DUBLIN

Every tourist guide will include the following statement: "The English name for the city is derived from the Irish name Dubh Linn, meaning black pool" and according to some experts the secret behind the success of Guinness is their usage of the local water.

No doubt many people are aware that Dublin is the capital of Ireland but few may not be aware that it is the best city in the world. Of course, because I live at the centre of the city, I would say that. 

To be honest, it may not be the best city in the world but it is a pleasant likable place (not too big, not too small) and there is always much to see and do.

Dublin can trace its origins back over 1,000 years. From a small Viking settlement it has evolved into a vibrant place rich in cultural heritage. By walking the streets of Dublin you will see the many reminders of Celtic, Viking, Norman, English cultures. The beautifully illuminated Book of Kells dating from 800 AD, much splendid Georgian architecture, magnificent medieval castles and a few very old cathedrals.  

If you are not bothered by the weather (despite the rumors we do get some really nice days) and you are interested in History, Architecture, Music or Guinness then  Dublin is Truly the place to be. I invite you to visit (Dublin, not my apartment).

Belfast - 2011

Visit To Belfast - 2011

The buildings and structures of Belfast comprise many styles of architecture ranging from Edwardian through to state-of-the-art modern buildings like the Waterfront Hall. The city's beautiful Edwardian buildings are notable for their display of large numbers of sculptures. Many of Belfast's Victorian landmarks, including the main Lanyon Building at Queens University in 1849, were designed by Sir Charles Lanyon.

The City Hall, was finished in 1906 and was built to reflect Belfast’s City status, granted by Queen Victoria in 1888. The Dome is 53 metres (173 ft) high. Figures above the door are “Hibernia encouraging and promoting the Commerce and Arts of the City”. Among the city's grandest buildings are two former banks: Ulster Bank (1860), in Waring Street and Northern Bank (1769), in nearby Donegall Street. The Royal Courts of Justice in Chichester Street are home to Northern Ireland's Supreme Court. Some of Belfast's oldest buildings still remain in the Cathedral Quarter area, which is currently undergoing redevelopment as the city's main cultural and tourist area.

The world's largest dry dock is located in the city, and the giant cranes (Samson and Goliath) of the Harland and Wolff shipyard, builders of the Titanic, can be seen from afar. 

The four star Europa Hotel, located in the City Centre, was bombed twenty-seven times during the troubles and is among one of the most bombed hotels in Europe. Across the street, the ornately decorated Crown Liquor Saloon in Great Victoria Street is notable as being the only bar owned by the National Trust. The panels used in the restaurant on the first floor were meant for Brittanic, the sister ship of the Titanic. It was made internationally famous as the setting for the classic film, Odd Man Out, starring James Mason.

Belfast also contains the tallest building (as distinct from structure) on the island of Ireland. Windsor House stands at 80 metres (262 ft) and has twenty-three floors. Once completed, the Obel Tower will surpass Windsor House, although a taller building than this has been given planning permission in Dublin. In January 2007 plans were submitted to build the Aurora Tower on Great Victoria Street, which will be 37 storeys high. At 109m (358 ft) high it will house 290 luxury apartments and be 28m (92 ft) higher than the Obel Tower.

The Albert Clock stands at the end of High Street, and was designed by William J. Barre and built in memory of Queen Victoria's Prince Consort, Prince Albert. The clock stands 35 m high, was built on land reclaimed from the river, and leans 1.25 m off the vertical. The Linen Hall Library in Donegall Square North is Belfast’s oldest library, founded in 1788 to acquire 'philosophical apparatus and such productions of nature and art as are calculated to enlarge knowledge'.

St George's Market, built between 1890 and 1896, is Belfast's last surviving Victorian covered market. It was restored at a cost of £4.5 million in 1997, and hosts regular Friday and Saturday markets.

Near the Market is Saint Malachy's Catholic Church. Built between 1841 and 1844, it is built in the Tudor Revival style and is unique in Ireland. It is also one of only two buildings remaining in Belfast which was constructed with hand-made bricks. Hamilton Street is a Georgian terrace in the Markets Area, originally built in the 1830s, which was restored in 1988 by Hearth.

