regarding the plans by the owner of Dartmouth Square in Ranelagh to open it as a commercial car park (charging €10 per car per day) and to build a crèche and gym.

Some background. The owner, Mr. Noel O’Gara, purchased the freehold of the 2 acre park sometime last year for a nominal price (believed to be in the region of €10k) from the Darley Estate, the family that originally developed the square. According to the Dublin City Council (formally Dublin Corporation) website: “This 0.8 hectare park in Ranelagh was in private ownership up until 1987 when it was acquired and developed as a public park by the Corporation�. It seems that Dublin City Council never renewed the lease when it was up and Mr. O’Gara snapped it up.

An injunction preventing the park from being used as a car park was lifted by the High Court last week after Mr. O’Gara gave an undertaking that he would not use it for that purpose. The case is back in the High Court on Oct 9th. I hope Mr O’Gara and Dublin City Council can come to some agreement that doesn’t involve the taxpayer forking out millions or involve the park being turned into a concrete jungle.

I’m all for people protecting their investment and trying to make a profit, but I think wanting to make a quick buck by turning a lovely, well maintained, park into a car park is just wrong. I sincerely hope that all Councils are going through their records and ensuring public parks remain public. It’s easy to feel smothered by concrete in cities and green areas are a welcome respite.

Some photos of the park can be found on this Archiseek thread.

UPDATE 25/09/06

An Bord Pleanála have this morning ruled that Dublin City Council can compulsorily purchase Dartmouth Square. Further details here.

With the whole back to school bit, things have been more than a little busy for me, but I thought I would break my silence by posting a pic I took in Stephen’s Green last week. I shot this last Tuesday before meeting a pal for lunch and when I read the papers the next day I saw other shots of the same man sitting on a bench surrounded by the flying rats, urrgh. Still made great pix though.

Wandering through town today at lunch today, I stumpled upon a crowd gathered outside the Stephens Green Shopping Centre. They were all here to watch this guy

Along with the crowd, there was a bunch of lovely FM104 girls knocking about, handing out flyers. These pointed to the cause of all the fuss, the Street Performance World Championships which take place in Merrion Square this weekend.

The event runs over two days, Saturday & Sunday and by the looks of it contains 10 excellent performers, which, judging by the brief snippet that I caught today, will make for a very pleasant afternoon spent in the park, especially if the sun shines. Best of all, it’s free, so, go along and take a wander. If I’m around Dublin for the weekend, this is certainly one event that I will be going to see.

I have gone to St Stephens Green a couple of times over the bank holiday weekend to enjoy the sunshine, along with thousands of others. While there I spent a lot of that time trying to decide what to write in this blog post. You see I am puzzled. As I sit in the shade of a tree that looks like it is over a hundred years old and admire the Victorian gardens that surround me I contemplate a simple question. Does anyone care that this could be the end of St Stephens Green?

I ask because everyone seems to have accepted the governments decision to dig up the Green and install an underground railway station. Yes you read that correctly, the Irish government has decided to dig up St Stephens Green and allow the construction of an underground railway station. This station will link the proposed Metro, the current Luas lines and new line to Heuston station. It seems like a great idea but we don’t need it.

Part of the same Transport 21 Plan that proposes this station also announced the Luas line that currently ends at St Stephens Green will be extended to O’Connell Street, there are also existing buses that run from the Green to O’Connell Street, and lets face it, it is only a 10 minute walk anyway. With the new plan, each of those minutes could easily cost us 1 billion Euros. Once on O’Connell Street you can hop on the other Luas line and speed down to Heuston Station, or if you want you could hop onto the original proposal for a Metro line that would run from O’Connell Street to the airport. Billions and billions and St Stephens Green itself would be saved by finishing the Luas lines and introducing an integrated ticketing system, things they are going to do anyway regardless of the future of the Green.

So why dig up the Green? I don’t understand. Is it, as the Green Party (who should be stopping this crime instead of boasting about it) described, an attempt to build an Irish Grand Central Station? Is it just another folly for Minister Martin Cullen to spend money on? Is it an ego replacement for the failed Bertie Bowl? The Dail is a 2 minute walk from St Stephens Green, can they really not care about it? When was the last time Mary Harney or Michael McDowell took a stroll in the park to enjoy the beauty of green space that has existed since 1663. When was the last time Brian Cowen took five minutes to sit in the shade of a tree planted in 1880 by Arthur Guinness?

Can they look at the park and really think they can close it to the public, dig it up and then restore it to anything but a pale shadow of its current self? No number of Government decrees, committee white papers, consultants reports, contractor deals or press releases can make a tree grow faster or a park ecosystem reestablish itself. You can set the process in motion but once the diggers move in a 130 year old tree will take 130 years to replace.

And still we let them take our park. The public are silent. The bloggers are silent. The community is silent. Why? Does no one care? Do we all hate that 10 minute walk so much that we will give up anything to save having to stroll over O’Connell bridge? Why? Why? Why?

Can we stop it? Yes. The final decision is not yet made, but it will be made after the summer and then it will be too late. A Supreme Court ruling to stop the diggers after they have started will not be able to resurrect the trees. Once they start we may as well let them finish.

What can we do? Well for starters tell people. Get vocal. Build up public knowledge. Next time you are in the park with your friends tell them this wont be here next year.

Then what? Blog, write, complain, bitch, moan, argue, lobby. If you know your local politician, and even if you don’t, tell them they cannot take your park away. Point out that the station is not needed. We only need what they promised us 10 years ago, a Luas line from St Stephens Green to O’Connell Street and an integrated ticket system. If you know a journalist ask them why are they not writing about this? Why are they not willing to stand up and speak?

This is the Dublin Blog and St Stephens Green is the Dublin Park, if we don’t speak out then will anyone? Next year when it is sunny will we sit on mounds of excavated dirt and footpaths around the locked and barricaded park asking how did this happen?

…With coffee at eleven and a stroll, through Stephen’s Green…

OR, a bottle of West Coast Cooler cunningly disguised as a 7Up bottle, in Stephen’s Green.

When the sun is shining, Dublin really is at its best and it’s so lovely to sit in any of the many parks (Stephen’s Green, Wolfe Tone Park, St Patrick’s Cathedral Park, Tymon North Park in Tallaght, Corkagh Park in Clondalkin, the Phoenix Park the list goes on) and just soak up the rays and relax.

In about 10 minutes, I’m leaving work, jumping on the Luas and heading in to meet friends in Stephen’s Green to catch the last of the sunshine, eat ice-cream and certainly NOT drink illegal alcohol from a plastic bag.

Ah but seriously, bye-laws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in our parks and green areas are in place and carry a hefty fine if you’re caught, so if you’re a visitor to Dublin and fancy a beer in the sun, just be aware of that and perhaps stick to beer gardens. If however you do have a crafty tipple in the park (as many Dubs do if I’m honest), be sure to clean up after yourself and not overdo the booze and we should all be happy. Bins are provided all over most parks, so do use them and leave our greens as you would like to find them. (That applies to Dubs as well as visitors, we can be a filthy lot when we want to be.)

Enjoy the sun!

THERE are lots of lovely parks dotted all over Dublin, and one fabulous one near me is the Blessington Basin.

A former reservoir for north Dublin, the Blessington Basin is located in Phibsboro and is absolutely beautiful.

This mosaic is made up from my Blessington Basin set on Flickr with the help of fd’s Mosaic maker, just one of his many fun flickr toys.

  
The pics below were taken during a lovely ramble there this afternoon, do visit the park, you won’t be disappointed.