Ulsara 2020 newsletter

THE UPPER LEESON STREET AREA RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

SUMMER 2020

Your neighbours are here to help

Inside

The Grove

Encouraging Biodiversity

Graffiti Clean Up Report

ULSARA:

The Next 50 Years

Grand Canal Volunteers

ULSARA AGM

Unfortunately, due to Covid-19

restrictions we have had to

postpone our Annual General

Meeting. It will be rescheduled

when it is safe to do so.

Volunteers come together under

ULSARA’s umbrella to offer

assistance to vulnerable members

of the local community during the

Covid 19 virus pandemic.

In March, as the virus took an

increasingly strong grip in Ireland, a

discussion began within the ULSARA

committee. What should be done in

our community?

A small group of volunteers including

committee members and others

quickly emerged – willing to help

neighbours with practical things

like shopping, running errands and

picking up prescriptions.

A dedicated phone line and email

address were set up and ULSARA

printed a leaflet that was distributed

to all 1,500 homes in our area over

the first weekend in April. The

initiative was mirrored in many

communities across Ireland at the

time.

Since then the volunteer team has

assisted with a range of requests

from local residents following the

government advice that they should

self-isolate or “cocoon”. We were

happy to respond to those who

needed our help several times

over the period of lock-down as

well as others who only sought

assistance on one or two occasions.

Great response from volunteers

It was particularly encouraging to

see the number of members of the

local community who came forward

offering to help having either seen

the leaflet or read about the initiative

on the ULSARA website. In fact, we

were contacted by more people

volunteering time or other support

than those who needed assistance.

A signal that bodes well for our

community.

Supportive comments.

On Easter Sunday the group received

a text message: “To the terrific

Volunteers- Happy Easter. Thank you

for giving us the security of knowing

that there are people out there willing

to help us if we need something.”

Another member wrote to the chair

of the Association:

“A massive thank you to all at

ULSARA, who thought of the idea,

those who sourced the information,

assembled it, printed and delivered

such a reassuring and informative

message.

When this is all over, hopefully all

the residents can get together to

celebrate and thank all the people

who have supported the community

through such an event.

It is nice to know others like us in

the district have all the back up and

reassurance that your circular gives.”

Thanks

Thanks to Fiona Slevin of the

ULSARA committee for the original

initiative, to Pat Murray and Tony

Fox also of the committee, to Simon

Nugent, to the Clarke family of

Northbrook Road and all the other

volunteers who stepped forward.

As this ULSARA newsletter goes

to press, lockdown is gradually being

lifted and fewer members of the

community may need the support

of the volunteer team. However,

we remain available to help anyone

who has to self-isolate for whatever

reason.

Support is still available

Contact details:

Text or call: 085 177 7644

Email: ulsaracovid19@gmail.com

P.O. Box 8411, Ballsbridge Dublin 4. www.ulsara.ie

ULSARA NEWS Summer 2020

1

ULSARA 2020 Draft 3.indd 1 23/07/2020 15:54


Chairman’s message

WELCOME TO THE LATEST ISSUE OF OUR NEWSLETTER

Carmen Neary

ULSARA Chairman

It would be impossible to imagine

the changes that have overtaken

our world since the beginning of

2020. The Coronavirus pandemic has

caused widespread loss of life, fear,

anxiety and concern for the future

of our planet, our health and our

economy.

Although it may seem that there can

be no positive outcomes from such

a worldwide crisis, the enormous

goodwill displayed by all sections

of the community throughout our

country, creates a feeling of optimism.

Our front line workers in every area

of endeavour, risked their health

and welfare to tend to the needs of

others. The concern for the welfare

of neighbours, shown by keeping in

touch, and attending to any shopping

or other needs created a great sense

of community and a feeling that help

is only a phone call away.

Families organised entertainment that

could be shared over the internet;

art exhibitions for the children, table

quizzes for all the family, exchanging

ideas to help keep the children busy

and improving morale for everyone.

