Dublin

I quite like wandering around Dublin-it has a certain carefree ambiance and a pub on every corner which are probably the same qualities which attracted the  Vikings 1,000 years ago.  The last time I was in Dublin the rain came down like stair-rods.  You can only spend so many hours drinking Guinness as hard as you try so we ended up going to watch " Far and Away" where Tom Cruise's depiction of a "top o' the morning to ye" Irish bhoy adopted every cliche ever given to the Irish race and while his cocky, joking and fighting Irish lad is immensely entertaining it must put a terrible strain on any Irish wimps that are knocking about having to live up to that image.  Anyway, the Dublin audience thought it was a documentary and clapped when Tom got the girl, his land and just about anything else that was going in the promised land of America.
There's never any shortage of American accents in Dublin so the Irish/American love affair lives on and why not.

James Joyce figures high in the pantheon of Dublin literary figures but I must confess that I could never get past the first page of Ulysses and take it on trust that this is one of the great books of all time.
The statue here has the great man standing by the Liffey but in actuality it is just off O'Connell St  outside a tavern which would not have upset Joyce by all accounts.
What might have upset him though is the Dubliner's nickname for his statue:
The Prick with the Stick.

Molly Malone stands at the bottom of Grafton St right outside Trinity College.  Legend has it that Molly sold her " Cockles and Mussels " by day and her body by night.  Judging by the size of her bosom it can only be a blessing that it wasn't melons that she sold and before anyone starts in about sexism and all that, this portrayal of Molly was by a lady sculptor --Jeanne Rynhart.
The story of Molly has been lost in the mists of time but she is generally placed as a 17th Century lady who plied her trade roughly in the area around where the statue is situated. The story has its detractors and there are people who have spent a lifetime investigating the story but I prefer the legend.  
Jeanne Rynhart has also sculpted another famous Irish girl.  She stands in an alcove carrying a suitcase onto Ellis Island ---the first immigrant to the United States.

Dublin has many similarities to Liverpool and for many reasons ---- one of them is that Liverpool has an alter ego to Molly called Maggie May.  Maggie also has a famous ballad dedicated to her carryings -on but unlike Molly, Maggie May's story is well documented.  
There is no statue of Maggie but it is reasonably certain that no Scouser would ever be so irreverent to nickname it in the way the Dubliners have poor Molly who is commonly called;
THE TART WITH THE CART.

And just when you think that things can't get any worse, one day this apparition appeared at the top of O'Connell St which the Dublin public at large promptly called:
THE FLOOZY IN THE JACUZZI
which really says it all.  
In reality, it is a representation of Anna Livia which in turn is James Joyce's representation of The Spirit of The Liffey.  Nelson's Column, blown up by Republicans in 1966, stood in O'Connell St and there must have been some pangs of remorse when the floozy appeared.  
I have to say that if any Republicans did have to take it upon themselves to remove Nelson from their midst it is a puzzle as to why they didn't remove just the statue and top the column with an Irish patriot such as Daniel O'Donnell or Christy Moore.  The other thing is that if the English blew up every statue of everyone with Irish connections then the streets would be noticeably bare.
By the way, the fountain running at the back is known as Viagra Falls.

Just in case there's anyone out there 
taking any offence to the nicknames of the
monuments and figures around Dublin then it
may be as well to remember that it
is the Dubliners themselves who have coined these
 phrases and witticisms and 
they would be the first to tell you that it
is all done in good fun and is an affectionate nod to
the statues that populate their city.  So there.

The gent deep in thought is the poet Patrick Kavanagh seated  by the Grand Canal close to Baggot Street  bridge.
The statue is typical of the way Dublin characters are portrayed in their favourite haunts posed in just the way they would have appeared in real life.  Nobody knows who his mate is.
Interestingly, this statue is based on a true incident in the life of  the great poet when he sat on this very bench for the whole of three days trying to think of a word to rhyme with Guinness.  After a passerby had fished him out of the canal his wife was reported as saying, quote: " It's the last time I send you out for a loaf  Patrick Kavanagh ! : unquote.

I have to say that I don't really like this depiction of the 18th century Republican, Wolfe Tone which stands on the corner of St Stephens green and the only reason I have included it is as an example of modern art which just doesn't work 
{ more about this later }. The front of the work which is not in sight here is also in stone and all in all the whole thing takes up a massive corner of this beautiful Georgian square.  The locals call it Tonehenge but that's about the only
 thing of merit in the whole piece.
Right across the road is the house where Bram Stoker lived and fittingly there is also a small Huguenot cemetery dating back to the 16th century which make the Wolfe Tone monument even more incongruous.

St Stephens green is right in the centre of Dublin comprising a beautiful garden full of ponds and fountains and dotted around with statues.  The whole of the garden is surrounded by Georgian houses and the overall effect is of 
an opulence of yesteryear which is very much valued today. 
The statue above is at the southern entrance and was a donation from the German government.  It is called " The Fates" and refers to the Greek fates who held the threads of life.  Deadly Nightshade has the Latin name Atropa Belladonna after one of the three innocents depicted here.

