Bulletin from the office of PuBlic Works Issue 20 : DecemBeR 2008

OBAIRBulletin from the offic

e of PuBlic Works

Issue 20 : DecemBeR 2008

Wexford oPera house, Battle of th

e Boyne Visitor centre,

castletoWn - nui archiVe and research centre,

aPPreciation of cholmeley dering choleley-harrison,

the Phoenix Park Visitor centre

2

contents

3 introduction

4 Wexford opera house

7 Phoenix Park Visitor centre

10 david Byers

12 castletown house/nui partnership. strokestown

14 Websites relaunch

16 tribute to chomneley harrison

19 dublin Zoo/haughton house refurbishment.

22 Pearse museum

26 inis and Psa openings, tipperary. town

28 Battle of the Boyne improvement works

30 staffing lists

Images: deer

in Phoenix Park;

Wexford opera

house (above).

interior of major

cholmeley-

harrison’s estate

at emo, co laois

(opposite page).

Pearse museum in

rathfarnham (cover)

WelcOme

Welcome to issue 20 of oBair magaZine, the year-end edition for 2008 2008 was another busy and challenging year for the

oPW and in this edition we bring you details of some

of the projects on which the office has been working

over the last six months.

We feature articles on the newly refurbished

haughton house, which opened in dublin Zoo recently

and new premises for both the irish naturalisation and

immigration service and the Private security authority

in county tipperary. september saw the opening of the

newly redesigned Wexford opera house, a landmark

cultural building for the south-east, which garnered

great praise for the many oPW staff who were

involved on the project. We also bring you further

details of the Visitor facilities at the Battle of the

Boyne site in oldbridge, county meath which opened

in may 2008 and featured heavily in the last issue

of this magazine. on a similar theme we bring you an

item on the Phoenix Park Visitor centre and on a new

partnership between the nui and castletown house.

you may have noticed that some of our websites

have undergone a transformation in recent months.

We bring you details of the new content management

system whereby trained staff can now make

changes to our websites locally.

sadly, tragedy touched the office in the second half

of 2008 with the sudden and premature deaths of

both commissioner david Byers and eamon healy,

gsa, claremorris. to both their families we offer our

sincere condolences. also this year, the man who

donated emo court to the state, major. cholmeley d.

harrison passed away, just short of his hundredth

birthday, and this issue features an appreciation of

his life and extraordinary benevolence.

thank you, as always, to all our colleagues who

contributed articles for inclusion in this edition of the

magazine. We welcome all contributions, no matter

how big or how small. keep them coming!

We hope you enjoy this edition of your obair magazine.

george moir

kevin kennedy

Jenny dimond

Obair editorial Team

obair - december 2008 3

Wexford oPera house

this project began in 2003 when the oPW was

requested by the dept of arts, sport and tourism,

in its role as major funding provider, to review

various options then under consideration for the

redevelopment of the theatre royal, home of the

world-famous Wexford opera festival. the condition

of the existing theatre was deteriorating, and its

facilities were extremely cramped both for audience

and performers. it had been operating at full capacity

for the nine previous festivals, and a major increase

in capacity was required in order for the festival to

continue and develop. early oPW feasibility studies

indicated that the existing theatre could not be

usefully extended any further, and the selected

development option was complete new-build, on a

site now doubled in size. oPW architectural services

worked in collaboration with the client’s specialist

consultants – who advise on acoustic and theatre

planning matters - to produce an agreed brief and

budget at the end of 2003. the oPW submitted a

planning application in July 2004, and permission

was granted in november 2004. matters then lay in

abeyance whilst final funding arrangements were

being finalised, and the momentum of the project

resumed in september of 2005, with a construction

budget of €30 million and the appointment of a full

design team, which included oPW m+e services and

keith Williams architects, working in collaboration with

oPW architectural services; arup acoustics, carr and

angier, arup consulting engineers and nolan ryan, Qs.

the project timetable was extremely tight, as it

would not have been feasible for the organisation

to produce more than two annual festivals without a

premises of its own. full detail design was developed

over the subsequent seven months, and the contract

documentation was sent to tender in april 2006. in the

meantime, the last opera festival in the old theatre

royal concluded on 6th november 2005, and the

building was cleared for demolition the following week.

separate contracts for demolition, soil contamination

testing, archaeological investigations and the

construction of a new esB substation, were carried

out over the following months, and the site was

handed over to the selected contractor, cleary doyle

contracting ltd, on July 3rd 2006, three days after the

archaeologist’s team vacated the site. all the major

milestones of the project were achieved practically to

the day, and the completed building was handed over

on 1st august 2008. oPW continued to be involved,

particularly through its m+e engineering services, in

commissioning the very complex installations over

the subsequent months, whilst the opera festival

organisation established itself in the building and

performers, directors, designers and technical teams

arrived in early september, to begin rehearsal for the

2008 festival.

WexfORD

4

Images: Wexford

by night (above).

Wexford opera

house interior

(opposite page).

Wexford opera

house exterior

(page 6).

