Dublin: Clocks Go Back By One Hour On Sunday

The clocks will go back one hour on Sunday 26 October, meaning mornings will be lighter and evenings will be darker – but some people want to keep British Summer Time all year round.

The UK and IRELAND will spend five months in Greenwich Mean Time before returning to British Summer Time (GMT + one hour) on the last Sunday in March.

BST, also known as daylight saving time, was introduced during the First World War in a bid to save coal. The UK tried out different systems over the following decades, including double summer time (GMT + two hours) and permanent British Summer Time (GMT + 1 hour), but the current system has been in place since 1972, explains Dr Louise Devoy, curator of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, in the Daily Telegraph.

Proposals to keep the clocks at least one hour ahead of GMT all-year round have been debated frequently in parliament but never implemented.
Here are the pros and cons raised over the years:

Pros of BST all year round

Health: Lighter evenings would have a positive benefit for public heath, say researchers. One recent study of 23,000 children, published on the BBC, found that their daily activity levels were 15 to 20 per cent higher on summer days than winter days and that moving the clocks back causes a five per cent drop in physical activity.

Energy: Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that an extra daily hour of sunlight in winter evenings could save £485m each year in electricity bills, as people use less light and heating.

Traffic accidents: The AA backs the campaign for year-round BST in order to increase road safety. The latest research estimates that around 100 lives would be saved a year by preventing accidents in the dark evenings, it says.

Business: Moving the clocks forward by an hour would bring the UK in line with Central European Time, which would be good for business with the continent, say campaigners.

Crime: With British Crime Surveys suggesting over half of criminal offences take place in the hours of darkness in the late afternoon or evening, campaigners say lighter evenings could help reduce crime or at least the fear of crime for those reluctant to go out on dark evenings.

Tourism: The British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions claimed in 2011 that an increase in lighter evenings would increase tourism earnings by between £2.5bn and £3.5bn.

Cons of BST all year round

Scotland: One of the biggest obstacles to change has come from Scotland, where MPs warned that the sun would not rise until 10.00am in some northern parts of the country. Alex Salmond once called the campaign an attempt to "plunge Scotland into morning darkness".

Dangers of darker mornings: The pro-BST crowd points to the dangers of dark evenings, but those against year-round BST have suggested that children walking to school in the mornings could face higher risks in the dark.

Well-being: Both sides argue the benefits of more sunlight for general well-being and health, with sunshine increasing vitamin D syntheses and reducing the incidence of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). However, the time at which an individual is normally exposed to sunlight would depend on their own daily timetables.

Benefits for early risers: Lighter mornings have traditionally been supported by postal workers, the construction industry and farmers. Those living in Scotland voice particular concerns about people having to travel to work in the dark. · 

Read more: http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/61009/clocks-go-back-the-pros-and-cons-of-all-year-daylight-saving-time#ixzz3H8M9OfVs 

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Cork: In Profile 'A Tale Of One Irish City'

In-depth data reveals the truth about the second largest city in the State, writes Noel Baker.

IT is a tale of one city, but with numerous chapters about its people, places, and life chances.

The Cork City Profile 2014, an in-depth collection of previously published data about the country’s second-largest city, paints a picture of Leeside as a diverse, if ageing city in which where and how you live appear to influence your life opportunities.

*www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/cork-city-deprivation-levels-exceed-national-average-says-report-1.1955437

For one thing, its population has been shrinking. According to the 2011 Census, the city’s population fell slightly at a time when it increased by 8.2% nationally and the population of Co Cork rose by more than 10%.

Of 34 Administrative Counties in Ireland, Cork City had the highest death rate of them all. Its infant mortality rate is higher than that of Co Cork, but on a par with the national rate.

The number of older people relative to the working population is high, and with an average age for its citizens of 38.7, it got ‘older’ by a year between the 2006 and 2011 censuses. In addition, 15% of those over the age of (15 ?) are retired. ... (follow this link for much-much more):

www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/diverse-andageing-city-face-tough-challenges-290332.html 

Economically, the recession has left its mark, mainly in the near-doubling of the unemployment rate to more than 12% between 2006 and 2011.

There are also divisions within the city. According to the study, “areas in the southwest and in the more affluent southeast generally have lower levels of unemployment. Unemployment is higher in all four RAPID (Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development) areas.

