The Dublin Port Tunnel
At Dublin City Council this evening, independent Cllr Niall Ring will propose renaming the port tunnel after 1916 hero Tom Clarke.
21st Century Citizen writes:
Persons suffering from 1916 fatigue may wearily note that Dublin port is our major trading link to our nearest neighbor and should be seen as a symbol of cooperation & friendship, rather than division and you-shot-my-grandpaism. Irish visitors rolling off the ferry in Holyhead for their abortions might not feel so welcome joining the Louis Mountbatten orbital ring-road.
It being too late to propose a counter-motion calling for immurement in same (and aptly named Dublin Port Tunnel – a tunnel serving Dublin Port) as penalty for incitement to wave flags in the faces of visitors – Broadsheet readers may wish to drop an email to their local Councillor to express any feelings on the matter. Your local Councillors are here
Fight!
(Wikipedia)
“Irish visitors rolling off the ferry in Holyhead for their abortions might not feel so welcome joining the Louis Mountbatten orbital ring-road.”
ZZZzing!
Yeah I’m for not doing this too. Name it after an artist or a rights campaigner or Bosco or something, Irish history needs to stop beginning and ending in 1916-1922.
I’m also perfectly happy with ‘Dublin Port Tunnel’ – it’s satisfyingly concise, exactly what it says on the tin and goes against the grain of naming things with made up words – Ervia, Tusla, Ornua, Renua etc.
I still lament the abomination of a name they’ve given to the Grand Canal Theatre. Grand Canal Theatre is a beautiful name.
One wonders what visitors to the country make of the Bored Gosh Energy Theatre.
Often felt that way towards the end of Act II, though. Anyone?
Let’s keep the old name alive.
I agree wholeheartedly about the GCT – its new name is terrible.
It’s cultural vandalism. Imagine if the Abbey had started life as the Guinness Theatre, went on to be the Guiney’s Theatre, the Clery’s Theatre, Aer Lingus Theatre, Telecom Eireann Theatre, Esat Digifone Theatre over the course of it’s lifetime.
It robs it of it’s history, your granny and grandad didn’t do their courting in the same place, it had a different name, for different paymasters, who pay for the name and have nothing to do with the activity. It’s vulgar and I can’t stand media outlets going along with it. It’s a hollowing out of the character of our city.
@ahj: It really is. There’s no bigger fan of commercial endorsement than me, but these Frankenstein venue names blow goats. The Avantime Apollo? Hammersmith Apollo ’til the day I die and as for the *shudder* Aviva Stadium? Gears? Ground!
They will and always will be the Point Depot and Landsdowne road.
I will stoutly refuse to acknowledge these commercial renames.
It’s the Point, Lansdowne road etc
But imagine if the Abbey had refused naming rights and promptly gone out of business? Would it be better to be left with principled memories?
The stadium at lansdowne road is an amazing place, looks and feels great. Aviva were part of that by dropping shedloads of cash for the naming rights, I personally don’t care what it’s called now.
Might be different if it was called Pearse Stadium or Behan Stadium, then there’d be a dilemma about renaming it but it would be back to point number 1.
Dropping shedloads of cash and then promptly dropping shedloads of staff iirc
There should be a line. We list buildings of cultural significance, historic or culturally significant names should be treated the same. Could you ever foresee the Royal Albert Hall becoming the EDF Energy Hall?
Lansdowne road should not have been changed. Grand Canal Theatre, while new, is one of the very few architecturally significant buildings in Dublin from modern times, it’s name was perfect in it’s context, it made it part of it’s place – it should have been listed also.
Planning permission, at the very least, should be required for changing what are effectively city landmarks.
If the owners or UK government don’t pay for its upkeep, then there’s every chance it could become the EDF Energy hall. If the owners can introduce a clause that keeps the name, then more power to them.
Again, I fail to see the attachment to a name that had so little thought put into it, it was named after the street it was on. Ditto a building that has only been around a few years.
If it were Croke park it would be a different story altogether, but it’s not.
Seconded. Disagree in principle with the renaming, for the same reasons.
Also, if they were to run a competition they would probably end up with the same shortlist from the Rosie Hackett bridge. Don’t recall Clarke featuring then.
Another well-reasoned motion from the agenda linked above: ‘That the Parnell Monument be moved from its current location to another location on O’Connell Street to optimise traffic flow.’ Great stuff altogether.
Interestingly, my Grandfather a Dublin who at the age of 15 (a member of Na Fianna) fought in the Mendicity Institute during the Rising, always referred to the three main train stations in Dubolin as Westland Row, Amiens Street and Kingsbridge and did not like the fact (along with his comrades in the Dublin Brigade of the IRA) that their names were changed. Moreover, my grandmother who was in Cumman na Mban was very upset when Nelson’s pillar was blown up; it was where she used to meet her husband.