6

the new Wexford opera house was formally opened

by an taoiseach, Brian cowen td, on friday 5

september 2008, and the occasion was marked with

a broadcast of rte’s the late late show, bringing

this publicly-funded, unique cultural asset to the

immediate attention of a nationwide audience.

the building is the first purpose-built opera house

in ireland in modern times. it features a main

auditorium for 780 persons, and a multi-purpose

“black-box” performing space for 170, in addition to

several rehearsal spaces, production and front

of house facilities and offices. the main auditorium

contains two double-decker orchestra pit lifts, which

allows for many different configurations, for opera,

dance, drama, conferences, smaller recitals, etc.

two principal objectives inform the design of the

auditorium: traditional horseshoe-shaped balconies

bring the audiences in the upper tiers into closer

contact with the action on stage, and populate

the side walls at three levels, enlivening the room;

and, uniquely in a music venue, all the surfaces of

the auditorium are clad in walnut, while precision-

crafted lighting bridges hang from the ceiling,

the combination calling to mind the materials and

craftsmanship of a stringed instrument. externally,

the bulk of the building is concealed behind the

reinstated houses of historic high st, whilst the fly

tower over the stage becomes the only element

visible from distant viewpoints, a landmark indicating

the presence of a unique new building. as such, it is

clad in copper, a material long associated with civic

buildings in irish towns and cities; and its shape,

opening outwards and upwards to the sky, evokes

the aspirations for the artistic activities within.

ciarán mcgahon

Architectural services


the Phoenix Park Visitor centre

the Phoenix Park Visitor centre is situated on

the grounds of the old Papal nunciature and

is signposted from the Phoenix monument on

chesterfield avenue, the main road in the park.

the complex comprises the modern Visitor centre,

the restored seventeenth century ashtown castle,

the Phoenix cafe, a cobbled courtyard for eating al

fresco, the nineteenth century walled garden and a

state of the art new childrens playground.

aras an uachtarain and the american ambassador’s

residence are the other two main buildings within

hailing distance.

the Visitor centre, a two storied structure in the old

stables of the Papal nunciature, was opened to the

public in september 1992 and is set in an attractive

landscaped environment. the Phoenix Park is

renowned for its beautiful trees of oak, beech, horse

chestnuts and lime and the Visitor centre is beside

an arboretum incorporating many beautiful old trees

such as yew, cypress and giant redwood.

Besides the spacious car parking facilities close to

the Visitor centre there is now a hop-on hop-off

Phoenix Park shuttle Bus with commentary, which

provides direct access to the Visitor centre from

Parkgate street every 30 minutes from 7am – 7pm

monday to friday and 10am – 7pm saturday and

sunday and Public holidays, stopping at dublin Zoo,

farmleigh, st. mary’s hospital, Papal cross amongst

other stops of interest.

the Visitor centre provides an enjoyable

interpretation of the park, one the largest enclosed

recreational spaces within any european capital city.

the Phoenix Park is larger than all of london’s city

parks put together and more than twice the area of

new york’s central Park.

Visitor numbers to the Visitor centre in 2007 were

38,427. this year’s numbers will show a marked

increase on last year’s due to the many new

initiatives implemented by the Park superintendent/

historic Properties along with free admission to the

site from January 2007.

staff at the Visitor centre have a wide range of

activities as part of a normal days work - dispensing

admission tickets, answering queries on the history,

flora and fauna of the park, operating audio visual

equipment, liaising with Park rangers re reporting of

lost dogs, etc., and giving information on the Visitor

centre and places of local interest to groups that

include school groups and visitors from all over the

world. Visitors can step back in time with free guided

PhOenIx PARk

8

tours of ashtown castle which are available daily at

11am, 12.00pm, 2.00pm, 3.pm and 4pm. there is also an

audio visual on the Phoenix Park through the ages

or on the history of aras an uachtarain which takes

about 20 minutes for visitors to enjoy.

sundays are usually the busiest day with a free

children’s Workshop from 10.30am – 12.30pm

incorporating themes of nature awareness, history/

heritage and arts and crafts into a creative and fun

learning environment for children on the art kart

area on the first floor. talks and walks and other

events from discovering ecology with live exhibits

of creepy crawlies, lizards and frogs to historical

re-enactments with visiting re-enactors along with

guides dressed up in medieval costume take place

every month. a full programme of events is published

every six months and is available from various

outlets including the Visitor centre, 51 st. stephens

green reception and the oPW intranet.

art exhibitions and demonstrations change on a

monthly basis in the exhibition room with local and

Images: deer at

the Papal cross in

Phoenix Park, dublin

(previous page).

margaret mcguirk,

roy Barron, and

alex gomez martin

in medieval costume

(above), Pauline

kennedy in medieval

costume (left). duke

exhition at Phoenix

Park Visitor centre

(opposite page).


national artists’ exhibits enhancing the stone walls

and cobbled floor of the restored old stables.

free guided tours to aras an uachtarain take place

on saturdays from the Visitor centre every hour

from 10.30am to 3.30pm and the cycle lanes in the

park are seeing an increase in use with a bike hire

facility which is available at the Parkgate street

entrance (contact 086 2656258). the first saturday

of every month is also a busy time for the Phoenix

Park gardeners who are available to the public in

the restored Victorian kitchen walled garden from

10.30am answering questions on soil preparation,

plant propagation and much more.

this summer saw new oPW summer camps for

children in association with eco unesco launched

at the Visitor centre with almost 300 children

discovering nature in the Phoenix Park through fun

activities in a safe and educational environment.