Belfast has several venues for performing arts. The Grand Opera House was completed in 1895 was bombed several times during the Troubles but has been restored to its former glory. The Ulster Hall (1859-1862) was originally designed for grand dances but is now used primarily as a concert and sporting venue. Lloyd George, Parnell and Patrick Pearse all attended political rallies there. It holds 13 paintings of Belfast History. The Mulholland organ costing 3000 guineas was donated and named after a local wealthy industrialist. The Waterfront Hall was opened in 1997 as part of the redevelopment of the Laganside and already has become an icon of modern Belfast.

The Victoria Square in now completed.

14 Feb 2012 22:32

BELFAST

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland (after Dublin). It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. The city of Belfast has a population of 267,500 and lies at the heart of the Belfast urban area, which has a population of 483,418. The Larger Urban Zone, as defined by the European Union, has a total population 641,638. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.

Historically, Belfast has been a centre for the Irish linen industry (earning the nickname "Linenopolis"), tobacco production, rope-making and shipbuilding: the city's main shipbuilders, Harland and Wolff, which built the ill-fated RMS Titanic, propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the biggest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century.

Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast, if briefly, the biggest city in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century and the city's industrial and economic success was cited by Ulster unionist opponents of Home Rule as a reason why Ireland should shun devolution and later why Ulster in particular would fight to resist it.

Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education and business, a legal centre, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the period of conflict called The Troubles, but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square.

Belfast is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport in the city, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles (24 km) west of the city. Belfast is also a major seaport, with commercial and industrial docks dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline, including the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard. Belfast is a constituent city of the Dublin-Belfast corridor, which has a population of three million, or half the total population of the island of Ireland.

CORK CITY

Cork was originally a monastic settlement founded by Saint Finbarr in the 6th century. Cork achieved an urban character at some point between 915 and 922 when Norseman (Viking) settlers founded a trading port.[8] It has been proposed that, like Dublin, Cork was an important trading centre in the global Scandinavian trade network.

The city's charter was granted by King John in 1185. The city was once fully walled, and some wall sections and gates remain today. For much of the Middle Ages, Cork city was an outpost of Old English culture in the midst of a predominantly hostile Gaelic countryside and cut off from the English government in the Pale around Dublin. Neighbouring Gaelic and Hiberno-Norman lords extorted "Black Rent" from the citizens in order to keep them from attacking the city. The present extent of the city has exceeded the medieval boundaries of the Barony of Cork City; it now takes in much of the neighbouring Barony of Cork. Together, these baronies are located between the Barony of Barrymore to the east, Muskerry East to the west and Kerryycurrihy to the south.

The city's municipal government was dominated by about 12–15 merchant families, whose wealth came from overseas trade with continental Europe – in particular the export of wool and hides and the import of salt, iron and wine. Of these families, only the Ronayne family were of Gaelic Irish origin. The medieval population of Cork was about 2,100 people. It suffered a severe blow in 1349 when almost half the townspeople died of plague when the Black Death arrived in the town. In 1491, Cork played a part in the English Wars of the Roses when Perkin Warbeck a pretender to the English throne, landed in the city and tried to recruit support for a plot to overthrow Henry VII of England. The mayor of Cork and several important citizens went with Warbeck to England but when the rebellion collapsed they were all captured and executed.

A description of Cork written in 1577 speaks of the city as, "the fourth city of Ireland" that is, "so encumbered with evil neighbours, the Irish outlaws, that they are fayne to watch their gates hourly ... they trust not the country adjoining [and only marry within the town] so that the whole city is linked to each other in affinity"

The title of Mayor of Cork was established by royal charter in 1318, and the title was changed to Lord Mayor in 1900 following the Knighthood of the incumbent Mayor by Queen Victoria on her visit to the City.

In the War of Independence, the centre of Cork was gutted by fires started by the British Black and Tans,[11] and the city saw fierce fighting between Irish guerrillas and UK forces. During the Irish Civil War, Cork was for a time held by anti-Treaty forces, until it was retaken by the pro-Treaty National Army in an attack from the sea.

LIMERICK

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the fifth most populous city on the island of Ireland. It is the principal city of Ireland's Mid-West Region also known as the Shannon Region. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the state, with an urban population of 90,757. Limerick is the second-largest city in the province of Munster, an area which constitutes the midwest and southwest of Ireland. The city is situated on several curves and islands of the River Shannon, which spreads into an estuary shortly after Limerick. Road infrastructure features four main crossing points near the city centre (an additional river tunnel to the west of the three bridges opened in July 2010). Limerick is one of the constituent cities of the Cork-Limerick-Galway corridor, which has a population of 1 million.

