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MIXED MESSAGES.

Using signs, advertisements and messages as the inspiration for observation and comment - enlightened and otherwise

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A Public Library

13/6/2016

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I write in the margins of my books – generally notes to cross-reference to other dots of information.


I love when I buy a second-hand book to read the notes or inscriptions of others. It is a bit similar to the mantra that we are only custodians of our houses/buildings and are holding them for the next generation. I like to read what the previous generation might have added to the book.

I am a
fan of Bookcrossing and very much appreciate public realm works so I was very well impressed with Liverpool One for their book swap chill zone.


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Toilet Humour – Skerries-style

22/2/2016

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Last week, having a morning meeting in North County Dublin, I spend the night in Skerries and had an enjoyable hour the following morning walking around the town and beach – expect more from there than this blog entry.

There are four signs on the toilet block on the beach road and they did provide some opening for thought:

Irish appears more consistent than English

What are ‘Mens’? Who proofread that sign?

Am I the first person to read the sign and be puzzled by ‘Mens’?

I had thought that the Irish on public signs needed to be at least as large and prominent as the English – on this occasion, size does not appear to equal right.


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Stone Never Refused Engraving

13/6/2015

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Angry Old Man - 4

Today, the Irish Examiner article told of the Lord Mayor Chain of Office passing on and it help explain matters.

The invitations arrived Wednesday with an RSVP of Thursday, for a formal opening of Friday – the last day that the title Lord Mayor would be associated with the then incumbent; the last day that she would have the entitlement to open the curtain and unveil the plaque – the plaque with her name on it.

The buildings had been occupied for 13 months but it had to be that day for the opening – not the next day when the a different politician would have been written in stone –
a former Green Party; former Independent; but now Sinn Féin, so steeped and ‘proud’ to reference previous Sinn Féin Lord Mayors

During the speeches, the listeners were advised that the Lord Mayor and others had come from an earlier formal opening and unveiling.

Did this politician stand to serve her community or to see her name in stone?

My ‘cynical’ fuse is not as long as it once was…..


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Iona or Iona Columcille

12/5/2015

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On this day in 563, St. Columcille formed a monastery in Iona – so I learned from the daily update from Stair na hÉireann.

Last evening, I was walking about in the Mayfield area and noted that Iona used to be translated simply as ‘Í’ but the authors of the newer streetsigns have thought that further explanation is required to associate with Columcille.

Me, I prefer the simple’Í’….


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Abusing a President

3/5/2015

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Hyde Park, Tory Top Road
Not content with one misspelling, Cork City Council prefer two obviously.

There should be a síneadh fada over the ‘I’ and the ‘I’ should in upper case – as I understand.

If
Wikipedia can get it right, one might suppose that Cork City Council could too.

I suppose it is another opportunity to check on my Irish grammar – when ‘h’ is used to change a word,
the ‘h’ is lower case. So if the word should start with a capital letter, it is the vowel that is made upper case, not the mutating ‘h’.

So that is why you might see the likes of Hector Ó hEochagain,  and
Cathal Ó hEochaidh – also surnames such as Ó hÍcí and Ó hÓgain.

To my amount of Irish, it should be Páirc de hÍde - I wonder if Cork City Council will be ordering replacement signs.


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Sight of a Site

18/3/2015

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Last year, I took a photograph of the Obelisk Monument outside Drispsey. There was no fingerpost sign.

Exactly two weeks ago, POF was driving past when he noticed the sign saying:


Radharc Luíocháin

AMBUSH SIGHT


It was not until the following Monday that I was able to get there. In that time, a replacement sign had been erected.


The English had been corrected.

Maybe when I pass the road next, they may also have corrected the Irish version.


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Dripsey, Co. Cork
“Radharc” translates as ‘Sight’, ‘Vision’ or ‘View’.

“Láthair” translates as ‘Location’, ‘Site’ or ‘Spot’

“Suíomh” translates as ‘Site’, ‘Location’ or ‘Situation’.
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Crossbarry, Co. Cork
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Drishanebeg, Millstreet, Co. Cork
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Dripsey 2014.02.23
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Book of Condolences

23/1/2015

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Did you ever wonder as to Book of Condolences.

Do they get sent to someone or are they kept at City Hall?

Are they like Christmas cards, that one throws out a few weeks later? Or are they kept for a while, and then thrown out when covered in dust.

Is there someone who reads all the messages?

Or is the purpose a benefit to the citizens of Cork in allowing them to pen their expressions?

I do not know the answers to any of these questions.

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Looking Up

22/1/2015

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Elbow Lane, Cork
Just when I thought I have photographed all, another appears.

Nearly two years ago, I noted the Fire Cock sign on the then Moderne building. Some guidance from The Oracle as to the use of the FC markers followed by the Fire Hydrant to the now yellow H.

Following on from some recent hopper finds, I have been looking upwards. Yesterday, I went down Elbow Lane tempted by some more hoppers only to find a F.C. plaque that had escaped me upto now.

That brings the total to 91 – until I find another in hiding.


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I understand that the current trend is to include the diameter (200mm) and the depth (4m).
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St. Fanahan’s Pattern Day

25/11/2014

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Today is the feast day of St. Fanahan.

Last September, I was early for a meeting in Mitchelstown so stopped to walk to St. Fanahan’s Well. As you might have gathered from previous posts, Holy Wells intrigue me – the possible incorporation of Pagan rituals in Christian religious practices; the cures believed to be as a result of his intervention; and the continued observance of the tradition.