We hope to continue with this successful venture

next summer and in addition are rolling out modules

on environmental awareness from January 09 to

Primary schools on trees, mammals, heritage, eco

art and sustainability based on the Primary school

curriculum.

the interpretive and educational programmes at

the Phoenix Park Visitor centre increase visitor

awareness of the significance of the Park and its

features and for the wider work of the oPW in

general. the Park has something for everyone

to enjoy whether in passive or active recreation

and we hope you will pay us a visit in the not too

distant future.

contact details:

01 6770095 or email [email protected]

open Wed – sun. 9.30am – 5.30pm november –

february inc and 10am – 6pm march to october inc

Buses 37, 38, 39 and 70 from hawkins street to the

halfway house roundabout on navan road.

train to ashtown station from connolly station.

Pauline kennedy

heritage services

10

commissioner daVid Byers

i saw david before i met him. he was standing in

the upper yard in dublin castle. tall, manly and

prepossessing in appearance – that was my

initial impression and it’s also my abiding memory.

i first met david in march 1996. in the intervening

years i got to know him well. as a colleague he was

dynamic and inspirational. as a friend he was loyal

and supportive.

david was a unique character with extraordinary

talents. he also had an amazing range of interests;

literature, music, art, military history, concerts, and

sport, were just some of his many interests.

his passion for motor racing was well known. less

well known was his love for football. a regular

supporter of the league of ireland, his tall frame

could easily be spotted in the small crowds at soccer

venues around dublin.

as a supporter of West ham united he surprised

many visitors to his office with “i’m forever Blowing

Bubbles” permanently scrolling on his computer

screen.

david loved all things visual. he had a great eye

for style. you can see this in the projects that

he was involved in, leinster house, farmleigh,

castletown house, dublin castle and government

Buildings, glencree, avondale and many, many more

throughout the country.

david was never afraid to challenge convention.

he was never shy about introducing bold and

imaginative ideas. the vibrant colours on the back

of dublin castle is pure davidesque. it was highly

controversial at the time but loved by the public,

and international t.V. crews, and it is now part of

the city’s fabric.

his sense of style was also very evident in the way

he dressed. his neckties were regularly the topic of

conversation in the office. one of our younger female

staff described a particular tie as “way out there”. in

many ways she was describing david himself –

he was way out there from the rest of us.

apart from his immense contribution as an architect

david was also a gifted event organiser. the bigger

the event and the shorter the notice, the bigger the

buzz he got. he just hit the turbo button and off he

went. decisive and practical, you could have absolute

confidence that everything would not only work, but

work extremely well. he was involved with all high

level state functions, state funerals, Presidential

DAvID ByeRs

Image: commissioner

david Byers


inaugurations, heads of state and european

Presidency meetings and most recently the hugely

successful launch of the Battle of the Boyne Visitor

centre.

david was a visionary but never lost sight of the

smallest detail. that was his genius and that is why

he was so successful in everything he managed.

in his role as commissioner he was responsible

for the transformation of the management of the

state Property portfolio. through clever and timely

property deals he swelled the state coffers by

hundred of millions of euro in the space of a few

years. and there was more to come.

david also revamped and streamlined oPW’s Building

maintenance services to the point where clients now

enjoy a better service and quicker turnaround times.

he spearheaded the redevelopment of the state

owned property at heuston station and more

recently was focussing his attention on the mountjoy

area and the gPo complex.

these are massive projects and will serve as lasting

monuments to his memory.

david was particularly proud of his role in the

management of our country’s national monuments

and historic properties. his ambition was to make

them accessible to the widest possible audience and

in the process foster a greater public awareness of

our history and the importance of our built heritage.

in pursuing his ambition he was never afraid to

take risks. Who else but david would have had the

courage to stage rock concerts in the upper yard of

dublin castle.

david, above all, was a doer, a finisher, a deal

maker. “don’t write about it, do it”, was his mantra.

he always felt that the paperwork would take care

of itself …. eventually. most of his colleagues will

know what i mean.

in business, david was fearless, occasionally feisty

but always fair. he had strong views and was not

afraid to forcefully express them. With david Byers

there was no hidden agenda – what you saw was

what you got. you knew exactly where he stood and

what he stood for. he was a pleasure to work with

and an inspirational and dynamic force within the

oPW management team. his enthusiasm, his energy

and his commitment were infectious.

i find it extremely difficult to verbalise the sense of

devastation that we all shared when the tragic news

broke. however, i received a text the evening he died,

which describes more eloquently than i ever could

our deep sense of loss. it read;

“sean, we are all deeply shocked at the

news of david’s tragic death. he was such

a fine man, a charismatic leader and very fair

and decent, inspiring loyalty in all of us who

had the privilege of working with him. While

our thoughts are with anne, sarah and Jenna

we will also miss him enormously”.

that text was from a colleague, and i know she

speaks for all of us.

david will never be forgotten by his colleagues

in oPW.

seán Benton

chairman

12

cAsTleTOWn hOuse

launch of the oPW-nui maynooth archiVe and research centre at castletoWn

a new centre for the care and study of archives

and other sources dealing with the history of

irish estates, their houses and inhabitants, was

launched by President mary mcaleese at a reception

on thursday, 13 november in castletown house in

celbridge, county kildare. the oPW-nui maynooth

archive and research centre at castletown opened

its doors to the public for the first time, marking

an exciting new collaboration between the office

of Public Works and the national university of

ireland, maynooth.

the reading room will be officially open to researchers

at a later date in 2009 when professional work on the

archives has been completed.