The necessity to work from home,

while not always ideal, did give

families an opportunity to enjoy

each others company in a way that

would not normally be possible. It

might be that, in the future, working

from home could be an option for

some people, resulting in less time

spent commuting and possibly a less

frenetic lifestyle.

The current restriction in air travel has

resulted in a reduction in pollution,

even if temporarily, and the pleasure

of being able to hear the birdsong,

loud and clear, when not competing

against traffic noise is so uplifting.

2 ULSARA NEWS Summer 2020

In the past, we have often been

encouraged to ‘Shop Local’ so that

neighbourhood traders remain viable.

The Covid-19 pandemic certainly

highlighted just how important our

local stores are, when our travel

was restricted. We must continue

to support them, to show our

appreciation for their willingness

to go the extra mile to help the

community by organising deliveries to

those unable to visit their shops. Their

viability depends on the support of

the local community.

I imagine that, unfortunately, the

world will revert to the normal ratrace

in time, but we should not forget

the kindness and consideration shown

in our time of need by everyone. It is

the wonderful sense that we are there

for each other that restores our faith

in humanity.

Who we are

The Upper Leeson Street Area

Residents’ Association was founded

in 1968. The Association draws its

members from the catchment area of

streets, lanes, and squares adjacent

to Upper Leeson Street, which

extends south from the Grand Canal

in Dublin City.

Situated in or near Ranelagh and

Ballsbridge, these include Appian

Way, Dartmouth Square, Leeson

Park, Northbrook Road, Leeson Park

Avenue, Clyde Lane, Elgin Road,

Grand Parade

Ranelagh Road

Dartmouth

Square

Northbrook Road

Northbrooke Lane.

Northbrooke Ave.

Ranelagh

Gardens

Leeson Street Upper

Litton Hall

Leeson Park

Chelmsford

Avenue

Chelmsford Road

Mespil Road

Sussex Road

Sallymount Avenue

Appian Way

Burlington Road

Leeson Park Avenue

Swan river

Waterloo Lane

Heytesbury Lane, Pembroke Park,

Pembroke Lane, Raglan Road, Raglan

Lane, Warner’s Lane, Waterloo Lane,

Waterloo Road, Wellington Place,

Wellington Lane and Wellington Road.

Our aims

The primary aim of the Association

is to promote the conservation

and preservation of the residential

character and amenities of the

neighbourhood, including the

maintenance of green spaces, as

well as the distinctive Georgian and

Victorian architectural features of this

area of Dublin, and to encourage the

development of community life in

the area.

Acknowledgements

ULSARA acknowledges with thanks

the support of Dublin City Council

(Community Grant Scheme) toward

the publication of this and previous

Newsletters.

Newsletter printed, most generously at

a reduced cost, by Simon Hederman.

Garden Level,

92 Upper Leeson Street

Dublin D04 A5V2

www.hederman.ie

Pembroke Place

Waterloo Road

Baggot Street Upper

Heytesbury Lane

Wellington Lane

Wellington

Place

Morehampton Road

Pembroke Lane

Wellington Road

Raglan Lane

Pembroke Park

Raglan Road

Clyde Road

Clyde Lane

Pembroke Road

Elgin Road

Herbert

Park



The Grove, Kathleen Goodfellow and the Urban Wildlife of Dublin 4

The Grove

Morehampton Road

ad

If there is anything that these strange days have asked

us to reconsider it is the riches that lie on our doorstep.

Wildlife and the vernal energies of springtime have

become one of the great consolations of life under

lockdown. There was no longer traffic to invade the song

of wrens, blackbirds or blackcaps. A fox trotting about at

dusk was the most activity you might have seen on the

streets for days. Silver Holly Blue butterflies emerged a

couple of weeks into restrictions like tiny celebrations.

Whether by car, bus or on foot, I have passed the

Grove on Morehampton Road numberless times

throughout my life growing up in Dublin 6 and later

Dublin 4. I would acknowledge the large resplendent

gates and air of leafy mystery it gave off without ever

committing to a closer look, content in some arbitrary

knowledge that whatever was going on inside was under

lock and key for a good reason.