So if you don’t mind me asking, would the people who have f..k all connection with the Rising (and who mostly have a Junior cert education in history) please bugger off and stop renaming places (including stations, roads, tunnels and bridges) in the city to suit their narrow political whims.
….At least the Russians gave St Petersburg its name back after the dreadful Leningrad in 1991
“Interestingly”
Hmm.. If you say so Louis Le Fondant
+1
+1
Welcome back, Louis!
I always thought the HSS ferry was named after Hanna Sheehy Skeffington and was sorely disappointed to learn it was actually the ‘High-speed Sea Service’, so technically it’s the H-SSS. Why can we not name a few more things after women? Kathleen Clarke needs something named after her.
Forget Tom, we know who he was, and we don’t need a grandiose gesture of subterranean tunnel toponomasticism to remind us.
‘toponomasticism
That’s a very big word for an eight-year old.
Did you make it up all by yourself?
What do you think it means?
Bless, someone’s threatened by intelligence.
It’s very well for Cllr Niall as he already has several roads named after him….
Hahahaha!
Why don’t we do what our Nordy cousins did and name our airport after an alcoholic womaniser?
I love the new pic Hoop :)
Thanks. It was designed by a famous artist don’t you know.
:)
They were just following Liverpool’s example of naming airports after wife beaters
Perhaps the other councillors could propose to name a cycle path after Mr Rings nominee instead.
I dunno. I’m not sure many Brits will be planning their route, see ‘Clarke Tunnel’ on the map, and think ‘Oh dear, the Irish have named this tunnel after Tom Clarke. We need to cancel all business with our Irish clients’.
‘Turn back, turn back….they’ve changed the name of the road we’re on.’
If you change the name of a road while people are on that road those people end up lost. Sometimes for years.
Or in the case of the renamed street that the British Embassy is on in Tehran: ‘close off the gate so that our address won’t be on Bobby Sands Street’.
That’s still my favourite bit of ‘official’ trolling ever.
Also, ‘Who’s Tom Clarke?’
Yup, I’m fairly lukewarm about the need to rename the tunnel but 21st Century Citizen’s objection seems a bit silly.
All sorts of UK things are named after people who made their name & fortune committing or overseeing savagery in Ireland. Irish people over yonder don’t plan their routes accordingly – even the Irish passport office there is on Cromwell Road (named after Oliver’s feckless, useless son but still..).
Naming infrastructure after people is extremely tacky, George Best airport anybody? what about Stephen Gately Station for drumcondra?
Can I do one, can I do one..?
What about eh…
Damn, I can’t think of one now.
I had one a minute ago.
No wonder these ass*oles get paid so much for thinking up names.
What are you doing up at this hour?!
Terrorising the innocent populace
You mean, ‘Why am I drunk this early?’
I haven’t a clue.
I think I said I’m never here in the daytime the other day, twice, and I’m here now to prove myself wrong, once, which makes me still right by defauilt.
Get back to work.
Well I’m never here in the night time.
So we are never seen in the same room together.
Like the Auroras Borealis and Australis.
Or the constellations Orion and Scorpius.
You’re messing with the fragile balance, BAM!
P.S. I am working.
BAM – Blame Angela Merkel
Think the crazy Boyzone proposal was for Docklands Station. Connolly, Pearse, Heuston, Gately!
he’s actually from across the road from it
anyway how many hit records did any of those other four guys have?
they should call it the ‘bob marley tunnel’ cos it’s always jamming..
Close the debate!
will there be an exodus through it?
Will the people who complain about the jams be called the Wailers?
I shot the tariff.
Looking at the make-up of the City Council – where SF are BY FAR the largest party, it looks like this vote is pretty sure to carry.
21st century citizen has far too much to be worried about.
Like maybe abortion rights since he/she managed to crowbar a reference into a newstory about a TUNNEL ffs.
21st Century Citizen should stop apologizing for this freedom from British rule. Unless of course, he’s a Young Fine Gaeler in which case he wants to be a Queen’s subject again so he curtsy and be a little royal gilly.
Supercrazyprices should stop pretending he’s a soldier in a long-finished war and maybe grow up a bit.
No one fought and died 100 years ago for the dream of their saddo descendants like you playing make-believe the struggle is still ongoing. Child.
Whose pretending its still going on? I’m well passed all that 1916, 1922, Troubles stuff. It seem though that Fine Gael are obsessed by it. It’s the only thing they talk about lately.
You mean on the eve of 2016, people are talking about 1916? Shocking stuff altogether.
If they weren’t talking about it, you’d bash them for that too.
I dunno
I think it should be called after someone who costs too much and has giant holes at each end.
Names on a postcard please
BTW Fla
If that’s not an inspiration
I don’t know what the ú(k is