BRUSSELS

Brussels, officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region, is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union (EU). It is also the largest urban area in Belgium,comprising 19 municipalities, including the municipality of the City of Brussels, which is the de jure capital of Belgium, in addition to the seat of the French Community of Belgium and of the Flemish Community.

Brussels has grown from a 10th-century fortress town founded by a descendant of Charlemagne into a metropolis of more than one million inhabitants.[10] The metropolitan area has a population of over 1.8 million, making it the largest in Belgium.

Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been a main center for international politics. Hosting principal EU institutions[13] as well as the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the city has become the polyglot home of numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants.

Although historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels became increasingly French-speaking over the 19th and 20th centuries. Today a majority of inhabitants are native French-speakers, and both languages have official status. Linguistic tensions remain, and the language laws of the municipalities surrounding Brussels are an issue of considerable controversy in Belgium.

Dun Laoghaire is situated near Dublin in Ireland. It began as a small fishing village, but since the 19th Century, it has become part of the sprawling suburbs of our capital city. Despite this, it has managed to retain some of its individuality.

Dun Laoghaire is a very historical town. It used to be a small fishing village located on a rocky coast near Salthill, which was renowned for its production of salt. The original village, called Dunleary was situated near the beginning of the present West Pier. The present inner harbour, known as the coal harbour, dates from that time of the 18th Century. It consisted of seventy dwellings or cottages and was a very compact little village. All that remains of Dunleary is a row of 15 houses, including ‘Purty Kitchen’ and the Coal Harbour Pier. However, during that time, there was also another pier which was in the form of a curve. That pier is now buried beneath the railway line. There used to be a sandy cove running up to the site of the former ‘Fun Factory’, which was closed recently. Now, all that land has been reclaimed and built on. In Dunleary during the 18th Century, there used to be a famous coffeehouse which was very popular with tourists and people on day-trips from Dublin. The small harbour used to dry-out at low tide but it was considered an important departure point for England. Dun Laoghaire is still an important port, however the present journey time of 1½ hours does not compare to the 22 hours then!

The death of Dunleary was started in the 1820s when the building of the harbour created a completely new town to the east, on the site of the present town. The first few buildings of the new town were constructed from the 1820s, although building of the harbour was started in 1815.

The harbour was only built to facilitate the trade in Dublin Port. At that time, the approaches to the Liffey were extremely dangerous. Many ships were grounded as there was only a narrow path through the sandbanks to the river mouth. It needed skilled captains to negotiate the dangers. Because of this, there was a huge waiting time. Ships were anchored out there for days before being allowed in. And, if that wasn’t enough for them, they had to brave fierce storms and gales that threatened to drive them onto the rocks.

So, it was decided that a place for the boats to stay was needed. Dunleary seemed a suitable place and the foundation stone was laid in 1817 by the Lord Lieutenant. King George IV visited Dunleary in 1821 causing the name ‘Kingstown’ to be formally adopted for the town. The visit of the King was recorded on the obelisk, which is now positioned in front of the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

The present name, Dun Laoghaire, was adopted again in 1920. This name was the Irish version of Dunleary meaning the fort of Laoghaire. In 1930, two small stones containing early decorations were dug up near the Coal Harbour, suggesting that the original fort was built there. This fort can’t be seen now, though, since a Martello Tower was built on top of it and then the construction of the railway destroyed them both. However, the National Museum said that the stones were of recent origin and that they were put there to prove that there was a dún in Dun Laoghaire. No one knows the truth.

The harbour consists of two huge granite piers. The East Pier is one mile long and the West Pier is even longer. It encloses a space of 250 acres and the two arms have protected ships in the most adverse of weather conditions except occasionally when northeasterly gales strike. It cost over one million pounds to build and more than 600 men were employed to construct it.

Dun Laoghaire was also an area for Martello Towers. These round towers were built under threat of an invasion by Napoleon in the early 1800s. Each one was built the same, and was positioned within firing distance of the next, along the East Coast from Skerries to Bray. On the top of each, there was a wall with a rail on top. The cannon sat on this rail and was free to point in any direction. Two Martello Towers were built in Dun Leary, one on the site of the supposed dún and one in the People’s Park. All have been destroyed. The original purpose of George’s Street, the main street of Dun Laoghaire, was to link the towers and the garrisons together.

The land in the centre of Dun Laoghaire was poor and partly used for grazing. Much of the land had been quarried with holes and stones on it covered with briars. The new town converted much of this to fine Georgian terraces, churches, yacht clubs and other public buildings.