But when I began writing about my passion for urban

nature and the gift of birdlife that lives right through the

very make-up of this incredible city, the Grove came to

emit a strong energy for two reasons. Firstly, it is situated

right near my home on Waterloo Lane and became part

of my daily pre-dawn walk during the tightest 2km-phase

of lockdown. Secondly, I discovered there a resident pair

of one of my favourite birds – the sparrowhawk.

Natural and social histories belong side-by-side, I believe.

Not only is the footprint of man too insistent to ignore

in any discussion of the natural world (depressingly so,

in many cases) but nature is not diametrically opposed

to urban life. It fits in around it, finds the opportunities,

and exploits whatever it can. The sparrowhawk is our

commonest bird of prey and every back garden in the

country probably has one passing through each day

as part of its hunting route. We miss them because it

happens in the blink of an eye. The birdfeeders that

we hang in sight of our kitchen windows are bread and

butter to these small, elusive raptors, as are feral pigeons

waddling about on pavements and verges. For those

who might find the idea of a hawk catching little birds

distressing, I would urge you to consider that two-thirds

of young hawks perish in their first winter. The odds are

actually weighed against them.

When I began reading up about Kathleen Goodfellow,

the integrity of her wish to preserve the Grove, and her

deep friendship with artist Estella Solomons, I began to

see that the Grove was more than just a walled island

of woodland wedged between busy thoroughfares.

There seems an almost sacred quality about it, not only

because of its lush ecosystem but also the spirits of art,

revolution, and literature that would have spent time

there as guests of Goodfellow before her death in 1980.

I have been writing about the urban wildlife of Dublin

4 for many months and the Grove has now become a

chapter in itself. I want to not only talk about what lives

there, but also the foresight of Ms Goodfellow and the

example she provides today when our exploitation of

the natural world is accelerating towards catastrophe.

As part of this, I am eager to speak to those who knew

her on any level whatsoever, from passing acquaintance

to friend. My hope is that I may grasp some small part of

her essence and commit it to written word so that she

may become a beacon of early Dublin environmentalism.

If anybody has any memories or first-hand information

whatsoever about Ms Goodfellow, the Grove or Estella

Solomons, please do not hesitate to contact me on 085

1340476 or hylwhite@gmail.com.

Hilary White


3



Extract from Gardening for Biodiversity, written by Juanita Browne and illustrated by Barry Reynolds.

This guide was funded by The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht through the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s National Biodiversity Action Plan Fund,

with support from the Heritage Council and the Local Authority Heritage Officer Network. To request a hardcopy of the full booklet email heritage@dublincity.ie

Biodiversity-friendly management tips

Don’t use pesticides

The rule is simple: If you avoid using chemicals, your garden will be much

more biodiversity-friendly. ‘Pesticides’ include herbicides, fungicides

and insecticides.

Remember: the insects and slugs, which you may be trying to kill, do feed

important food sources for pollinating insects, and other insects too, which

form the basis of the food chains in your wildlife garden.

Make your own compost

As well as being a way to recycle

your garden and kitchen waste and

giving you a rich substrate for your

plants, a compost heap offers an

important site where invertebrates

can live and breed.

Conserve water

Installing a water butt recycles

rainwater for your garden. This

can also be used to top up the bird

bath, bog garden or pond when

necessary.

Make your own leaf mould

Make a wire cage in a corner of

your garden to create leaf mould.

Leaf mould is formed from decaying

leaves and is a great conditioner for

fallen leaves and needles in autumn.

This is also a great way to provide a

home for lots of soil and leaf litter

biodiversity.

Only buy peat-free compost

the world. We have now reduced our peatlands to less than 10% of what once

existed across the midlands. By choosing peat-free compost, you will help to

conserve our remaining peat bogs and their unique biodiversity, including

composted wood, composted green waste, and leaf mould. Always look for

a ‘peat-free’ label rather than simply ‘organic’ as these may still contain peat.

If there are none available, why not ask the store manager to stock peat-free

compost. Customers can make this change happen!