Just around the corner and totally out of context, stands this statue of an Indian brandishing what used to be a bow.The word Remington is chiselled into the base and when I first came across this statue I thought I had found a genuine Remington Indian on the streets of Dublin and became quite beside myself.  Frederic Remington, for those who don't know is acknowledged as the greatest of the Western artists and sculptors and his work is very much in demand -- there is even a
 miniature bronze in the White House.  Sadly, this one is just a replica  but it shows a rare taste for the unusual and has scared a few late-night revellers.

The tourist carriages at the entrance to the Green offering trips around the city are in stiff competition with the shops in Grafton Street.
In particular, the famed Dunns has seen many a shopper enter its hallowed halls ---not to re-emerge for days afterwards.

Just across the halfpenny bridge is the statue of the Hags With The Bags which I think is a bit cruel considering they could be anyone's Mum and  Gran anywhere ---shame on you Dubliners.  Wouldn't something like Mum With Her Chum   be a bit more acceptable.
I suppose they are chatting about whatever women chat about everywhere
 but rumour has it that one said to the other ;"Jeez Mary, These new  bags from Tescos are a bit on the heavy side" but one thing's for sure -- they'll never have to worry about bag-snatchers.

 For anyone interested there's one of those old-fashioned, dusty bookshops just across the  Halfpenny bridge on the quay. The Halfpenny Bridge was built in 1816 and originally named the Wellington Bridge but even then the Dublin penchant for nicknames was apparent and Dubliners called it the Halfpenny Bridge for the toll which was levied for crossing. The toll was in place for over a century and only removed in 1919 but by this time the name was entrenched in Dublin folklore.
 

Whilst trying to keep an open mind and well aware that most innovative art is always viewed with suspicion, I must admit that I have a modicum of  cynicism for so called Modern Art.  Of course, any debate on the subject must first of all establish what constitutes Modern Art -- for instance I love Salvador Dali stuff but does his art  fall into the parameters of Modern Art given that his best work was carried out over 40 years ago ?  I don't think so  ---- -----the so-called Modern Art I am  referring to comes under the heading of works such as a heap of bricks artfully placed which any brickie could manage quite easily or a dead sheep in formaldehyde which wouldn't tax the average butcher and Tracy Emin's bedroom which looks like she needs a smack off her Mum -- and so on.  I  think that these things are pretentious at best and exploitative at worst but I don't think either applies to the 35,000 clay figures on the floor of the Tate by Anthony Gormley.  They are simple and child-like and they make me laugh so does that make them good art ? 
And in the context of this debate does it make them good Modern Art ?

So, although many innovative paintings have an obvious merit,  one or two of the colourful daubings appear to be no more than just that -colourful daubings - but I will mention no names because beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder and worthy of respect for that reason alone. In respect of sculpture, there is a trend to metal figures which appear to have been welded together with bits from a scrap metal yard and melted in a fire.  There is a suspicion that the sculptor is unable to reproduce the sleek and life-like lines of the traditional classical statues and therefore extols the virtues of a lesser skill in the name of Modernity. However, the sculptor who produced The Immigrants has made a mockery of this viewpoint and employing all the artifice of so-called Modern Art has produced an extremely moving interpretation of a group of sufferers from the Famine.  The bedraggled men and women shuffle along the Dublin quay carrying their pathetic possessions, moving from a dreadful past towards an uncertain future invoking memories of the Irish holocaust.

A plaque at the side of the scupture has been signed by dozens of Irish notables from Daniel Day-Lewis to Liam Neeson.

The Great Famine  wasn't the first time that Ireland has suffered in this way  --- in 1317 the population was reduced to cannibalism.  The famine of the 1840's was caused primarily by potato blight [ a fungus disease} where the crops withered in the fields.  There was very little Poor Relief and Dublin was packed with refugees looking for work and food.  Many of them spilled over into Liverpool and many managed to get a passage to America.  Over one million people died during the Famine and even now the population has never full recovered.

After the Great Famine of 1840, most of the Irish immigrants left for America on the ships from Liverpool docks. Many of them never made it to the promised land and remained in Liverpool ; some of them were fleeced, some fell ill, others could not find work and didn't go while others did find work and decided to remain.
The Irish immigrants who did stay enhanced the City of Liverpool in many ways too complex to describe here but as a small example- just around the corner from where I live are the cottages of Irish immigrants who quarried the stone for Liverpool Cathedral.  In the middle of them until quite recently there was a large allotment where they grew vegetables and livestock.  This was owned and provided by the Sisters of Dublin who never forgot their own even though they had moved away.