North of the city centre, unemployment black spots are contained within the Knocknaheeny, Glen, Gurranabraher, Mayfield, Fair Hill, and Farranferris electoral divisions”. ...

www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/is-this-the-biggest-ever-photo-of-cork-644519.html 
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Youghal, Co Cork: Burial Vault And Ancient, Heating, Water Systems Discovered In Church

Archaeologists have found a burial vault beneath a floor they were preparing for restoration in a church in east Cork.

The vault — believed to date from the 1700s — was discovered in the 900-year-old St Mary’s Collegiate Church in Youghal.

During excavations, the archaeologists also found evidence of centuries-old heating systems.
The vault, 30cm beneath the surface, was unearthed by Daniel Noonan, who runs an archaeological consultancy agency, working with John Kelly of David Kelly Partnership.

They were investigating the floor’s subsidence in a €60,000 restoration project funded by the Heritage Council of Ireland. The stone vault was crisscrossed by protective pine beams between it and the floor.

There was reportedly no obvious indication as to who was interred but such burial chambers “would be considered high standard monuments and so would suggest an individual or family of high status, such as the merchant class, was buried there”, Mr Noonan said. “The crypt will be unopened and remain in situ,” he added.

The archaeologists also found evidence of 18th century subterranean flues that carried heat from fires lit in the church. Further remnants depicted a later system that ferried water through earthen channels from a furnace.
The restoration work will be completed in six weeks.
 
Skeleton find
Work on Youghal’s €18m main drainage system was temporarily halted after workmen, working under archaeological supervision, uncovered a full skeleton in Pax’s Lane in South Abbey.

The remains, believed to be those of a 30-year-old medieval female, were “excellently preserved by the sandy soil”, said archaeologist Daniel Noonan. “The teeth were in very good condition due to an absence of sugar additives in those times,” he noted.

Mr Noonan has complimented contractors Wills Brothers, Irish Water and Atkins engineering for fully backing the investigation. The site was once a Franciscan friary and graveyard, with links to a nuns’ community.

The skeleton “may be that of a nun but may also be from an adjoining, general burial ground”, he said. The find was logged with the National Monument database but will stay in situ.

REPORT: by Christy Parker: (Irish Examiner).

Dolphins Barn, Dublin: €16m Regeneration Project To Start In 2015

Some €16m in funding has been made available to start the regeneration of Dolphin House in Rialto Dublin in the new year.

The 1950s flat complex in the south inner city has been plagued with issues including sewage problems and damp for years.

Its redevelopment was stalled due to the economic crash.

Local Labour councillor Rebecca Moynihan has said work can finally get underway in 2015.
"Funding has been made available for it," she said.

 "We have passed planning permission for the initial stage of the regeneration - the demolition of the two blocks nearest Dolphins Barn and the refurbishment of two blocks adjacent to the Grand Canal."

Cork: Time Pushes Onward On Shandon's 160-Year-Old Clock: *UPDATED

A three-year maintenance programme has been drafted to safeguard Cork’s landmark Shandon clock, which began ticking again yesterday for the first time in almost two years.

Horologist Philip Stokes, who oversaw a 10-week repair project on the famous 160-year-old mechanism, set it ticking from 9.30am.

See - Photo Album Slideshow: Right: Follow this Link:

https://plus.google.com/photos/100853986949465414818/

A three-year maintenance programme has been drafted to safeguard Cork’s landmark Shandon clock, which began ticking again yesterday for the first time in almost two years.

Horologist Philip Stokes, who oversaw a 10-week repair project on the famous 160-year-old mechanism, set it ticking from 9.30am.

He then stood at the base of St Anne’s church and watched anxiously as the clock struck 10am before its distinctive and much-loved chimes rang out across the city.

But Mr Stokes assured us that its renowned quirk which sees the four faces each telling a slightly different time — hence the ‘four-faced liar’ nickname — has been retained. “Given its age, the amount of gears, and the effect of the wind on the hands which can send a kickback through the gear mechanism, you will always have a slightly different time on each of the clock faces,” he said. “But we’ve tried to keep the time different to within two or three minutes.”

The clock atop the steeple — the internationally recognised symbol of the city — began grinding to a halt almost two years ago.

Community activist, Barry Keane, brought the issue to national attention through the Irish Examiner last November.

