Read the Gaza poem by a Cork writer that featured on the Irish Examiner's front page
Eyeless in Gaza was featured on the front page of Wednesday's paper. It was accompanied by a picture of a dead Palestinian girl who was found in a search and rescue operation carried out by locals after an Israeli attack targeting a house belonging to the Abu Shamal family in the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza.
Here is Wednesday's front page. You can read the poem in full below.
Wednesday's Irish Examiner front page.
Eyeless in Gaza
by William Wall
A city becomes a cemetery
A hospital becomes a morgue
Becomes a slaughterhouse
Becomes an ossuary
Dust in the eyes
And dust in the mouth
A gale of wind blows it all away
There will be no stumble-stones
For the hundreds of thousands
No railway platform memorial
From here departed
No films of children playing
Bella Ciao on a broken guitar
No museum of the death camp
That was their home
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Dozens of Palestinians killed while waiting for food trucks in Gaza
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For the O'Connors, all the moving parts that make up Tivoli Docks were part of the dynamic panorama, while the main fixture in that picture was always Blackrock Castle. Mahon View's waterfront location is as much an attraction now as it must have been for Captain Stavely. Flotilla of fishing boats passing Tivoli Docks on their way to the Port of Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan The size of the site was a big draw, too. There's three quarters of an acre, mostly to the rear, where a T-shaped garden includes a good stretch of lawn, an old orchard wall (growing your own was as popular in Victorian times as it is now), a 'secret' walled garden off to one side with access to Castle Ave, and a more overgrown section — a biodiversity haven — in the other side of the 'T'. Long stretch of lawn forms the stem of the 'T', with redbrick orchard wall to the right Entrance to the 'secret' garden Biodiversity haven The scale of what's there prompted Robert to undertake a feasibility study with John Morehead, of Wain Morehead Architects, in Celtic Tiger times. The conclusion was the land could accommodate four to five units, but the development wasn't pursued. Potential buyers/small developers might be interested? Or new owners could simply decide to enjoy a great big back garden, with glorious throwbacks to the Victorian era. As well as ancient apple and pear trees, Robert and his partner took to growing their own during covid, installing raised planters for fruit and vegetables, a nod to the land's original use as a market garden. Raised planters More recently, a patio courtyard was installed at a level below the rear lawn, outside the open-plan country-style kitchen (fitted in the past few years, where new sliding doors off a lounge area make access easy). Open plan kitchen lounge Country style kitchen The patio faces south. A sculpture by renowned Irish artist Michael Quane has pride of place. It's one of a series of impressive artworks dotted about Mahon View, including Robert's own work. He graduated with a master's in fine art from the University of Ulster in 2001, and in 2006, when the university was staging an exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of its master's in fine arts programme, he was chosen as the student of 2001. He has exhibited at home and abroad, including Shanghai. A solo photographic exhibition in 2011, in the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts, was inspired by a box of 35mm slides bought at a Berlin flea market. Mahon View looks like a three-storey home, but the attic is currently closed off. New owners could reinstate the attic stairs or they may have enough accommodation on the existing floors. Three rooms on the second floor are currently in use as bedrooms, but there is scope for more, as one is currently in use as a home office. Downstairs, the entrance porch has a striking, church-style window with coloured glass, which leads into a high-ceilinged hallway and on to a living room with plenty of original features. Living room Church-style window in entrance porch High ceilinged hallway To the rear of the living room, through stylish French doors, a sunroom/library room overlooks the back garden. Sunroom Just a five-minute walk from Blackrock village, Mahon View is a home of great period charm, but it needs work. The extra investment required has been factored into the €850,000 guide by agent Tim Sullivan, of Timothy Sullivan & Associates. 'It's a do-er upper, but will appeal to a cross section that want to trade up and may well be in Blackrock already. I expect interest from Dublin also,' Mr Sullivan says. Mahon View, Castle Road Given the wonderful, elevated setting, and beautiful views of river and castle, not to mention potential for further site development, it could attract buyers banking for family going forward. Mr Sullivan says the property offers 'enormous potential, with its superb garden/site', as well as the original attic accommodation 'affording the opportunity to enlarge what's already there'. There's scope to do more too with a lean-to utility. VERDICT:A good deal of investment is needed, but the prize for the buyer is the Holy Trinity of generous site size, prime waterfront setting, and a prestigious Castle Road address.
