Latest news with #Sandymount
Irish Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Ten Minutes with... Leopold Bloom
AHEAD of Bloomsday this June 16 — the annual celebration of James Joyce's Ulysses — The Irish Post is delighted to present a remarkable find: a long-lost interview with none other than Leopold Bloom himself. Or so it appears. The yellowing typescript, mysteriously unsigned and dated June 1904, was recently uncovered in the bottom drawer of a desk on in Northampton. It said in very faded writing The Molumby Archive. Whether it's a work of early fan fiction, an unauthorised parody, or some kind of proto-stream-of-consciousness journalism, we can't say for sure. What we do know is that it reads uncannily like Dublin's most famous literary everyman — the quiet, kind-eyed, kidney-loving Mr Bloom, who on a single day in 1904 wandered from funeral to pub to beach, and in doing so became one of literature's most enduring modern figures. Presented here, lightly edited and with apologies to the Joyce estate, it certainly appears to be what a Q&A with Leopold Bloom might have looked like — had anyone thought to ask. On love, soup, art, cheese sandwiches and the meaning of everything — a Q&A with Joyce's wandering soul, in honour of Bloomsday... What are you up to? Walking mostly. Thinking too much. Looking in shop windows. Buying kidneys. Today I had an ould cheese sandwich in Davy Byrne's. Gorgonzola I think it might have been. Washed it down with a glass of burgundy. Tomorrow, who knows? Maybe Eccles Street. Or Sandymount. Or Mars. Which piece of music always sends a shiver down your spine? Anything by Molly, singing in the parlour, throat open, full-throated, the way she used to when she thought no one was listening. I was. Always am. The neighbours are coming round for dinner. What's on the menu? Oh, something light. Nutty gizzards maybe. Giblet soup. To die for. Although people don't really say that as yet. What are your Irish roots? Born in Clanbrassil Street, Dublin. My father was a Jew from Hungary, came here with a different name and left me with his thirst and a fondness for drink I try to avoid. My mother was from Tipp. Come on Tipperary! She was a Higgins. Common name. You'd never rise to high office with a moniker like that. But this dichotomy in my upbringing has left me to wonder what it means to be Irish. What is your favourite place in Ireland? My kitchen, when it's quiet, and there's bread in the bin. Which book has really moved you? And Scheherazade — a woman who understood the importance of storytelling and survival. Joyce knew what he was doing picking that for me. Sorry, that probably doesn't make much sense But then that's Ulysses for you. Have you a favourite singer / band? Besides Molly? John McCormack, I suppose. Or the blind street fiddler near the Shelbourne. You don't need to see to move a man's heart. But all that traditional music, the ould fiddling an' whatnot — that'll be gone in a few years. Goodbye to the diddly-aye. Which living person do you most admire? Stephen Dedalus, though he doesn't believe it. A stubborn young lad with too many thoughts in his head and not enough meat on his bones. Which person from the past do you most admire? Odysseus. Very well got. He wandered, he wept, he lied, he loved. And still he came home. No better man. What would be your motto? Love loves to love love. Or: Think slowly, act kindly. Have you a favourite quote from the movies? Haven't seen many pictures — the last was a magic lantern show with poor resolution. But I'm not really into quotes, if you please O no thank you not in my house stealing my potatoes and the oysters 2/6 per doz going out to see her aunt if you please common robbery type of thing. Yes, well I kind of see what you mean. So, what books are on your bedside table at the minute? A pamphlet on Turkish baths, and the Bible, more for the language than the morals. Oh, and a Catholic prayer book. Mostly for the Latin. In terms of inanimate objects, what is your most precious possession? Molly's letter, the one with the pressed flower. Smells faintly of lemon soap and regret. And grief. Infidelity. Recrimination. And unmet longing. What's best thing about where you live? The familiarity. The echo in the hallway. The indentation in the armchair where I always sit. You can build a life in the smallness of a home. . . . . and the worst? The silence when Molly's not singing. What's the greatest lesson life has taught you? That nothing is ever really over. Not love. Not loss. It all loops around in the end, like a day — or a book. Oh, and don't let good bread grow stale. What do you believe in? Possibility. Warm bread. Forgiveness. The kindness of strangers. That the soul has a weight. That we walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-law. But always meeting ourselves. What do you consider the greatest work of art? A woman's 'yes'. Who/what is the greatest love of your life? Molly. Always Molly. Even when I doubted. Even when she sang for someone else. That voice still finds me.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Man arrested over Annie McCarrick murder was nominated to Garda as suspect in 1993
