|
We hope all enjoyed being around the village last weekend, between the newly opened Village Green, and our Parc Italiano at Lucan House. It was lovely to see so many young people taking in the latter!
There will be plenty of opportunity to see the immediate grounds of Lucan House over the coming months, so put it on your 'to do' list!
SOL: We might mention here, that we've plenty of items for publication from SOL - our local history group, and will carry them as soon as space permits.
The beautiful weather last weekend left us with no shortage of places to explore in the area. One such was Castletown Park in Celbridge, where the fields of Rapeseed were like fields of big sun-shines!
Closer to home , we admired the work of our local Tidy Towns Group, and marvelled at their cleverness in sowing particular shrubs that are still around year after year. One such plant is a heavily laden blue bush at the Lucan end of Tesco footbridge - a sight to behold!
They are also responsible for beautiful flower beds all over Lucan - Well done to all!
Our Village 'Green'!
What do our Readers think?
Some of our team visited the newly opened site on Saturday last, and were pleasantly surprised by the lovely atmosphere, helped in no small way by the brilliant sunshine on the morning.
After a stroll around, we took a coffee break at one of the tables, and watched locals, young and old, take it all in.
People were happy and kids excited, feeding the ducks, and generally running around, climbing up and down steps / seating.
That's when the older, sensible person comes out in one! We knew the site had been power-washed the previous day, but those ducks are not fussy about keeping the place clean, regardless of who is visiting, and it seems that dogs were not bothered either!
It would not have been a good day for the Tidy Towns Judges to visit Lucan! We wonder how cleanliness at the site will be maintained, as apart from the ducks and dogs, there were pieces of food and spilled drinks all over the place. One had to be careful before sitting in the new 'amphitheatre'....
Not a good look!
We counted 3 bins, which were overflowing each time we visited. Why not put the new solar bins on site, given the density of people here?
We did our best to be positive, but had to look away from children bounding over the concrete structures - maybe we're just getting too old for such a new creation in our village. We hanker after the days we brought our own kids down to run and tumble around on the grass, and even to our own time as children when we climbed into the Griffeen in our wellies, trying to catch pinkeens in jam jars ....
It's not quite what we were sold!
Above is a section from the architect's sketch, showing what we believe to be a nice stretch of grass, and a 'bandstand' with NO RED ROOF!
When did the red roof come into the plans? It looks hideous!
When entering the village from the Lock (Adamstown) Road, all one can see is this great big red dome! Where does this fit in with heritage etc ....
The grass to say the least is very disappointing - when we expect grass to be soft, and able to cushion the tumbles and falls of small children, of whom there were dozens around.
Hopefully, over time when plants have matured, it will be easier on the eye - it would seem there's no going back at this stage, but things can be done to improve what we're left with now!
L.N.T.
St. Mary's Camera Soiree
This week we have another photograph of Reginald's Tower in Waterford taken by Joe. This one has a replica Viking longship exhibited beside the tower and reminds me that 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Tim Severin's Voyage of the Brendan Boat. In 1976/77 the British explorer, with a group of fellow explorers sailed from Brandon Creek in Dingle to Newfoundland in a leather boat, proving that early Irish monks, such as St. Brendan, could have reached the New World nearly 1,000 years before Columbus. The boat is on display at Craggaunowen Castle, near the village of Kilmurry in Co. Clare.
Joe also sent in some photos of partridges in St. Edmundsbury. According to Greek legend, the first partridge appeared when Daedalus threw his apprentice, Talos, off the sacred hill of Athena in a fit of jealous rage. Supposedly mindful of his fall, the bird nests on the ground and does not take lofty flights.
He also found an Orange Tip butterfly. The male butterfly is the one with the orange tips on its wings.
Josie was in Seville and sent us a photograph of the magnificent Plaza de España built to showcase Spain's industry and technology exhibits when Seville hosted the Ibero-American Exposition World's Fair in 1929. The plaza chronicles each of the regions of Spain in ceramic provincial alcoves and benches and today the buildings have been renovated and adapted for use as offices for government agencies.
Stay safe until next week!
| 