The town grew between 1820 and 1840. George’s Street was quickly developed and also were the parallel streets Kingstown Parade, Rumley Avenue (now known as Patrick Street and Mulgrave Street) and Northumberland Avenue. The only building on Tivoli Road at that time was Carrig Castle, which was really a large house. The road itself was actually an old path between the castles of Bullock and Monkstown. During the 1830s, Granite Lodge, Primrose Hill, Tivoli Terrace, York Road, 2 schools and a Presbyterian Church were built. On the seafront, Crofton Terrace, Haddington Terrace, Victoria Terrace, Marine Terrace, Windsor Terrace and Martello Terrace were built. The forerunner of the Royal Marine Hotel, overlooking the harbour was built on Gresham Terrace.

The need for Dunleary to have a harbour of refuge from the tides and approaches of Dublin Bay finally saw some resolution in 1815 when the first stone was laid by Earl Whitworth the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

In all, the Harbour took nearly 40 years to complete and during this time 600 men were employed and the cost was estimated at one million pounds. The resulting Harbour enclosed a water area of some 250 acres. King George IV officially opened the Harbour in 1823 and Dunleary became Kingstown in his honour.

With the coming of the railway in the 1830’s Kingstown became a popular place to visit and to live in some of the lovely new terraces being built The Coal Harbour was an exceedingly busy place importing coal and in 1835 there were 20 registered yawls whose main trade was in importing coal from Swansea and Whitehaven in South Wales. By 1860, coal was the biggest business in the town and 1855 saw the Outer Coal Harbour constructed at a cost of £30,000, and in 1863 a railway siding was added in order to export pyrites from Avoca in Co. Wicklow to Wales and England. In 1859 the important Carlisle Pier was opened.

In 1827 the Harbour Commissioners had built a jetty to be used exclusively by the Admiralty’s Mail Packets. This Mail Service continued until 1850 when a new contract was made with the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company.

1861 saw the construction of a most attractive Lifeboat House on the Royal Slip at the foot of the Carlisle Pier. On Christmas Eve, 1895 while endeavouring to rescue the crew of the ‘Palme’ the lifeboat capsized with the loss of the entire fifteen man crew their names are recorded in a stone memorial.

A Harbour Master’s House was built in 1845. Twenty-five years earlier a stone house had been constructed for the Harbour Commissioners on Crofton Road with a commanding view of the Harbour this building was in latter years used as the residence of the Harbour Master.

A boom year for the area came in 1863 with the additions to the Harbour of a battery/fort, a coastguard station, a seaman’s home and a lighthouse and keepers cottages. An Anenometer to measure wind speed and direction was also part of the improvements. These buildings all show excellent workmanship.

For more than 170 year a Mailboat service has travelled between Dun Laoghaire and Holyhead in Wales. Even during World War I the Mailboat sailed. The ‘Leinster’ one of four boats plying the journey was torpeoded and sank 16 miles from Kingstown 501 died and 256 survived. The Mailboat continued uninterrupted service until the min 1970s. The new Car Fewrry Terminal was completed in 1969.

The Lifeboat still maintains an important and admirable service to all and presently a new Lifeboat Station is under construction.

The coal importation has ceased in Dun Laoghaire and the fishing industry has declined however an Ice House was built in 1972 on the Coal Harbour Quay and fresh fish can be purchased there by the general public.

In 1971 The World Fishing Championships were hosted by Dun Laoghaire and brought many visitors. Sailing is still an engrossing sport for many and is also enjoyed by many spectators during long summer evenings.

Today I got the DART to Portmarnock with the intention of testing some new equipment. The day started badly as I did not waken until mid-day ( I went to bed a 6-am). On my way down to the train station it began to rain very heavy so I decided to have lunch at the ELY in the IFSC.

When I left the restaurant the weather was beautiful so I decided to head on out to Portmarnock. A few minutes before arriving the heavy (this time really heavy) rain returned.

On leaving the station I could not determine which direction I should go to get to the town, there were no signs. Of course, I chose the wrong direction. Every few minutes a low flying plane flew overhead and I noticed that they were going in the same direction as myself. This had to be wrong so I reversed direction,

On arriving just outside the town I noticed a park with five or six children feeding thousands of fat ducks. I had never seen so many ducks in one place before so I stopped to take a few photographs.