The man arrested for questioning on suspicion of the murder of Annie McCarrick was flagged to gardaí as a possible suspect in the case in the immediate aftermath of the New Yorker vanishing from Sandymount , South Dublin, in 1993. Friends of Ms McCarrick were concerned about the man, and the nature of his contacts with the 26-year-old in Dublin. They outlined those concerns, and the specific reasons for them, in fax messages to the Garda investigation team. However, they have always believed the information they supplied was not properly handled and was not factored into the initial inquiry in any meaningful way. The suspect, who is in his 60s and originally from Dublin, was arrested on Thursday morning and remained in Garda custody early on Friday. He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, on suspicion of murder, and can be questioned for up to 24 hours, though questioning has been paused to allow breaks for rest. READ MORE [ Annie McCarrick's best friend is 'overwhelmed with emotion, crying over my coffee' after developments in case Opens in new window ] Gardaí yesterday extended his period of detention to the maximum 24 hours of interviews permitted under law and must either release him without charge, or charge him with an offence, later on Friday. The man has become a successful businessman over the last three decades and now lives outside Dublin. As well as being arrested on Thursday morning, his home in the east of the country was searched. And a house in Clondalkin, west Dublin, that he was linked to in 1993 was sealed off for searching and excavation, in an operation continuing on Friday morning. The Clondalkin property has been renovated by the current occupants, who bought the house over a decade ago. Gardaí have stressed the current occupants are completely unconnected to Ms McCarrick or the murder inquiry now under way. Some of Ms McCarrick's friends in the United States had remained in close and frequent contact with her when she moved back to Ireland in January, 1993, after first studying here. They said she felt pressured and harassed by an Irishman in her social circle in Dublin and that she told them the man struck her when he had been drinking. They flagged those concerns with gardaí in the initial stages of the investigation when she vanished. [ Annie McCarrick: Gardaí made first arrest in 32-year investigation after receiving new information Opens in new window ] However, at the time Ms McCarrick (26) went missing, there was a series of reported sightings of her getting on a bus bound for Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, and also sightings of her in the village. Other reports placed her 6km away in Johnnie Fox's Pub, Glencullen, Co Dublin. Those sightings, since discounted, all related to Friday, March 26th, the day of the last confirmed sighting of the murdered woman at her flat in Sandymount, South Dublin. Much of the Garda's attention in the first phased of investigation focused on pursuing those sightings in Enniskerry and Glencullen. Ms McCarrick knew the man arrested on Thursday, and was very close to him for a period. However, while her friends told gardaí about that man in 1993 – including Ms McCarrick saying he had harassed her and struck her – they felt their information was not actioned by detectives at the time. When none of the claimed sightings of Ms McCarrick in 1993 led to any breakaway, and her remains were never found, the case remained an unsolved missing person's inquiry until it was upgraded to a murder investigation two years ago. In recent years, after a cold case review and fresh investigation, detectives have come to focus on the arrested man as the main suspect in the case. They also have a particular interest in a close associate of his, who they went abroad to interview earlier this year. They believe the suspect and his close associate were together on the weekend Ms McCarrick vanished and detectives have sought to recheck their accounts of their movements, comparing statements taken in recent years. In March 1993 Ms McCarrick, from Long Island, New York, was living in rented accommodation at St Cathryn's Court, Sandymount, with two friends. They last spoke to her at the property on the morning of Friday, March 26th. . Amid rising concerns for her safety, Ms McCarrick was reported missing to gardaí that Sunday, more than 48 hours after the last confirmed sighting of her. Meanwhile, the US lawyer hired by the father of Annie McCarrick to represent the family in the period after her disappearance has said he is 'delighted' there has been arrest and remains hopeful the case will eventually be resolved with a conviction. Michael Griffith has criticised An Garda Síochána over its reluctance to engage with him and others working for the family in the aftermath of her disappearance in March 1993. He suggested then Director of Public Prosecutions Eamonn Barnes had been helpful to the team Mr Griffith had assembled to work on the case on behalf of the McCarrick family but that the Garda was reluctant to share information or engage. 'We met with the Garda. We tried to follow up leads at that time but nothing came of it,' he told RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland programme on Friday. 'In the States here, attorneys tend to share evidence with investigations, with the police, but even though Eamonn Barnes wanted the Garda to open up the file to us, the Garda was quite reclusive about it, and we weren't able to get into the file, although there were a couple of persons of interest, one of whom I'm told may now be in custody.' He said had a meeting with Jean Kennedy Smith, then US ambassador to Ireland, who assured him the Department of State would do everything it could to assist but said this had no impact on the level of co-operation provided by An Garda Síochána. Mr Griffith said the disappearance of their daughter took a very considerable toll on her parents, John, now deceased, and Nancy. 'Obviously there was a lot of stress that came out of this and the McCarricks got divorced.' He said he would like to know what prompted an arrest in the case after so long but he remains hopeful the case will be resolved for the family. An Garda Síochána said they did not respond on individual cases but have a policy of appointing family liaison officers in major cases.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Annie McCarrick: Gardaí arrest chief suspect, search property after new information emerges