Built between 1722 and 1729 for William conolly,

speaker of the irish house of commons and the

wealthiest commoner in ireland, castletown house

is ireland’s largest and earliest Palladian style house.

after decades in the care of desmond guinness

and the castletown foundation, it passed in 1994 to

the ownership of the irish state. the office of Public

Works has since refurbished castletown, and in

2007 reopened it as a major cultural and community

resource.

amongst the treasures of the new centre is the

strokestown estate archive, which provides a unique

glimpse into the anglo-irish lifestyle of the Pakenham

mahon family in county roscommon between the

eighteenth and twentieth centuries. containing both

family and estate papers, the collection includes

correspondence, photographs, maps and plans,

property deeds, rent books, labour returns, pamphlets

Images: President

mary mcaleese with

Prof. John hughes,

President n.u.i.

maynooth and

roisin Berry

archivist oPW/ nuim

archive & research

centre examining

the strokestown

Papers (above).


cAsTleTOWn hOuse

and press cuttings. the archive reflects both the

private and public lives of different members of the

family, addressing a variety of different subjects

including marriage and family life, war, estate

management, rent collection, evictions and emigration,

agrarian outrages, and local education.

of particular importance, however, are the papers

relating to the great famine which provide a truly

moving account of ireland’s greatest social disaster

on record, whilst offering a voice to its many victims.

this part of the collection includes a document relating

to an ancestor of President mc aleese, mary lenahan

of elphin street in strokestown. her name appears on

a list of individuals who received meal on strokestown

estate in 1846.

for further information contact

róisín Berry, archivist, at the oPW-nui maynooth

archive and research centre at castletown

([email protected])

roisín Berry

n.u.I. maynooth

Images: from left to right: the hon desmond guinness, knight of glin desmond

fitzgerald, mr dan flinter chairman of the governing authority nuim, michael

finneran td minister for state for housing, urban renewal and developing

areas, chairman seán Benton, commissioner clare mcgrath, President mary

mcaleese, Professor John hughes President nuim, minister of state dr. martin

mansergh td, Professor kevin nowlan chairman of castletown foundation and

mary heffernan, general manager farmleigh. (above, top).

President mary mcaleese with george o’keeffe, caoilfhionn murphy and

Josephine higgins, oPW castletown (above bottom).

14

WeB sITes

oPW WeB sites

the oPW has had a presence on the ‘internet’ or

‘World Wide Web’ since 1995. from its initial role

in providing basic information to the public on

various oPW activities, to meeting our 2002-2005

e-government requirements. since the development

of that first oPW web site, we have had a number of

Business unit ‘specific’ web sites developed to meet

our ever changing needs. these included; iris oifigiuil,

hydro-data, farmleigh, flooding.ie and the more

recent floodmaps.ie, all of which have concentrated

on delivering important information to the public.

in 2004, with the return of the heritage services

to oPW, we inherited two more web sites,

heritageireland.ie and botanicgardens.ie, both of

which required major changes in design to reflect the

oPW’s involvement in these functions.

all of the web sites have had, in the main, static

information with little or no staff interaction.

We originally outsourced the management and

maintenance of the sites which didn’t lend itself to

keeping the sites updated with fresh content and

was quite haphazard in developing and maintaining

standards.

in november 2008, a new look and refreshed

oPW.ie web site was launched. this followed on

the very succesful and well received redesign of

the ‘heritageireland’ web site and the newly created

‘castletown’ web site. the new oPW web site is more

publicly focused on the range of activities which the

office undertakes when compared to the previous

web site which centred on the internal structure

of the office. the new site also uses a ‘content

management system’ (cms) which allows staff to

update information by adding content and amending

as the need arises. it also allows for the uploading

of documents or images and can include links to

external web sites if necessary. over fifty oPW staff

have now been trained in its use and web sites such

as farmleigh, iris oifigiuil, castletown and the more

recent kilkenny castle and Battle of the Boyne web

Images: site

management

system (above).

heritageireland and

castletown Websites

(opposite page)


sites, along with Visitor services section in claremorris

are managing their own information locally.

new features such as ‘virtual tours’ or ‘live’

broadcasting of events are possible as we

witnessed on friday december 21st 2007 - the

shortest day of the year and the celebration of the

Winter solstice at newgrange - when, for the first

time ever, a live broadcast of the Winter solstice

was made available on heritageireland.ie. this was

so well received all over the world that we have

subsequently produced a fine dVd of the occasion

from this footage along with other sourced archive

material and which is now on sale.

needless to say, getting all these web sites ‘live’

would not have been possible without the assistance

of the oPW staff in each of the business units and

indeed the staff of oPW organisation unit in the

implementation of the content management system

and providing the necessary i.t. infrastructure

throughout the oPW. the cms is located on a

server within oPW head office and the actual “live”

sites are hosted on behalf of the oPW by the local

government computer services Board (lgcsB).

