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Author Archives: Bodger
Numbers 44/45 O’Connell Street, Dublin 1
This morning.
Ninety-eight properties managed by the Office of Public Works are sitting vacant around the country, reveals Ken Foxe, at Noteworthy:
These include several important historic properties – including two adjoining period houses on O’Connell Street in Dublin – that are being allowed to fall into disrepair.
Nearly two-thirds of the vacant properties are former garda stations, most of which were deemed surplus to requirements by the gardaí late last year.
A single rented property is also vacant, but the government is set to escape from its €112,500-a-year lease for that building on Dublin’s Clare Street in January 2020.
…Seven former coastguard cottages in Crosshaven are also empty and are currently “being prepared for disposal” , the Office of Public Works said.
…According to official records, four of the properties have not been used since “pre-1983″.
See here for full list of vacant properties and for length of time they’ve been vacant
Pic: GoogleMaps
Free Saturday, September 7?
The second Danielle Carroll Summer School.
Named after a young Dublin mother who lost her life while living in emergency accommodation.
Michael Caul writes:
The #MyNameis campaign is proud to announce our second Danielle Carroll Summer School, 2019.
The human stories behind Ireland’s housing and homeless crisis.
Mary Manning – Who, as a 21-year-old Dunnes Stores worker, stood up against apartheid.
Stephen Travers – Leading campaigner for the rights of victims in Northern Ireland.
Jay Lester – Jobstown protest teenager who had false imprisonment conviction overturned.
John Wall – diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, had emergency medical card revoked.Colin Power – Bill Kenneally abuse survivor.
We are proud to posthumously award our first Danielle Carroll Social Justice Award 2019 to Dara Quigley, presented to her mother Aileen Malone with words from Martin McMahon and friends.
Tickets available here
🍏🍊 It’s the last day of trading at Dublin’s Fruit & Veg Market near Smithfield after 127 years 🍓🍍
It’ll close this afternoon for a €3 million redevelopment pic.twitter.com/iH2SZXuC83
— Stephen Murphy (@Stephen_Murphy5) August 23, 2019
Today.
Dublin’s Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Market between Capel Street and Smithfield in Dublin 7 will close today, after being open for 127 years, to make way for a redevelopment which is expected to take two years.
Last week RTÉ reported that a compensation package for the last remaining stallholders at the market was believed to involve up to €5million.
A tender for the redevelopment will be put out next month.
Meanwhile…
Gaz Smith, of Michael’s restaurant on Mount Merrion in Dublin, has tweeted that he has seen the council’s planned redevelopments…
He’s tweeted…
Anyone?
Dublin’s Victorian market closes after 127 years (Olivia Kelly, The Irish Times)
Previously: At The Market
Pics: Old Dublin Town
Yesterday afternoon
Last night.
The Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (above) calls out French President Emmanuel Macron (top) for using a stock picture of a rainforest fire taken before 2003. Mr Bolsonora has accused environmental groups of setting the fires in the Amazon.
Amazon fires turn political as Brazil’s president calls out France’s Macron (Fox)
The Amazon in Brazil is on fire – how bad is it? (BBC)
UPDATE:
This lunchtime.
A protest over the fires is taking place at the embassy of Brazil at the Harcourt Centre on Charlotte Way, Dublin 2.
Pics: Cllr Darragh Butler and Martin J Gilbert
Disappointed on so many levels that #cuttingedgerte is not coming back in #rtenewseason. I know how hard Brendan and everyone @MindtheGapFilms worked to keep it relevant and interesting. People STILL come up to me in the street to say how much they enjoy it. That’s rare.
— Jennifer O’Connell (@jenoconnell) August 22, 2019
The 49-year-old is said to be “stunned” after station bosses dropped his Cutting Edge show despite strong ratings and an IFTA award under his belt.
An RTE spokesman yesterday told the Irish Sun: “Cutting Edge is taking a rest for the moment.
“We are working on other projects with Brendan, which will hopefully see him back on screen in 2020.”
But a show insider told us Cutting Edge “won’t be back” on RTE screens.
They added: “If RTE don’t have the money to make Cutting Edge this year, it’s unlikely they’ll have the cash to make it in 2020 when they’ll have even less money.”
Too edgy?
Not edgy enough?
We may never know
Yesterday: Anything On?
Timber
at
Shareholders in Irish Forestry Funds (IFF) have seen their investment wither on the vine. Top from left: IFF Managing Director Trevor McHugh, Marketing Director Paul Brosnan and Chairman Richard Hoare in 2010
This morning.
Via The Irish Times:
To the surprise of many of the 12,400 shareholders who pitched in over the years, IFF has just sold its portfolio of 18 funds to Axa Investment Managers.
Shareholders, who thought they were locked in for years still to come, weren’t consulted ahead of the sale, which was decided by [Paul] Brosnan and IFF co-director Trevor McHugh. The directors say the decision was legally mandated to them.
IFF investors’ cheques arrived in the post on Wednesday morning, and, judging from correspondence to this newspaper and on online forums, many are furious with the outcome.
The Axa deal has resulted in annual returns of between 2 and 3 per cent in most cases. That’s a far cry from the huge “illustrative returns” in the marketing bumf.
Investors in Irish forestry learn money doesn’t grow on trees (Cantillion, Irish Times)
Investors’ fury as forestry fund sale ends hope of hitting return targets (Independent.ie)
Dog Days
at
‘Sup?
This morning.
Along the Royal Canal, Dublin
Carlosfandango writes:
Mr Hugh contemplating all things worth considering. Stunning morning….
Up The Wall
at
“I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter”
In awe of this #brendanbehan mural which popped up in the North Inner City this week. pic.twitter.com/bR5kWjSvNW
— Dublin By Pub (@dublinbypub) August 23, 2019
In fairness.
Artist, anyone?
Meanwhile…
Yesterday.
Waterford city.
John Gallen writes:
A small teaser of three of the new walls to be seen for 2019’s Waterford Walls this weekend,
Of the three pieces pictured…
Artist: Taquen – image of a woman. Can be seen on Thomas Street .
Artist: Colour Hive – image under the archway.Can be seen under the arch on Great George’s Street.
Artist: Nina Valkhoff – green image with foxes. Can be seen on Gracedieu Road.
Top from left: deputy Commissioner John Twomey, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, Assistant Commissioner Michael Finn and Chief Administrative Office Joseph Nugent
This afternoon.
Harcourt Street, Dublin 2
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris unveils the new Garda Operating Model, considered to be ‘the biggest restructuring of the force in modern times’.
An Garda Síochána says that there will be an increasing number of community policing teams.
It also says that there will be a reduction in administrative structures and the community policing teams will be working with communities to identify and tackle problem crimes in their area.
…the changes are designed to deal with the changes in Irish society, including the diversity of communities, the nature of crime and changes in the garda workforce.
…there will be an improvement in garda technical capabilities to tackle cyber crime, with 50 gardaí currently studying for a postgraduate qualification in economic crime.
Among the changes included is a reduction in garda regions from six to four and a reduction in the number of garda divisions from 28 to 19.
This is designed to release more gardaí to frontline duties and deliver a more localised service to communities…
FIGHT!
Nearly 1,800 extra gardaí at frontline as part of structural changes (RTÉ)
Full report here