Gardaí arrested the chief suspect for the murder of Annie McCarrick , and searched a property previously linked to him, after receiving new information three decades after the New Yorker vanished in Sandymount, south Dublin, The Irish Times has learned. The man arrested on Thursday, who is in his 60s, was well known to Ms McCarrick. He was being interviewed by detectives on suspicion of the murder of Ms McCarrick (26) and can be questioned for up to 24 hours without charge. He is the first person arrested in the 32-year investigation into what has become one of the State's highest-profile unsolved crimes. The arrested man has been the chief suspect in the case for a number of years, especially since it was upgraded from a missing person inquiry to a murder investigation two years ago. READ MORE Detectives have made significant efforts to locate scores of people Ms McCarrick knew in Ireland, including close friends, others she socialised with, work colleagues and people she knew while studying in college here. They have been interviewed, as has a man who was close to the main suspect at the time and who gardaí travelled abroad to speak to earlier this year. The chief suspect moved in Ms McCarrick's social circles. Gardaí spoke to him and many other people when Ms McCarrick went missing, and he has also been interviewed by detectives since that initial inquiry. Annie McCarrick. The man arrested was well known to Ms McCarrick. Photograph: PA Claimed sightings of Ms McCarrick on the day she vanished – Friday, March 26th, 1993 – have now been all but discounted by the investigation team. They include her getting a bus to Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, and being spotted in the village, with no evidence emerging to prove she was there on the day. A sighting of her in Johnnie Fox's Pub, Glencullen, Co Dublin, about 6km from Enniskerry, has been completely discounted. Gardaí are now focused on Ms McCarrick's movements in Sandymount, south Dublin, where she shared a rented property at St Cathryn's Court with two flatmates. Detectives strongly suspect she met her killer in that area. They believe she was murdered on March 26th and her remains disposed of, to conceal the crime, by the time she was reported missing on Sunday, March 28th. She had failed to keep a dinner date with friends on the Saturday and did not go to work, as a waitress, on either the Saturday or Sunday. When her flatmates returned to their shared property on the Sunday, after being away for the weekend, they found groceries purchased by Ms McCarrick on Friday morning still unpacked. The alarm was then raised with gardaí. [ Timeline of Annie McCarrick case: False leads and setbacks over three decades in search for American woman Opens in new window ] As the suspect was being arrested on Thursday morning by members of the Garda's south Dublin serious crime unit based in Irishtown station, the search of a Clondalkin house and garden began. The suspect was linked to the house, and Ms McCarrick is believed to have visited that property. However, the current occupants of the house, gardaí stressed, have no connection whatsoever to Ms McCarrick or the murder inquiry, having bought the property in the last 15 years. A metal fence was erected around the house on Thursday to ensure privacy for the Garda search team, with a mechanical digger and a saw for cutting concrete brought in to aid the search operation. Some neighbours who spoke to The Irish Times said there was 'shock' and 'curiosity' in the estate after the house was sealed off and gardaí, and the media, began arriving into the area. [ Annie McCarrick's best friend from childhood: 'I believe she knew the person responsible for her death' Opens in new window ]
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Blind woman falls after Dublin Bus driver refuses to pull closer to kerb
Dublin Bus has received a number of complaints after a blind woman fell and was injured while disembarking from a bus after the driver refused to pull the vehicle closer to a kerb. A month later, the same woman was hurt again when a driver lowered the wheelchair ramp to bridge the gap to the kerb – but did so in front of a bus stop pole, causing her to walk directly into it. Advertisement The complainant, Áine Wellard, said the first incident left her immobilised with back pain for some time, and she is still recovering from the injury almost two months later. It occurred on the morning of April 15th as she was travelling from Poolbeg Street to the bus stop near Tesco in Sandymount. 'When we reached the stop, there was a big gap between the curb and the step of the bus,' explained Ms Wellard, who is a disability advocate. 'As well as a visual impairment, I also have a lower back problem, reducing flexibility in my spine. Advertisement 'I knew the gap was too wide for me and requested the driver to bring the bus closer to the kerb. He refused to do so three times,' she recalled. 'I actually asked him if he knew how to bring the bus closer to the curb. He said he did but refused to do so. He told me that I should just put my foot out a bit further to reach the kerb.' When she attempted to do so, she lost her balance and fell. It was the second time that a Dublin Bus driver had refused to pull closer to the kerb at the Sandymount stop, according to Ms Wellard, who said he had treated her like she was 'playing at being helpless'. Advertisement She made a formal complaint to Dublin Bus but, almost exactly a month later, she found herself pleading with another driver to move the bus closer to the kerb as she disembarked at Pearse Street. 