During the late 1700's The British Empire was in its heyday and wherever there was a British 
colony then the British built a Little England.   The remnants of these can still be seen all over the world but some of the finest examples are in Dublin and Merrion Square is one of the greatest examples of Georgian architecture anywhere.  Even the most biased Dubliner would admit to the quality of architecture the British brought to the city. The square consists of a central park surrounded by beautifully preserved Georgian terraces immediately recognizable by their porticos and distinctive and colourful, front doors.  The Duke of Wellington lived there as did W.B.Yeats and Bram Stoker was just around the corner.  And of course Oscar Wilde spent his childhood and formative years there in No.1 { now the American College } and the park in the centre was his playground where no doubt he often heard the clarion call of mother's everywhere ; 
"Oscar, will you get in here before your tea gets cold !"   ---or maybe not.

  Merrion Square is just littered with statues ----there's Bernardo O'Higgins, the Irish Napoleon,  Liam Neeson looking remarkably like Michael Collins and the group below looking like refugees from the ghost train.   The forlorn looking harpist in the above shot is just one of the many statues to be found in Merrion Square.  When I first came across it tucked away in a corner I new nothing about it at all and assumed the subject was a girl { say what you like but I don't think its sexist to assume a skirt and long hair add up to" female"} and gave it a tentative title of Reflections On a Broken Finger Nail but it just goes to show how wrong you can be.  The subject is in fact Turlough OCarolan who lost his sight to smallpoxat the age of 18 but went on to become a famous Irish composer under the patronage of Mrs MacDermott Roe of County Roscommon.  He lived from1670 to 1738 so he must have been an exceptional talent to be remembered after all these years even if his records aren't exactly flying off the shelves at H.M.V.   Sorry about the mistake Turlough--------- but if you will insist on a dress ....

 
The bust of Constance Markievicz { difficult to say this without a double-entendre  } states on the plinth that she became a major in the " Irish Citizen Army 1910".  More than that it is difficult to ascertain but I suspect that 
she was a Russian fellow-traveller in the days of Bolshevism.

The other bust is of Bernardo O'Higgins { circa 1778 ----1842 } who is revered in Chile for being instrumental in the creation of an independent Chile.  In this representation the modest array of medals so becoming of all South American Generals is apparent and despite his nebulous links with Ireland he is celebrated as an Irish hero.

The other group looking like refugees from the ghost train are another set of "melted down" statues.   I don't know why I put them in really ----I just remember them as being really scary. They are set back in an alcove and coming across them unexpectedly at dusk is not to be recommended.

I can resist everything but temptation

The American College at No .1 Merrion Square is right on the corner of the square and was for many years home to Oscar Wilde and his family.  There is a huge blow-up picture of his mother Speranza in the lobby and the College are busy renovating the whole house with respect to the way it was when the Wildes lived there.
Right across the road is where Oscar used to play as a young boy and it is here that the sculptor Danny Osborne has so fittingly sited his collage of sculptures.
 The first time I came across Oscar's colourful figure reclining on a rock I was slightly disappointed as I mistakenly thought the artist had reverted back to the age-old artifice of embellishing his subject with paint which would have been fair enough but a closer inspection reveals what makes this statue so special and a unique work of art ; each of the elements that go to make up the statue are carved in a different stone.
The trio of statues are full of detail and there is a great deal of symbolism which is open to interpretation ---there is a suspicion that the artist has been capricious deliberately à la Oscar himself.
The statuary consists of not just Oscar but two bronzes on plinths --one is a torso and the other a pregnant girl looking reproachfully back at the reclining Oscar.


 We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.

Before starting his work, the artist Danny Osborne travelled extensively for several years to gather the stone required and the resulting work of art has well justified his odyssey.  Oscar is depicted at around 40 years of age.  His face is sculpted in porcelain and has an odd twisted look --- one side has been sculpted sad and the other happy reflecting the duality of his nature.  His smoking jacket is Green Jade with the collar and cuffs made of the very rare Pink Thulite { the rich colours are deliberate, simulating the richness of Oscar's persona }.  His trousers are Blue Pearl Granite and his shoes are Black Pearl Indian Granite while his shoelaces { yes, it is that detailed }, buttons and carnation are of  bronze.  The carnation itself is an emblem of the amoral conventions of the era.  
His shirt is porcelain as is his Trinity Old Boys tie while his porcelain fingers boast the three rings that Oscar always wore ; his wedding ring and two emerald scarabs, one representing joy and the other misfortune 

One cannot have joy without misfortune.

The two bronze nudes, one a pregnant girl and the other a torso  both seated on  plinths have been interpreted in several ways-- one theory has it that the girl is Oscar's mother Speranza, Lady Francesca Wilde.  A more complicated theory has it that one pillar represents Art with the torso being Dionysus or Bacchus and the other representing Life with a 6 month pregnant Constance looking over her shoulder at Oscar ---his first homosexual relationship took place at this time when she was carrying her second child.  
Oscar is looking through the two figures to the door of his home and it could be said that he is looking through his present and into his past.  

I think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his abilities.