Annual Leave to use up? Day trip to Dublin? Why not?
Get some Street Art photos while there? Of course.
I like to go to Dublin at least once a year, just to see how things are, have a walk about. Possibly even take in an event if i’m staying overnight (Ahem, 2024 UEFA Cup Final)
In this visit, there wasn’t much else to report, had a walk about the city and that was it.
I was hoping there would have been a decent Sunset while I was there (my train was at 7pm so I would have been there for it and not rushing for my train) but that was thwarted by the dull weather.
Ha’penny Bridge or St Stephen’s Green would have been a perfect location for photos as well.
Having been to Dublin numerous times, I know my way about.
Of course, that means I know where all the Street Art is.
I wasn’t looking for it, but it found me.
The first piece I saw was a mural of the film Metropolis, which you may be familiar as the inspiration for the video for Radio Ga Ga by Queen.
There was also a large scale mural to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Brazil’s Independence.
Due to it being in an area with heavy traffic, this was a difficult one to photograph.
I had to wait for the lights to go green (as opposed to cars queuing up at a red light and blocking the view) and for there to be no traffic to get the shot
Thankfully, it was worth it when I got the shot.
As well as this, I also managed to get photos of electric boxes which have been painted, presumably as part of Dublin Canvas.
I even managed to get a photo of a Jimi Hendrix mural.
Using up more Annual Leave, I headed to Derry on the Friday for a day trip.
Same as Dublin, I hadn’t been this year, so why not head over for a walkabout and see what there is.
In truth, it was a bit of a meh day.
The weather was dull, and there was no new Street Art to photograph.
I did see Street Art, but it was pieces that I photographed last year.
Whenever I go somewhere and don’t get many photos, it does feel like a wasted journey.
It wasn’t all a wasted trip. I did manage to get a bargain bundle of football programmes in a Charity Shop.
Did a bit of celeb spotting, Colum Eastwood on his phone looking a bit annoyed and forlorn in Foyleside Shopping Centre.
I was hoping to have a full day. The last time I headed to Derry, I ended up getting the 6.38pm train home.
Not quite the same this time, heading home on the 3.38pm train.
Which was quite handy as I missed the commuters travelling home from Derry to Coleraine/Ballymena.
On a related note, why is this train not every 30 minutes at least?
My original hope was to be there and maybe try and get some Sunset photos from the Peace Bridge of the Greenway that leads to North West Transport Hub.
Nope. I was drenched, and I had done and seen (Yellow Yard, Bedlam, SmartSwag, Society Street Market) all that I wanted to see.
Of course, the sun came out as I was boarding the train. Looks like I could have stayed and some Sunset photos.
Instead, I observed the Sunset from the train, which was a nice experience. Would recommend it.
I might leave Derry to every two years, or I might go during the Summer months with more daylight.
If i’m leaving the city at 3.38pm, I might take a detour to Castlerock Beach on the way home, and maybe explore more of the North West rather than exclusively being in the City Of Derry.
The train ride has been described as one of the most spectacular in the world (although, not as good as Bray to Greystones).
It is worth pointing out, that is only between Coleraine and Derry. Belfast to Coleraine isn’t much to write home about.
Just on a train, casually going past an airport runway, oh and going alongside a beach as well, like it’s perfectly normal and no big deal.
So, two day trips which didn’t go as planned in terms of photos, but I did end up seeing some new Street Art and getting a bargain bundle of football programmes, so not all bad.
November began with a day trip to Dublin. Naturally, while I was there, I took the opportunity to check out Street Art. Might as well, seeing as it was my first time there in two years.
Later that week, I did something else I hadn’t done for a long time. Not as long, just over eighteen months. I am of course referring to going to a concert, in this case, Lightning Seeds at The Limelight.
That was then followed by two road trips for Linfield away games, to Portadown and Crusaders.
Sandwiched inbetween that was another road trip, this time to Ards to get some Street Art photos, with a recent event having taken place.
It was a month of doing things I hadn’t done for a while. This time, going on a flight.
The destination was Gatwick, but not to go to London, but Brighton instead.
So many photo adventures, where to start?
Street Art in Brighton, of course. Also, a walk along Beachy Head, OMD in concert, and some sunsets while I was in Brighton.
Back home, a return to Windsor Park to see Linfield beat Cliftonville.
Two days later, I headed to The Limelight to see The Charlatans in concert.
The month ended with Linfield matches against Glenavon and Carrick Rangers.
It had been a while, but while using up Annual Leave, I decided to head to Dublin for a day, and it would have been rude not to get some Street Art photos.
Due to the current situation, I was a bit apprehensive about visiting Dublin. It’s not somewhere where space is readily available, and people standing about stopping you getting anywhere is a regular occurrence.
In fact, when I visited Wicklow in August, the only time I set foot in Dublin was to get off the Enterprise and walk across Connolly Station to get the DART to Bray.
Eventually, I decided to go. My dad had been and said it wasn’t too bad, so I took his work for it.
My previous visits had been towards the end of the week in the Summer, so it wouldn’t be that crowded on a Monday at the start of November.
I usually go to Dublin once a year (not in 2020, obviously) so I know my way about, where to go and spot some Street Art.