But a row over responsibility for the clock mechanism, and red-tape in City Hall stalled the sanctioning of funding to carry out much-needed repairs. Following months of negative publicity, City Hall finally agreed to release the funding in May, clearing the way for repairs to begin.

Mr Stokes, a Cork-based clock expert, moved on-site in June and began repairing the mechanism which is just a few inches smaller than the mechanism which drives London’s Big Ben.

Several wheels were damaged, several gears, some of which are up to three feet in diameter, had seized up, and several more had cracked under the strain of the hands.

The surround of a small window just under the hands on the northern clock face had partially collapsed, throwing the hands out of line and putting huge strain on the gears inside.

Mr Stokes dismantled and cleared the entire 2.5-tonne mechanism, reworked some gears, rebuilt others, and installed an improved electronic winding mechanism.

The damaged window was repaired and the gears to which the northern hands were attached were remade and replaced.

“Unfortunately, it just hadn’t been maintained regularly enough — which a clock of this age needs. It really does need to be checked a minimum of every two or three months,” he said.

“Wind gusts on the 100ft high clock face put immense pressure on the hands, sending huge kick-back through the gearing mechanism. And that will happen again.”

While the clock is keeping time again and the hourly chime is working, it will take another few weeks before the quarter-hour chimes will be heard across the city. Mr Stokes also cleaned decades of grime and some weeds from the clock faces, and cleaned the hammers and bells.

www.shandonbells.ie

Some minor structural work still needs to be carried out; the timber numerals wrapped in folded copper; and the weathered hands, made from steel and copper and wrapped in gold leaf, will need attention in the coming years.

City officials have surveyed the entire clock mechanism and have prepared a three-year maintenance programme.

“For a 160-year-old clock, it’s in pretty good shape,” Mr Stokes said.

“They made them well, they made them to last. They just need to be loved and cared for.”

He then stood at the base of St Anne’s church and watched anxiously as the clock struck 10am before its distinctive and much-loved chimes rang out across the city.

But Mr Stokes assured us that its renowned quirk which sees the four faces each telling a slightly different time — hence the ‘four-faced liar’ nickname — has been retained. “Given its age, the amount of gears, and the effect of the wind on the hands which can send a kickback through the gear mechanism, you will always have a slightly different time on each of the clock faces,” he said. “But we’ve tried to keep the time different to within two or three minutes.”

The clock atop the steeple — the internationally recognised symbol of the city — began grinding to a halt almost two years ago.

Community activist, Barry Keane, brought the issue to national attention through the Irish Examiner last November.

But a row over responsibility for the clock mechanism, and red-tape in City Hall stalled the sanctioning of funding to carry out much-needed repairs. Following months of negative publicity, City Hall finally agreed to release the funding in May, clearing the way for repairs to begin.

Mr Stokes, a Cork-based clock expert, moved on-site in June and began repairing the mechanism which is just a few inches smaller than the mechanism which drives London’s Big Ben.

Several wheels were damaged, several gears, some of which are up to three feet in diameter, had seized up, and several more had cracked under the strain of the hands.

The surround of a small window just under the hands on the northern clock face had partially collapsed, throwing the hands out of line and putting huge strain on the gears inside.

Mr Stokes dismantled and cleared the entire 2.5-tonne mechanism, reworked some gears, rebuilt others, and installed an improved electronic winding mechanism.

The damaged window was repaired and the gears to which the northern hands were attached were remade and replaced.

“Unfortunately, it just hadn’t been maintained regularly enough — which a clock of this age needs. It really does need to be checked a minimum of every two or three months,” he said.

“Wind gusts on the 100ft high clock face put immense pressure on the hands, sending huge kick-back through the gearing mechanism. And that will happen again.”

While the clock is keeping time again and the hourly chime is working, it will take another few weeks before the quarter-hour chimes will be heard across the city. Mr Stokes also cleaned decades of grime and some weeds from the clock faces, and cleaned the hammers and bells.

Some minor structural work still needs to be carried out; the timber numerals wrapped in folded copper; and the weathered hands, made from steel and copper and wrapped in gold leaf, will need attention in the coming years.

City officials have surveyed the entire clock mechanism and have prepared a three-year maintenance programme.

“For a 160-year-old clock, it’s in pretty good shape,” Mr Stokes said.

“They made them well, they made them to last. They just need to be loved and cared for.”