the power of one
Wednesday, May 18, 2005, 07:35 AM
18 May 2005
Perhaps, I live in a dream world and like to praise myself but i find it hard not to feel chuffed about two things that happened in the last week.
one was the big protest held on Sunday against the council's plans for the sea baths at Dunlaoghaire. When i started my reclaimthesea campaign about three years ago people told me it was useless to oppose a'decision already taken by the people with money'.
The first attempt at privatising this prime piece of seaside came to nothing and , hopefully, this second attempt will also be shot down. The politicians ought to be ashamed of themselves as they are elected to safeguard the peoples' rights.
The second success i would like to claim is the disappearance of the foul smell of shit which was wafting from the central sewerage treatment plant on Dublin bay at least for this morning when I cycled around there with my dog Sylvester.
Of course, these developments may have happened without my tail-wagging atal - not like I would like to imagine the tail wagging the dog; but it makes life worthwhile to think one may be right an odd time and to get support for your view.
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( 3.1 / 13 )smell of shit over dublin
Friday, May 13, 2005, 03:31 PM
13.05.05
dublin used to be famous for the foul smell from the liffey at times but the old river no longer smells. What does smell obnoxiously is the city sewerage treatment plant at Ringsend- Irishtown-Sandymount. As I passed through Sean More (once lord mayor) park, Irishtown this morning the smell was overpowering from the works to its west probably more noticable because of the east wind.
It should be possible to have the foul gases sent up a chimney like the esb generator chimneys and dispersed in the atmosphere. A builder would not be allowed to allow sewerage fumes escape below roof level of a building and the Council should be under a similar obligation to remove the vapours of their massive septic tanks from the reach of the citizens.
It seems that the lawmakers here are above their own laws - 'do what i say not what i do', seems to be their motto.
Even the sea shore at Irishtown doesn't look too healthy with a lot of green stuff growing on the sand, so the treatment plant doesn't seem to be saving the sea either.
how do cities twenty times as big as Dublin deal with their sewerage, I wonder.
I think no place in London or New York would you come across such revolting smells - it would make you wonder if the Paddies can get anything right, as the English always believed.
Sinn Fein we waddle along in our own shit.
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( 2.6 / 23 )swimming at pigeonhouse, dublin bay
Thursday, May 12, 2005, 02:31 PM
11.05.05
It was a beautiful may summer day in dublin - a good day for making hay as i used to do with my dad on the farm that was once ours = i had a farm in clare once!
there are few places so gloroous as dublin on a summer day but its not because of coffee at eleven or a stroll in stephen's green although they are good too,; its because of the wonderful bay that the city is built around but which it sees less times than it goes to mass.
I took a cycle down to the pigeonhouses and had a swim at the 'half-moon swimming and waterpolo club' sea base with Sylvester my dog and thae water was just perfect there.
It would be great if we could somehow get some present day teams to play in the sea at theses locations to show how enjoyable the sea is to play in. I had a nice chat with a father and his three chuldren who came to have a barbeque at the half-moon building. Two of them were four year old twins of whom the boy was called Alexander. I said all boys called Alexander must find it a big challenge to match up to Colin Farrell, as if!
Couple of old dubliners arrived to lunch there as well - maybe costume will be necessary next time. But, interestingly, one said that there was considerable opposition to what was proposed for Scotsman;s bay, which gave me great heart. It might transpire that the councils leave the bay and the beaches alone and stop trying to wall off the sea from the people.
In the afternoon I took my Rocky dog out to Blackrock and had a short dip there - pity all those people who don't know the delights of the sea - for what else would a person get out of bed a t 5 oclock in the morning as some do.
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( 3 / 10 )sea shore in front of baths Dun Laoghaire
Tuesday, May 3, 2005, 07:36 AM
This picture shows what a beautifu sandy sea shore there is in front of the baths, which would be put out of bounds for people for ever if the Co.co. had their way of building a monstrous building on the site of the baths.
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( 2.6 / 16 )clean sea
Tuesday, May 3, 2005, 07:05 AM
03.05.05
For the past couple of days i have been swimming at Balscadden bay, Howth just outside Dublin bay, which one would expect to be very clean as its so far from the city. However, i fear the opposite is the case and the water there seems laden with lots of debris which is not found in Scotsman's bay. I don't know why this is so but it may be to do with the fact that sewerage might be pumped into the sea from the northern suburbs such as Malahide and Portmarnock; also the sea may not be so deep near to the shore. It could also have to do with the marina nearby pumping shit out of boats. Many people and children come to place on theses beaches during the summer and it is a shame if the water is contaminated and unsuitable for swimming in.
For all these reasons I hope they see reason in Dun Laoghaire and keep their Scotsman's bay free of shit-producing developments including car and boat parks which they like to call marinas here. The water in Scotsman's bay is deep and never seems to carry debris like at many other places.
The squatters at the Fortyfoot know better than the Co.co. what a pristine and rare resource they are exploiting. Hopefully Co.co. will see the light and open up all of this beautiful bay to the people and not sell it off to some seaside grabbing landlord whose single aim is to make rent out of parking of people in beds, cars in yards and boats in the sea.
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