You may be tempted to use slug pellets to foil snails and slugs, but these can be very

harmful to birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs who prey on the slugs and

snails that consume them. Instead, you could try a beer trap or copper wire.

and snails who don’t like moving over copper.

they do provide food for hedgehogs and many birds and amphibians.



Dawn Chorus

in Dartmouth Square


Graffiti Control

Report 2020

In the early hours of Sunday, 24th April last year, the gates of Dartmouth

Square were opened to receive about eighty “early birds” who had

left their warm beds to join environmentalist, Éanna Ní Lamhna to

experience the Dawn Chorus.

Éanna welcomed the group and took them on a stroll through the

Square. She explained that the Robin is the first one to start singing.

Because they have larger eyes, letting in more light, they are the first

ones awake. Their song is their welcome to a new day. The way Eanna

explained it- in her inimitable way, they are saying to their Robin friends,

I am alive and awake; how are you? Soon the Blackbird and the Thrush

joined in, and Eanna kept us all entertained with stories of how the birds

build their nests and set out to attract a mate. An hour or so after the

Robin started the day, other birds such as the Great Tit, Chiffchaff and

Blue Tit came to join the party, contributing their unique sound to a

wonderful Dawn Chorus.

Five years ago, in response to

a profusion of unsightly graffiti,

ULSARA became active in graffiti

control. With the support of Dublin

City Council, we began cleaning and

overpainting all graffiti on public

utility structures such as ESB boxes

and transformers, An Post Boxes,

Litter Bins, Parking Ticket Machines

and Lamp Standards. DCC provided

the appropriate green, grey and black

paint and we provided the muscle!

The sound of their singing is continuous from the beginning, with

different birds joining in over the course of the early morning. It’s

almost as if they hand over the job to new comers as the first songs are

replaced by more and different sounds.

As dawn broke the “early birds” were delighted to see that ULSARA

volunteers had laid out a delicious cooked breakfast for them. Everyone

stood together chatting and discussing the experience. The event was a

great success and will certainly be repeated when Covid 19 restrictions

are lifted.

We are very grateful to Dublin City Council who co-sponsored the event

with ULSARA.

Tackling Graffiti

Dawn breaking over Dartmouth Square

Initially our graffiti patrols took place

every two months and became less

frequent as the problem was brought

under control. Between patrols we do

cycling surveys on a monthly basis.

Feedback from passers-by and local

residents has always been positive

and appreciative. Our hard work was

recognised in 2017 with an award from

Dublin City Council.

ULSARA members Geraldine O’Connell Cusack and

Sharen McCabe at the Dawn Chorus breakfast

Time for breakfast

We have noted that graffiti on private

properties has much reduced due to

eradication actions by their owners.

Generally we are cautiously optimistic

that the improved low level of graffiti

in our area can be maintained.

Covid 19 restrictions have placed our

patrols on hold but we are ready to

resume when it is safe to do so.


5



ULSARA, the next 50 years

The committee had enjoyed

celebrating the many achievements

of Ulsara on its 50th anniversary

in 2018, and we were particularly

pleased with members’ response

to the publication of our book,

Preserving Heritage, Cherishing

Community.

As we moved past our landmark

50th anniversary, the Ulsara

committee felt it appropriate to think

about the next 50 years. We began

2020 full of energy and ambition and

held a strategy session in February.

It was attended by current and past

committee members and facilitated

by a professional strategy consultant.

Our goal was to: 1, check our

relevance to residents; 2, review and

redefine our purpose; 3, identify

the initiatives and activities that

will enable us to achieve our goals

in 2020 – 2022. There was some

debate and much consensus on the

issues and threats facing Dublin,

the ULSARA area and our residents.

Planning will always be an issue for

us, especially office development

and enforcement of planning

regulations and directives. We

discussed housing, and the future

of urban planning, the impact of

demographic changes, and emergent

models of living and working. We

also considered some of the building

and environmental issues around

the housing stock in our area,

including preservation, maintenance,

conversion and retrospective

insulation. We know environmental

concerns will gain significant focus

in the future and we need to be

mindful of a range of issues including

flooding, public spaces, air quality,

trees and planting and our built

heritage.