in the coming months we look forward to launching the

next oPW web site, Phoenixpark.ie, and no doubt we

will continue to add more and more web sites to our

oPW family of sites well into the future.

george moir

Press Officer

16

aPPreciation of cholmeley dering cholmeley- harrison

Who would think of giving a gandon-designed

Palladian mansion worth many millions to the state

after having spent decades and a great fortune on

restoring it to its original splendour? nevertheless

that is precisely what major cholmeley- harrison did in

1994 when he handed over his great house and estate

at emo, co laois to the oPW to be held in trust for the

irish people.

cholmeley dering cholmeley- harrison was born in

Bearsted in kent in 1908 and was educated in stowe

school and trinity college cambridge where he read

classics. a successful businessman, he was a member

of the london stock exchange for 32 years. during

the second world war he joined the royal marines and

reached the rank of major. in 1945, after demobilisation,

he moved to ireland and bought Woodstown house in

Waterford, where he lived until the mid sixties. a keen

sportsman, he noticed the “for sale” signs outside emo

court while on his way to the races in the curragh and

on impulse he decided to buy the house and estate.

emo court had been in institutional use as a Jesuit

novitiate for many years.

the adaptions made for its previous use presented

many challenges. however the elegance of the exterior

of the house had struck major cholmeley-harrison

and privately he began to plan his great project. the

restoration of emo court became the central ambition

and driving force of his life. over three decades of

restoration major cholmeley-harrison spent many

millions of pounds on the house and gardens while

providing a great deal of work locally.

so why should this quintessential english gentleman

make such an altruistic gesture to the irish people?

at the time of the handover he said simply

APPRecIATIOn

Images: emo court,

driveway (above).

emo court, county

laois (opposite

page, top) emo

court, sitting room

(opposite page,

bottom).

18

“i have no sons and my daughters have other hopes

and homes.....the future of the house is safer this

way. it can’t be sold or turned into a country club”.

the major, as he was known locally, lived on for many

years in emo court after the handover and had

the satisfaction of seeing his handiwork appreciated

by the many visitors who toured the house and

the many more who came to walk , ride and jog in

the estate.

having never managed to make a century in cricket,

the major was determined to live to be a centenarian

but he died just short of his hundredth birthday.

in september 2008 a memorial service was held to

celebrate his hundredth birthday in coolbanagher

church where he lies, hard by his beloved emo.

minister martin mansergh later hosted a reception

for his friends and family in emo court to honour the

memory of this great philanthropist and benefactor

of ireland.

dermot Burke

heritage services

Images: minister

mansergh plants

memorial tree with

councillor tom Jacob

(above left); minister

mansergh speaking

at the memorial with

major chomneley’s

daughters, charlotte

and caroline in the

background

(above right)


haughton house duBlin Zoological gardens Phoenix Park duBlin 8 in 2006 the decision was taken that, as the culmination

works of the three-phase asian elephant Project,

haughton house would be restored to its 1898

splendour. the asian style Pavilion, nestled among

the bamboos of the kaziranga forest trail, would be

brought back to near its original size. it was also

agreed that this landmark building would be reinstated

as an education centre for dublin Zoo.

no original drawings could be sourced and as a result

extensive survey work was carried out by the office

of Public Works architects under kevin Wolahan. in

addition to this, dimensions of the verandah timberwork

had to be ascertained from old photographs and the

few original samples retrieved from site that had been

found hidden under layers of construction.

haughton house was erected in 1898 to the memory

of dr. samuel haughton, the renowned scientist, who

was secretary of the royal Zoological society of

ireland for twenty years. among his accomplishments

was the development of the original equations for

hanging as a humane method of execution, whereby

the neck was broken at the time of the drop, so that

the condemned person did not strangle to death.

haughton house was designed by the late

mr. l. mcdonnell (now mcdonnell dixon architects,

ely Place). originally built for around ir£1,300, the

colonial-style building was located in the heart of

the Zoological gardens and was to house marsupials,

monkeys and British and foreign birds on the ground

floor with a large tearoom and verandah on the first

floor. the tearoom was also to host ‘lectures on

Zoological subjects’ during the summer months as

well as accommodate visiting school children.

hAughTOn hOuse

20

the original footprint of the building was approx.

210sqm with a further 45sqm for the open-air animal

enclosures. access to the upper floor was by means

of two external staircases at the front balcony, which

were later removed and access was through an

additional staircase at the rear. it has had numerous

alterations and extensions over the years, starting

as early as 1905. extensions continued to be added

in an ad-hoc fashion over the succeeding decades,

destroying the fabric of the original building and

growing to a total floor area of 1,250sqm.

the main contractors, JP castle, started reconstruction

in september 2007. the structure was stripped back

to its bare bones. the floor and walls of the original

lecture room were propped up. the original roof was

examined, the tiles were removed and repaired and

then reinstated on the original rafters and beams.

as much as possible of the original structure was

salvaged. the animal holding areas on the ground

floor were absorbed into a new footprint. the

verandah was reconstructed entirely from forest

stewardship council certified european White oak.