In September, it was a pleasant morning walk down the tree lined path and around the well.

Last Friday, driving back from Co. Kildare with a head cold after a long tiring day, made longer by road works diversions, I stopped again at St Fanahan’s Well – it being within seven days of the feast day. From the time I started walking down the path to my return, I passed about ten people – this being at about 6.00 p.m., dark and wet.

The straightness of the path, especially when lit, is a sight. The tall trees that surround the Well area gathered the soft rain into larger drops which fell from the trees to give the sound of heavier rain that actually fell.

I walked around the path clockwise as practised by those there before me, but the prayers and rosary are not of my religious persuasion so were not said.

The tall straight trees call out to be touched.

Before the M8 Mitchelstown by-pass, it must have offered an extremely peaceful and atmospheric chill-out time. The road traffic noise did impinge on my efforts to clear the head.



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Dealing with the Celtic Corpse

3/6/2014

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My own preference would be for all derelict sites to be compulsorily acquired under the Derelict Sites Act by the local authority who could then sell on. The market will then determine the value of the property. The purchaser will not be waiting for an upturn in the market and, hopefully, will have available funds to develop the site.

Derelict sites do drag down adjacent properties and the city in general. It is unfortunate that Cork City Council allows so many derelict sites to exist and continue to deteriorate in the city.

If they are afraid to use the power to compulsorily purchase the sites, they could take lessons from Limerick City Council on how to transform derelict sites on a temporary basis.

Western Road, Cork

Disused Petrol Station

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Parnell St., Limerick

Disused Petrol Station

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Cathedral Place Limerick

Left:

South Main Street, Cork

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Castle Street, Limerick

Left:

Castle Street, Cork

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Hirelings

7/3/2014

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It was only when I was reading a book about Cork’s past that I first recall coming across the word ‘Foundling’ – a Foundling Hospital previously occupied the site of Murphy’s Brewery.

Some time after, I came across this sign in Clonakilty and was introduced to another word that was new to me – ‘Hireling’.

It is a bad day when I do not learn something new.

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“Hewitt’s distillery, until it amalgamated with the Cork Distilleries company, was in Watercourse Road. Murphy’s Brewery was established in 1854……in the Watercourse Road area situated on the site of an old Foundling Hospital”




The Story of Cork – Sean Beecher  (1971)

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Consistency in a World Gone Mad.......Part 2

11/1/2014

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Kilkenny Shop
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Costa Coffee
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Crawford Gallery
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Faulkner's Lane/Academy St Development
I always assumed that Emmet Place was named after Robert Emmet but I now have doubts as all references have been to ‘Emmet’ not ‘Emmett’.

Or, on the assumption that the sign on the Academy St/Faulkner’s Lane site is the most recent, maybe Cork City Council have realised their error and have correcting the spelling.

Or maybe, it is just a further example of streetsigns not being consistent and adding a bit of variety, spice and debate to life.

I am more and more convinced that there is enough anomalies and inconsistencies to warrant a separate section on the website.



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It is nice to say 'Thanks'.....

28/11/2013

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Dunmanway, Co. Cork
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There are a number of different views one could take on work being carried out by someone.

One could say that it the work that he is being paid to do and is that not reward enough – no further recognition is required.

But one says thank you to a shop teller – most of the time.

I found this plaque refreshing that enough local people thought highly enough of Fran Cleary’s work that they wished to record a ‘thank you’.

The enhancement of self-worth in just hearing these two words may them so valuable.

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Tuckey Street

18/11/2013

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Last Saturday morning, I got a very enlightening and enjoyable guided tour of part of the City Centre which was conducted by Tom Spalding. His walk as part of the heritage Day was overbooked and so an additional walk in conjunction with Liam Russell’s was organised for Saturday.

 It dealt substantially with street signage but other nuggets of information were also found.

Towards the end we arrived at Tuckey Street and Tom stopped to talk about this sign that I had photographed some months ago.

He understands that the sign was originally on the building on the corner of Grand Parade and Tuckey St which, I understand burnt down, and now forms part of Bishop Lucey Park. This is consistent with the current siting of
the sign – both in terms of height on building (at shopfront height is rather low) and also in respect of position within the street (signs were generally at the beginning and end of streets and not in the middle).

He pointed out details, some of which I had not observed, which indicates that the sign-writer may not have been very experienced:
 -         For each of the three lines of text, there are three lightly scored lines, similar to what I recall from primary school to get our proportions for letters correct
-         The first row appears reasonably well set out but an ability to appropriately set out the second row was beyond the writer,
-         The gap between ‘E’ and ‘T’ in ‘STREET’,
-         The fancy tail to the ‘U’, and
-         The odd ‘6’.

Reading this back, it does make it look like an uninteresting walk and talk. That is so far from the truth.

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Mind The Gap

7/11/2013

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When is a 'Windmill' not a 'Windmill'? When it is a Wind Mill.
Although I would be more familiar with Summerhill North, I understood that both Summerhill North and Summerhill South were exactly that – Summerhill – a single word with no gap.

Similarly Windmill has always been one word. I cannot recall ever using them as two words consecutively in that order.

But someone obviously does not agree with me.

That they are both evident in one photograph only makes the revised spelling more striking.
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Summerhill End - Northern Side
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High Street End
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Summerhill End - Southern Side
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St Luke's West Side
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At Windmill Road
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At Douglas Street End
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On Bus Station
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St Luke's East Side
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Bottom of Hill by Lower Glanmire Road
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