Through all of these issues, one

overriding theme stood out:

Community. The whole ULSARA

community: residents, workers,

short-term renters and long-time

residents. We feel it is now more

important than ever to foster a sense

of place and encourage physical

community spaces. We know people

feel more a sense of community

when they have sense of place and

where neighbours look out for each

other and help one another.

All of this was reinforced with

the arrival of Covid-19 and the

restrictions it placed on individuals

and movement. It felt right that

ULSARA members should come

together and offer a neighbourly

hand to those who could not do their

normal shopping and other errands.

Looking back, it seems prescient

that the title of our 50th anniversary

book was Preserving Heritage,

Cherishing Community. It feels right

that we should continue to look

after our heritage; it feels even more

right that we should help create a

new future by helping to build and

cherish community.

Communicating ULSARA

Newsletter

This newsletter has long been an important annual record of the association’s activities. The committee aims to

continue to publish it and to deliver it throughout the area.

Twitter @ulsaradublin

Follow us on Twitter (@ULSARAdublin) for regular and immediate news and updates. Tweets are also posted on our

website at www.ULSARA.ie.

Members’ E-News

The members who keep the association going through their annual subscriptions are very much appreciated. Regular

updates are now issued via email newsletter and online surveys are used to gather views on current issues. We avoid

inundating members with messages and endeavour to get the balance right in terms of email volume.

Please sign up for our e-newsletter on www.ulsara.ie. If, on the other hand, you would rather not receive email

communication from us, please click ‘Unsubscribe’ on any of our emails.

Website www.ulsara.ie

Please check www.ULSARA.ie for local information and up-to-date news on ULSARA activities. The site includes links

to Dublin City Council services including Property Flood Protection and Planning Applications, further articles on the

local area, and an archive of newsletters dating back to the 1980s.




Book News

St. Bartholomew’s - A History of the Dublin Parish - Kenneth Milne and Alistair Rowan

St. Bartholomew’s Church on Clyde

Road, one of the four churches

within the ULSARA area, has recently

published an illustrated history of

the parish from its foundation in

1863 down to the present day. The

book goes far beyond the limits of

most parish histories because St.

Bartholomew’s has always been an

exceptional church.

Founded to provide an upto-date

place of worship for

the predominantly Protestant

community, which inhabited the big

Victorian houses of the Pembroke

estate, the church immediately

became famous – perhaps infamous

is a better word – for the High

Anglican character of its liturgy. It

had saints in stained glass and a

painting of the Virgin on the chancel

wall! All rows from a distant past

perhaps, but the vibrant expression

of Christian faith blossoming in the

interior - on painted walls, in stainedglass

windows and on mosaic floors

- make the building unique.

The history, written jointly by

Kenneth Milne and Alistair Rowan,

celebrates the character and

contribution of the different vicars,

the designs for the building by

T.H.Wyatt and T.M.Deane, and all of

the art which it contains. So often

the content of the art in a church is

left unexplored; here it is examined

and explained and it is really well

illustrated in a series of specially

commissioned

photographs

by Andrew

Sheridan,

whose

meticulous

and luminous

images catch

the quality of

the place in a

quite special

way.

ISBN: 978-1-

909442-05-4

Price €30

Available from the publisher, Hinds,

at www.hinds.ie, and mail@hinds.ie

Also Hampton Books, 93A Morehampton Road,

Donnybrook, and from the Church Office at St.

Bartholomew’s, Clyde Road.

Jeremy Williams One of a Kind - Dermot Scott

Jeremy Daniel Williams (1943–2015)

led a life packed with incident, effort

and fun. What became obvious to his

friends was the depth of his learning,

whether of architecture, European

history, genealogy, music or

literature. All of this was the product

of a prodigious appetite for people,

buildings and art.

Light and airy sketches and drawings

flew from his pen, but the sheer

extent of his imagination, learning,

travel and contacts is to be found

in the fifty-six boxes of his

Grand Canal Clean Up

notebooks now deposited in the

Irish Architectural Archive.

tribute to the artist, historian and architect Jeremy Williams (1943-2015).

