National Concert Hall
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The DDDA are still hellbent on getting a major player into their vacant site on Grand Canal Dock and the next candidate (after the Abbey was forced to give up the idea) seems to be the NCH. It makes sense I Suppose if they develop something along the mines of Belfasts Waterfront Hall. The funny thing is the Government in the form of far sighted and visionary Arts Minister De Valera seem to be ignoring O;Connell Street AGAIN! for this institution. It seems she is convinced that a shopping mall is definately the way to go on O’Connell St. There are also indictations taht she is considering a site on Infirmary Road for a NCH!! Well that makes sense!
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Infirmary road does make sense, there is a cluster of cultural institutions around there, collins barracks, the imma, the gaol, the zoo and the possibility of more, something in the magazine, maybe something in clancy barracks. it will be serviced by the luas too and maybe the interconnector in the far future.
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April 2006
So the saga finally comes to an end with yesterday’s announcement:
http://www.irish-architecture.com/news/2006/000094.html
So where is this new auditorium likely to be located in the complex? It’s going to take up a lot of space, and all of the quadrangles have long since been filled in, so it can’t just be slotted into place behind the narrow Earlsfort Terrace block…
The opportunity for a major new facade to the Iveagh Gardens is fantastic though – presumably this will consume in its entirety the substantial, almost derelict service space between the rear of the complex and the Iveagh wall. It seems the new auditorium will have to be placed horizontally along here, parallel to the front block if it’s to minimise consumption of the gardens…
And will the trees and general scrub be cleared away here to reveal views of the gardens? Perhaps for the best given some unsavoury tales of ‘activities’ in this area, but it would a shame to lose the mature winding walk along here all the same, allbeit admittedly in poor condition at this stage.
Anyone know what the interior of the Earlsfort block is like? What will the NCH want with acres and acres of lecture rooms and offices?
I’m in two minds about whether this remnant of the original building phases of the Butler complex should be preserved in the expansion – it’s almost earned a right to be added to the Dublin curiosities list at this stage: -
There were plans on display somewhere for the proposed new arrangement…cant think where. Might have been Irish Times even. On a related issue, yesterdays IT reported that the BofI Arts Centre is to close. BofI said it was nothing to do with funding but taht the facilities at the Centre were simply not acceptable for a modern venue. One would have to wonder how all the greats like Bach, Mozart etc managed to write and perform without 21stC state of the art facilities….
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@Graham Hickey wrote:
The opportunity for a major new facade to the Iveagh Gardens is fantastic though – presumably this will consume in its entirety the substantial, almost derelict service space between the rear of the complex and the Iveagh wall. It seems the new auditorium will have to be placed horizontally along here, parallel to the front block if it’s to minimise consumption of the gardens…
And will the trees and general scrub be cleared away here to reveal views of the gardens? Perhaps for the best given some unsavoury tales of ‘activities’ in this area, but it would a shame to lose the mature winding walk along here all the same, allbeit admittedly in poor condition at this stage.As far as I remember, there’s a clause in the lease for the Iveagh Gardens that prevents development from encroaching on the bulk, if not all, of the gardens. It was a (convenient) hindrance when the UCD authorities were looking to expand on the site in the 1950s/1960s.
Can’t think what else the Butler building would be used for, though. I’ve been on the ground floor and in the basement (once painted a crappy mural on the wall of the canteen) and the facilities are spartan, to put it diplomatically. And where will the new entrance go? To be formal and ceremonial, it would have to go through the existing main concert hall.
Lastly, I presume this won’t impact on Ireland’s last intact purpose-built Real Tennis court- it’s the redbrick building with its gable facing Earlsfort Terrace, afaik. A curious remnant that has been subject to various plans in recent years, but has withstood them all thus far.
What stories have you heard about the gardens, Graham? I can possibly guess, but haven’t heard any myself.
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ctesiphon you will be pleased (though hardly surprised) to know that the Real Tennis Court is protected, though of course that doesn’t exclude a possibility of delisting. Hardly likely surely?
Looking at various sources, it’s estimated it would cost in excess of €2 million to restore it from the current science labs housed there back to its original condition.
Also as dc3 posted from D -
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@GrahamH wrote:
Does anyone know what that top-lit red brick building is used for to the very south of the picture – you can see inside it passing by and it has a great exposed internal roof trusses and maybe even iron braces etc.
Hmmm dunno, but where was the old architecture studios?
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26/3/2009
A new statue of the world-renowned Irish tenor Count John McCormack was recently unveiled (2008) in the Iveagh Gardens. Created by sculptor Elizabeth O’Kane, the memorial was commissioned by the John McCormack Appreciation Trust.