'When we reached the stop, I tried to get off the bus but it was some distance from the kerb,' said Ms Wellard. 'Still recovering from the injury sustained when travelling on the bus on April 15, I asked the driver to pull into the kerb.' She said the driver refused but told her that he would lower the wheelchair ramp to bridge the gap. He did so directly in front of a bus stop pole, however, and Ms Wellard walked into it. She filed a second complaint with Dublin Bus, which is required under its contract with the National Transport Authority (NTA) to ensure that buses are pulled close to kerbs to minimise the gap when people are boarding or disembarking. Advertisement However, Ms Wellard has been disappointed by the response from Dublin Bus. The State-owned company confirmed that it had received and investigated the complaint, but refused to tell her whether it had been upheld or whether the driver had been sanctioned. Ireland Bail granted to woman accused of €477k bus fire da... Read More 'While I appreciate this may not bring absolute closure to the matter on your side, I would ask for your trust that Dublin Bus take all complaints seriously and endeavour to find a reasonable and fair decision in each case,' it told her. Dublin Bus claimed that it was prevented by GDPR from sharing any details of its investigation with Ms Wellard. This position was disputed by Stuart Anderson, chief executive of GDPR consultancy XpertDPO, who suggested that Ms Wellard should be able to see how the complaint was handled because it involved her personal data. Dublin Bus did not respond to a request for comment.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Refurbished Sandymount three-bed with well-equipped outdoor kitchen for €1.8m
Address : 24 Wilfield Park, Sandymount, Dublin 4 Price : €180,000 Agent : Colliers View this property on Nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac in the heart of Sandymount , 24 Wilfield Park is a quintessential example of 1930s suburban design. The development of the park emerged in the 1930s – a period when Sandymount was transitioning from its industrial past (as the area was once known as Brickfield Town, due to the FitzWilliam family's brickwork factory) to a more residential character. The construction of the Dublin to Kingstown Railway in 1834 and the development of the sea wall around the turn of the 19th century spurred the growth of houses along this stretch of coastline. By the early 20th century, Sandymount had become a sought-after suburb, much like it is today, attracting professionals and families seeking proximity to the city while enjoying a more village-like atmosphere. This semidetached home, with its distinctive half redbrick, half pebbledash facade and box-bay windows, offers a harmonious blend of period charm and contemporary comfort. It was last on the market in 2018 and is listed on the Property Price Register as having sold for €1.25 million in 2018. READ MORE Formal livingroom Kitchen Dining area opens to the rear garden Living area off the kitchen/dining room Boot room It subsequentially underwent a full refurbishment, and the best indicator of this is its B3 Ber, which is indicative of the works that you cannot see inside its 226sq m (2,433sq ft) of floor space. Planning records show that what was a garage has now been replaced by a playroom, which would also work as a fourth bedroom, given the volume of living accommodation in its new layout. Opposite the playroom/fourth bedroom is a cosy but smart sittingroom centred by a white marble fireplace with a green marble inset. Bathed in light thanks to a box-bay window, it's more of a formal space for adults and gets sun in the evenings, while an adjacent livingroom is warmed by a raised fire and opens into the heart of the home: an open-plan dining area and kitchen. It's really a lovely space, with ample room for at least 10 diners and has access to the private southeast-facing rear garden via sliding doors. With herringbone flooring – so its bang on trend – storage in the kitchen, which has Miele appliances and quartz worktops, is in two tall larders, negating the need for upper cabinets, thereby keeping the area streamlined. More storage lies in an adjacent pantry and cool moody-blue boot room. Barbecue area Rear garden with garden room Rear garden The rear garden is very private Upstairs are three bedrooms, the principal of which overlooks the rear garden and is en suite. There is a utility room upstairs beside the bedrooms, which makes so much sense in terms of accessibility considering most laundry originates in bedrooms and bathrooms. There is also a study up here, which is laid out as a nursery. The pièce de résistance is a new addition in the rear garden, which will have those who like to barbecue swooning. It has a superb purpose-built elevated barbecue area and its own drinking water supply, a two-ring gas stove and electrics, so feeding the masses on sunny afternoons will be easy. It is attached to a garden house, which could be a home office as it is insulated and has an electrical supply. The rear garden, which is bordered by a line of mature hornbeam, is secluded and filled with wisteria, lavender and a selection of David Austin roses. Number 24 is just a short stroll from Sandymount village, which retains its distinctive character, with the triangular Sandymount Green at its heart. The area, surrounded by independent shops, cafes and Ryan's Sandymount House hostelry, is close to Sandymount Strand for walks or swims and the Dart station offers local residents transport to the city centre and the Dublin coastline. Number 24 Wilfield Park is now on the market through Colliers, seeking €1.8 million.