the chimney was repaired, repointed and relined and

the building was upgraded to meet modern insulation

standards.

dublin Zoo have since installed an asian rainforest

and elephant themed ‘learning and discovery centre’

on the ground floor, with a real elephant skeleton

as its centrepiece. through this, dublin Zoo hopes to

promote awareness of the natural habitats of these

magnificent creatures and educate children in the

dangers now facing the rainforests.

the main first floor room is to be used for lectures

and meetings where attendees may take advantage

of the spectacular views from the verandah; the

great lawn to the east, the lake to the south and the

elephant exhibit to the west.

it has been a wonderful opportunity and rewarding

experience for oPW to reinstate dublin Zoo’s historical

core with one of its landmark buildings. the project

was completed in august 2008 and the total Project

Budget was €1,975,000. this was brought in on time

and within the overall budget.

former taoiseach Bertie ahern td has shown a

personal interest in developments at the Zoo over

many years. at the launch of ‘a Vision for dublin Zoo’

on 25th september 2006, mr ahern said the Zoo

‘has always had a special place in my heart’ and

‘your strong investment in education means that the

beautiful haughton house will acquire a new found

purpose as a place of learning and discovery. all this

is for the future and we look forward to it immensely’.

it was therefore very appropriate that the refurbished

house was officially opened on 3rd november 2008 by

deputy ahern, accompanied by dr. martin mansergh td,

to much public acclamation.

Images: haughton

house, dublin

Zoological, gardens,

Phoenix Park, dublin

8 (previous page).

haughton house

opening ceremony

(above). haughton

house, side view

(opposite page).


design team

• oPW Project management services: John mc mahon,

catherine kennedy and eithne dunford.

• oPW architectural services: finbarr Wall, kevin

Wolahan, Bianca o’neill, charles moore, danyal

ibrahim and caroline leaden.

eithne dunford

Project management services

22

the Pearse museum re-oPens

the Pearse museum in rathfarnham was re-opened

by dr. martin mansergh t.d. minister of state with

special responsibility for the office of Public Works

and the arts on november 27, 2008. over 230 invited

guests attended the opening ceremony, including

former taoiseach Bertie ahern t.d. and olivia mitchell

t.d. it marked the completion of a €3 million project

which saw the construction of a new entrance and

stairwell as well as much improved visitor facilities.

the basement area of the building has also been

completely refurbished for future use as the location

of an exhibition on the life of Patrick Pearse.

surrounded by fifty acres of landscaped parkland,

the museum is located in the former home and school

of Patrick Pearse, the leader of the 1916 rising. he

founded his school, scoil Éanna, in 1908 in cullenswood

house, ranelagh. his initial interest in education

stemmed from his involvement in the gaelic league

and the irish language movement. he soon developed

a passionate interest in education. his ideas on

teaching were progressive and radical and he had

little time for the exam-focussed education system

of the time. he felt that schools should nurture the

talents of all their pupils, even if those talents lay

outside the traditional school subjects.

for Pearse the key to real learning was inspiration,

and he felt that to be a success his school needed

a suitably inspiring setting. he was anxious to find

a home for his school which would allow his pupils

direct access to the natural world. he discovered the

hermitage in rathfarnham in 1910 while on a historical

pilgrimage to sites associated with the revolutionary

robert emmet. nestled in the foothills of the dublin

mountains, it was the ideal location for Pearse’s

inspirational school.

the house was also Patrick Pearse’s family home. his

mother, brother and sisters all assisted in the running

of the school. in 1916 he and his brother William left the

house to fight in the easter rising, never to return.

Pearse was the leader of the uprising and the author

PeARse museum

Images: Pearse

museum interior

(above). Pearse

museum exterior

and interior

(opposite page).


PeARse museum

24

of the Proclamation of the irish republic. he also

oversaw the surrender of the rebel forces once all

hope of victory was lost. While revolution was raging

in dublin, his mother and sisters waited for news in

rathfarnham. it was there that they received the news

that both brothers were to be executed. his mother

and eldest sister lived on in the house and ran the

school there until 1935. following the death of Pearse’s

last surving sister in 1968, the house and grounds

were handed over to the state.

the museum’s current exhibitions seek to recapture

a sense of the spirit of the house during Pearse’s

time. his study and the family sitting room allow

very personal glimpses of the lives of the former

occupants. side by side with these rooms are the

more public spaces in which Pearse’s pupils lived and

worked. Visitors can now see the school dormitory,

study hall and chapel. the aesthetic surroundings of

the school were important for Pearse, in the school

Prospectus he wrote that ‘beautiful pictures, statuary,

and plants replace the charts and other paraphernalia

of the ordinary schoolroom.’ the school art gallery has

been recreated in its original location and features

pieces by Beatrice elvery, Patrick tuohy, W.B. yeats and

count casimir de markievicz. the pupils themselves

ran a museum within the school, and elected a

curator every year from among the student body.

one of the original museum cases has survived

and it now contains many of the original displays. in

addition, using contemporary accounts of what the

museum once held, it was possible to commission

reproductions of objects which would have been

there in Pearse’s time.

the Pearse museum is in fact dedicated to both

Pearse brothers, in irish it is known as músaem

na bPiarsach. Pearse’s brother William is often a

neglected figure, and his output as a sculptor is

largely forgotten. for the first time a gallery in the

museum has been exclusively devoted to his work.