A bronze statue mounted on a granite plinth, the sculpture is snugly located in a peaceful enclave adjacent to the Earlsfort Terrace entrance to the gardens. Its presentation is elegantly understated.
O’Kane’s style is clearly apparent: “Her work follows the realist tradition and is representational in content, with an overriding calmness throughout. She sculpts people, animals and birds and her sculptures are elegant and tactile. Elizabeth is especially interested in portraiture, anatomy and movement, and in capturing the sitter’s personality and expression.”
Beautiful detailing.
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It is such a waste with all this money; a substantial quantity, being spent on these boring boring sculptures. We used to be so good at this, when Edward Delaney was casting the Wolfe Tone for the Green it was a big public thing with discussion and controversy and an amazing result. Now we get this endless procession of dull, nice, realist bronzes that are neither interesting nor exceptionally good, compare this to a genuinely good realist sculpture: Salmon in TCD for eg and weep.
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Me, I’ve always had a penchant for Baroue sculpture, ye know the type of stuff….busts and bosoms, flesh, flowing robes, fruits and flowers, equestrian, etc…of the likes of the master sculptor Bernini etc…
Victorians were experts too at public sculptures, even if the subject matter was very vacuous ie royalty etc…and the finished piece very OTT.I don’t think sculpture will reach such heights again as the Baroque. Hence today we get such muted little bronze pieces in comparison.
Anyone see the recent bombastic piece unveiled to the Queen of England’s mother in London. To look at the piece ye’d think that the old dear was a great leader of the masses when she lived. What a lie!
However, I’d be all on for more public sculpture pieces in Dublin please. It’s a part of what makes a city great.
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Has Iveagh Gardens found a role – as a national sculpture park? Brilliant use for it and it’s good to see a representational interpretation of McCormack (whom I’ve never liked; far too folksy and with terrible sound recordings). Agreed that we are not in a ‘good’ period for sculpture (but a lot better than Tonehenge, notjim), although some of the more recent generic/group efforts are better than individual subjects (I can imagine what a horror the sculpture of that ‘acid-tongued bitch’ (to quote Edward VIII), the so-called Queen Mother, is).
If the NCH ever is extended, the wall between it and IG should be demolished and the whole regarded as part of an extended campus.
GregF: to pick up your point about the baroque: why did they not stick an over-the-top baroque bust of Handel over the so-called Handel Arch on Fishamble St? What a gesture that would be!
If you want to see a good contemporary sculptor working in the grand monumental style, have a look at the work of Alexander Stoddart. -
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Haha I knew I’d trigger notjim off; mentioning modern bronze and a popular figure in the same sentence is like pushing the Play button. I’d tend to agree insofar as I’m not a big fan of bronze used in this way – I find it has much greater effect when used to exquisite perfection like marble, or alteratively greatly texturised in an abstract manner, as for example with Larkin or the Famine figures. The in-betweeny trend of present is rarely emotive; the all-consuming blackness tends to soak up the light and thus the contrast of lower relief elements, while the mottled finish proves unsatisfying.
Certainly the stance and the character of McCormack is extremely well captured though, and the qualities of bronze emerge to great effect with higher relief parts such as the hands and the broad expanses of plain undulating surfaces to the rear.
Its simplicity appeals to most of us at some level – a people’s statue for a singer of the people? (are these ‘people’ the same people that Vincent Browne so relishes attacking the Worker’s Party over their use of the term ‘working people’?)
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i presume it next to doorway between the concert hall and the park, much footfall?
the sculpture is very very good, not easy to get opened mouth singing and motion like that. bravo
how about traditional bronze but also (a robust) gramophone with his recordings on it,which you can turn on and off, along with a seat and a 300 degree hedge to block the sound from the rest of the park.
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Yes I agree. It is also the perfect location for the three statues recently removed from the Millenium Garden on Dame Street, not least as they would be returning home, having originally come from the 1865 Exhibition Palace on Earlsfort Terrace when it was remodelled for UCD into its current form in 1914.
They currently languish in storage wrapped up in steel sections, ironically out of doors, when they could just as easily rest out of doors in the Iveagh Gardens where people could actually see them.
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They could make mini versions and sell them on The Irish Times website. I suppose it’s a question of personal taste, well what isn’t, but he (it) would be better suited singing to the hags with the bags. Come to think of it most taste is foisted on most people, so it should sell well.
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Where did the tower in the above picture go to?
It’s visible in this picture too
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/291/18727590293_39875ba065_b.jpg
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