Dublin Walking Guide

The columned shelter on the left of the print, is one of a pair of shelters for the sedan-chair-men, which were demolished in 1943. The street view, shows the obelisks that were reinstated in front of the gallery, which are also visible in Malton's print.

Malton's print (poor colour quality) is of Charlemount-House, built from 1762, and now the Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square. In 1929 Dublin Corporation demolished a great part of it, keeping only the front rooms. The trees on the left are where the Garden of Remembrance is now.

Almost hidden away in a corner of Merrion Square is this wonderful 1923 sculpture by Andrew O'Connor entitled The 'Victims'. Dedicated to the victims of war, it depicts a dead war hero returned home and being mourned by his wife who kneels beside him and mother who stands.

The bridge in front of the house is the James Joyce Bridge by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. It was opened on 16 June 2003 (Bloomsday). The pre-fabricated steel sections are from Harland and Wolff, Belfast, of Titanic fame. (Photo by Jeff).

This nice image by Declan O Doherty shows No. 15 Usher's Island (no longer an island). Two of James Joyce's aunts ran a music school here. Joyce made it the setting for his short story The Dead. We think the house was sold recently but have no idea what will happen it.

The inspiration for a recurring motif of screaming mouths in many of Bacon's works of the late 1940s and early 1950s was drawn from a number of sources, including photographic stills of the nurse in the Odessa Steps scene in Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 silent Battleship Potemkin.

In 1998 the Hugh Lane Gallery, acquired and moved Bacon's studio and its entire contents from London to Dublin. The move involved art historians and archaeologists who made the survey and elevation drawings of the studio, mapping out the spaces and locations of the objects.

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon (1909–1992) was an Irish figurative painter known for his bold, often grotesque, and emotionally charged, raw imagery. His work typically focused on a single subject for sustained periods, often in triptych or diptych formats.

Originally Werburgh's had a steeple (two versions actually). British authorities were suspicious of the tower as it overlooked their seat of power in Dublin castle, so between 1810 and 1836 it was removed. It can be seen in the centre of Malton's print of the Castle.

We like the church's 'rate card' for various church services. There are two rates for everything; one for parishioners and another more expensive rate for "foreigners". Muffled bell ringing at a funeral for example was £1.1s for parishioners, but six shillings more for outsiders.

St. Werburgh's Church was originally built in 1178, shortly after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in Dublin, and named after St. Werburgh, abbess of Ely and patron saint of Chester who died in 699 AD. John Field the composer (see earlier post) was baptised here (see plaque).