the works on display in the museum show him to

have been a promising and sensitive artist, but

unfortunately his artisitic output was quite small.

he initially joined the staff in scoil Éanna as an art

teacher, but ended up assisting in its management and

was unable to properly pursue his artistic career.

one of the most exciting developments for the future

of the Pearse museum is the provision of a temporary

exhibition space. it will play host to a diverse

programme of exhibitions, both artistic and historical,

Images: Pearse

museum interior

(above). Pearse

museum interior,

Patrick and William

Pearse (opposite

page).


as part of the museum’s long tradition of nurturing

and encouraging creativity. together with the other

changes at the museum, it will ensure that the Pearse

museum and st. enda’s Park can continue to inspire

and delight visitors for many years to come.

the museum is open seven days a week

(nov-Jan 9.30-16.00, feb 9.30-17.00,

mar-oct 10.00-17.30, weekends/bank holidays museum

opens at 10am) and admission is free.

Brian crowley

heritage services

(images, courtesy of con Brogan doehlg)

26

PriVate security authority formerly r.i.c. Barracks, davis street, tipperary town

the Private security authority (Psa), which was

established pursuant to the Private security services

act 2004, is the statutory body with responsibility for

licensing and regulating the private security industry

in ireland. the authority is independent in the exercise

of its functions and is charged with introducing,

controlling and managing a comprehensive licensing

system. the key responsibilities of the authority are

to control and supervise people providing security

services with the core objective of improving and

maintaining standards in the provision of these

services. these services include security guards,

door supervisors, suppliers and installers of security

equipment, private investigators, security consultants,

cash in transit, locksmiths and suppliers and installers

of safes.

oPW was requested by the department of Justice

to provide accommodation for the Private security

authority in the former ric Barracks in tipperary

town as part of their decentralisation programme. the

building had previously been occupied by an garda

síochana and also the departments of agriculture and

social, community and family affairs. this landmark

building was seen by the department of Justice as

offering a degree of solidity and permanence for the

fledgling Private security authority.

the former r.i.c. Barracks was built around 1876 as

a barracks for the royal irish constabulary. the

address at that time was meeting house lane. the

1898-1939 Property Valuation records show that the

street name was changed from ‘meeting house lane’

to ‘davis street’ in 1898. the 1881 records show the

barracks as: ‘modern building accommodating s.i.’

(superintendent) ‘and 29 men including three married

families’. the site area is recorded as 2 roots and

15 perches. the 1840 ordnance survey map show

property developments north from main street half

way along ‘meeting house lane’. the 1880 ordnance

survey map shows the barracks building and land

on meeting house lane. the lease with the smith-

Barry estate was signed in 1871. the cost of the r.i.c.

Barracks was £7,000 and was built by a limerick

contracting firm, messrs. kenna. a metal tank at the

top of the building, supplied from a well at the rear,

held four thousand gallons of water. the entrances

were protected by gun ports in the gable ends. the

gun ports can be clearly seen high up on the walls.

in the basement were four cells, each with a capacity

for twelve prisoners. on 3 march 1922, the last of

the r.i.c. pulled out of this barracks, as part of the

anglo-irish treaty of the previous december.

TIPPeRARy

Images: ministers

and dignitaries

on stage (above).

minister of state

dr. martin mansergh

td with minister

for Justice dermot

ahern td

(opposite page).


oPW carried out the refurbishment and extension of

this prestigious building for the Psa, funded through

the decentralisation Programme. the building is a

protected structure, 4 storeys high including semi-

basement. the structure has 5 bays on the central

building with single bay gable projections on either

side. the façade is rendered in wet dash, painted

with smooth plaster reveals. Windows are original

sash type and have been restored. the roof is hipped

on the main building and gabled on the returns all

covered with slate. the boundary has a masonry wall

with wrought iron railings. the building was designed

to include 63 work stations and there are currently

42 staff who were previously located in temporary

accommodation in tipperary town.

a contemporary extension has been constructed to

define the old from the new which is best conservation

practice. the extension provides universal access onto

all levels of the entire building. When the building was

originally constructed there was universal access only

to areas at basement and ground floors. the building

materials used for the extension are natural stone,

zinc, kalwall, hardwood and glass. a platform lift has

been installed at the main entrance for staff with

disablities.

all conservation work has been carried out in

accordance with the best conservation practice.

original material was retained where possible and

traditional materials and practices used. Where

replacement was necessary, like was replaced

with like.

the official opening of this significant and prestigious

building by mr dermot ahern, t.d., minister of Justice,

equality and law reform and dr martin mansergh, t.d.,

minister of state at the department of finance with

responsibility for the office of Public Works, took place

on 18th July, 2008.