As I exited Connolly Station and headed towards O’Connell Street, I knew if I took a right before Supervalu, there would be some pieces.
I was not disappointed, and there was a bonus from afar at the far end of that street.
Naturally, I headed to Temple Bar, spotting a pub done up in the style which even had a mural of him.
Another spot I headed to that is usually reliable is Smithfield, and I was not disappointed.
Dublin Canvas has been going for a few years, painting electricity boxes on streets, so I got a few snaps of ones that I passed that I had never seen before.
The 2019-2020 was always going to be memorable, due to the contrasting emotions watching Linfield ranging from the highest of highs to the most ridiculous of lows. I’d hoped it would end at Old Trafford before beginning 2020-2021 a few weeks later taking in a couple of European Championship games in Dublin.
Of course, it became memorable in a way that nobody could imagine. My matchgoing season is now officially over, although I had accepted that fate a long long time ago.
At the end of each season, I do a month by month look back at the season just past, so I might as well look back at this most eventful of seasons.
My 2019-2020 football watching season began in mid July at a very wet Windsor Park, seeing Linfield take on Rosenborg in the European Cup.
With the July holidays, I took the opportunity to spend a few days in Dublin. As luck would have it, there were a few football matches on, St Patrick’s Athletic v IFK Norrkoping and Bray Wanderers v Limerick.
Upon my return to Northern Ireland, I headed to Wilgar Park to see a much changed Linfield side take on Dundela in a Pre-Season Friendly.
July 2019 took a while to get going. It took ten days to have a photo adventure, then I couldn’t stop.
July 10th marked the start of the 2019-2020 football season, seeing Linfield take on Rosenborg in the European Cup.
The following day, I headed to Dublin for a short break, getting loads of Street Art photos, and seeing two football matches – St Patrick’s Athletic v IFK Norrkoping and Bray Wanderers v Limerick.
While I was in Bray, I made a start on Bray Head. I’ll be back in 2020 to finish it.
The following weekend, I headed to Wilgar Park to see Linfield continue their pre-season preparation against Dundela.
With the July Holidays falling that it would bring a four day weekend, I decided to head to Dublin for a few days. Naturally, I was out, camera in hand getting shots of Street Art.
For the first time in ages, I headed to Dublin by train. I thought it would be quiet at 8am, but it was a journey from hell with screaming children, aul dolls stinking of vapes and bickering couples.
I stayed at Belvedere Guesthouse, close to Connolly Station and Dublin City Centre, easy to find and just the most wonderful room. It’s a building that I would imagine living in BT9 to be like.
I checked out a few of my favourite spots, including Under The Bridge, an Antique/Vintage Shop, funnily enough, under the bridge as you approach Connolly Station.
Staying in a part of Dublin I hadn’t previously stayed in, my first spot was a mural of a skateboard in Hill Street just off Parnell Square
I headed to Smithfield and saw, to my disappointment, a building which hosted some Street Art being readied for demolition.
I spotted more and more canvas pieces, including one depicting a cramped Luas. I’ve been there, Commuter O’clock on a Friday on my way home from Waterford last year.
Next stop, was Temple Bar. The mural of Kanye West has been replaced. I also spotted a piece by Kin Mx, who has done pieces in Belfast.
When travelling on the Luas, I spotted a mural at the building site of the Children’s Hospital in Rialto, but I wasn’t able to get photos.
I did get photos of pieces in Inchicore as I headed to Richmond Park for a football match, including a canvas of Paul McGrath in a pre Jack Charlton kit on one side, and the back being his name and number in the font of the away kit from USA 94.
I also managed to make use of the better weather and daylight by getting better photos of the “Once A Saint ….” mural outside Richmond Park than on my previous visit in 2013.
On the Saturday, I went in search of the Tivoli Theatre Car Park, an iconic Street Art hotspot. I couldn’t find it and thought I was losing the plot.
That was, until I asked for directions, only to be told it had been demolished.
2018-2019 began for me in the middle of the World Cup, giving England v Sweden a miss to head to Wilgar Park to see Linfield start their pre-season against Dundela.
The following weekend, I headed to Dublin for a short weekend, taking in a match, Shelbourne v Drogheda United.
After that, was a ground being visited for the first time, Breda Park, to see Linfield take on Knockbreda.
That was then followed by a trip to Newforge as Linfield continued their pre-season preparation with a friendly against PSNI.
I recently had a short visit to Dublin. I didn’t intend to, we’ll cover that in the next blog.
So, with three hours to kill, I thought I might as well get the camera out and start photographing some Street Art.
With not a lot of time to work with, I had to be certain where I was going.
So, I headed to the two places I knew would bring results, Smithfield and Temple Bar, and I would not be disappointed.
Having been in Dublin as recently as July, I knew I would be finding some duplicates, so there was no point in photographing what I have already snapped.
Dublin Canvas have been at their work over those four months between my visits to Dublin, and I snapped their new pieces. Seriously, can we have something similar in Belfast?
Another hotspot I visit was the Car Park at Tivoli Theatre. Unfortunately, due to it being a Car Park, there were cars parked in front of the pieces I wanted to snap.
Despite that, it was still a productive use of my spare time in Dublin.
Analogue Boy In A Digital World 