eithne dunford

Project management

28

Battle of the Boyne Visitor centre

ProJect team

client

oPW historic Properties

Architects

oPW Property maintenance

furniture

oPW furniture Branch

craftwork & specialist metalwork

oPW Building maintenance service & oPW central

engineering Workshop

the new facilities for the Battle of the Boyne Visitor

centre opened on the 6th of may 2008, in a ribbon-

cutting ceremony performed by an taoiseach, Bertie

ahern and first minister of northern ireland, dr ian

Paisley. the site is situated on a substantial portion

of the original battleground, which is cradled on

three sides by the river Boyne. the visitor centre

is accommodated within oldbridge house and its

associated outbuildings, which make up oldbridge

estate, an 18th century demesne of rolling hills

and mature landscape. Property maintenance

have designed the new facilities and landscaping,

integrating the reuse of the existing property with

newly designed structures.

commanding a prominent view over the estate,

oldbridge house is where the tour begins, containing

the reception and key exhibition spaces of the visitor

centre. Property maintenance supervised major

restoration works to this 18th century manor house,

including substantial repairs to the roof. a long

approach to the house is created by the re-use of the

original sunken ha-ha, a characteristic feature of 18th

OlDBRIDge

Images: oldbridge

house (above).

courtyard, tea

Pavillion interior

and exterior

(opposite page).


century estates, designed not to interrupt the view of

the manor house.

after the exhibition, the visitor is led through a series

of contemporary glazed canopies into a courtyard

enclosed between oldbridge house and the adjacent

stables. the courtyard has been recobbled and the

shell of the stables now houses the new audio-visual

room. a surviving section of the original stables has

been preserved and forms part of the exhibition.

Via the central axis of the stableblock, the transition

is made from the stables into the newly constructed

tea pavilion. the dominant materials of the tea pavilion

are steel and timber, beginning with the structure of

cruciform columns supporting larchwood beams. the

pavilion itself is a simple monopitch form, which opens

to the south, sitting comfortably into the geometric

composition of the stables and manor house. five

bays of folding doors open on to the deck area, within

the realm of the 18th century walled garden, creating

an area of respite at the conclusion of the tour.

dan costelloe

Property maintenance

30

staff moVement (July – decemBer 2008) Paul costello engineer grade ii career Break 10/07/2008

emma stephens assistant librarian career Break 25/07/2008

daniel hegarty heo career Break 26/09/2008

donal lynch aPo career Break 01/10/2008

Peter dockrell co career Break 14/10/2008

rónán o’scolaí eo career Break 17/10/2008

tony collins district inspector commenced 07/07/2008

robert nolan co commenced 21/07/2008

george lynch Quantity surveyor grade 2 commenced 21/07/2008

gerard horan district inspector commenced 11/08/2008

eamon o’dwyer co commenced 11/08/2008

alexandra dunne Valuer grade iii commenced 29/09/2008

Jarlath carr district inspector commenced 20/10/2008

mary nugent Valuer grade iii Promoted to Valuer grade ii 19/06/2008

Joseph mcnamara engineer grade iii Promoted to engineer grade ii 31/07/2008

alexander fennell engineer grade iii Promoted to engineer grade ii 31/07/2008

catherine fitzpatrick co Promoted to so 18/08/2008

margaret hogan eo Promoted to heo 01/12/2008

caoimhe allman eo Promoted to heo 01/12/2008

Patricia ryan eo Promoted to heo 01/12/2008

Barry nangle eo Promoted to heo 01/12/2008

John mcmahon Po Promoted to commissioner 04/12/2008

marion dillon co Promoted to executive officer 08/12/2008

helena fagan co Promoted to executive officer 08/12/2008

monica smyth so Promoted to executive officer 08/12/2008

neill king co Promoted to staff officer 08/12/2008

caroline Byrne co resigned 23/09/2008

Brian o’connell eng. tech. grade ii resigned 21/11/2008

sTAff


Jim roche heo retired 05/07/2008

Patricia Ward so retired 19/08/2008

margaret clerkin heo retired 02/09/2008

Patrick ryan ass. chief technical officer retired 18/09/2008

michael Brennan architectural ass. grade i retired 09/10/2008

Patrick herbert co retired 10/10/2008

noreen Brehony heo retired 08/12/2008

michael Brown co retired 18/12/2008

Virginia o’hehir co retired 19/12/2008

denise mcloughlin co return from cB 25/08/2008

cyril mccarthy engineer grade ii return from cB 03/11/2008

Jack Brennan heo return from cB 15/12/2008

margaret taheny moore aPo transfer in 28/07/2008

kristine higgins co transfer in 18/08/2008

ciara glynn eo transfer in 20/10/2008

sandra moyles eo transfer in 10/11/2008

margaret mchugh eo transfer in 08/12/2008

frances mcgrath co transfer in 15/12/2008

Willie mcintosh aPo transfer out 28/07/2008

ann corrigan heo transfer out 08/09/2008

gabriel gleeson aPo transfer out 10/11/2008

lynsey smith co transfer out 15/12/2008

david Byers commissioner deceased 06/09/2008

eamon healy eo deceased 13/10/2008

We also remember our friends and colleagues david Byers and eamon healy who both sadly died during

this period.

PuBlIsheD By

office of PuBlic Works, 51 st.stePhen’s green, duBlin 2, ireland

tel: 353 0 647 6000 / email: in

[email protected] / WWW.oPW.ie

Bulletin from the office of PuBlic Works Issue 20 : DecemBeR 2008

Documents

Transcript of Bulletin from the office of PuBlic Works Issue 20 : DecemBeR 2008