Illustrated by hi sketches and photographs, together they capture the protean spirit

and personality of this remarkable individual.

THESE FIFTEEN commemorative pieces by friends, family and colleagues pay

His other great gift was for

friendship. His clients became

his friends and patrons, and it

is through their generosity and

kindness that Jeremy managed to

survive and to share with us the

remarkable range of his talents.

darina allen

john boorman

alfred cochrane

rose mary craig

nicola gordon bowe

renagh holohan

jochem jourdan

brian leonard

martin mooney

david o’grady

Fifteen commemorative pieces by

friends, family and colleagues pay

tribute to this one-of-a-kind artist,

historian and architect.

Price €20 from bookshops.

valerie pakenham

johnny ronan

dermot scott

johnny williams

david willis

www.li liputpress.ie

ISBN 978-1-84351-779-5

9 781843 517795

THE LILLIPUT PRESS

62-63 Sitric Road, Arbour Hill,

Dublin 7, Ireland

Who cleans the Grand Canal? Who fishes that scourge of discarded drinks

cans, coffee cups, plastic bags, glasses, lunch boxes, newspapers, paper

napkins, and loaded trash bags out of the flowing water every month? And

who collects the empty burger buckets and fast food drinks from under and

over the Grand Canal benches?

A growing number of volunteers meet on the first Saturday of every month

at 10.00 am at Leeson Street Bridge. There, their team leader Phil dispenses

hi-vis vests, litter pickers, gloves, and trash bags. The volunteers - mums and

dads and their children, men and women, young and old, then head off for

Harold’s Cross Bridge and the Docklands where their clean up begins. Scores

of litter bags are filled with the trash so carelessly dumped by passers-by

into the waters and onto the footpaths. After two hours’ work, the team

returns to Leeson Street Bridge for a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, a biscuit

or two and a chat. Are you tempted? No need to sign up or commit. Come to

our Grand Canal Clean-up whenever you can and do whatever you can. Your

reward will be a warm sense of having done your bit to make Dublin City a

cleaner and friendlier place in which to live.

Further information is available at www.fotgc.ie

Jeremy Williams One of a Kind Edited by DERMOT SCOTT LILLIPUT

Jeremy Williams

One of a Kind

Edited by DERMOT SCOTT

Volunteers

cleaning up the

Grand Canal


7



ULSARA (Upper Leeson Street Area Residents’ Association)

Membership Form & Annual subscription

ULSARA’s work is all done on a

voluntary basis and we rely on the

generous support of the resident

membership for our continued

effectiveness. Your annual subscriptions

are the Association’s lifesblood.

I support the aims of ULSARA to maintain the

residential zoning, character and amenities of the area.

Name (block letters):

Payment Options

You may pay by cheque, standing order or PayPal

(including credit and debit cards).

Paypal/Card

To pay via PayPal or credit/debit card, go to www.

ulsara.ie, click on the Membership tab, and select to

pay by PayPal.

Cheque

Please make your cheque payable to ‘Upper

Leeson St Residents Association (ULSARA)’

Family €45 Single €30 Other

Tick as appropriate send to:

Address:

PO Box 8411, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Standing Order:

Please copy this form and send to your bank.

To the Manager, (Bank and branch)

Telephone:

Email:

Date: / /

Signed:

I/We hereby authorise and request you to

debit my/our account:

Name:

Name:

I consent to my email address being used

to send me occasional newsletters and

other news relating to ULSARA activities

and events.

Unless you give us permission by ticking the

above box, we will only use your details to

contact you about your membership. We

will never pass your contact details to a

third party.

You may change your mind at any time by

unsubscribing from any email or by emailing

members@ulsara.ie with ‘No Email’ in the

subject line.

Account No:

Sort Code:

The sum of €45/€30/Other (write in words)

And pay to:

Bank of Ireland, Ranelagh, Dublin 6

A/C number 10260754, sort code 90-01-72

BIC: BOFIIE2D

IBAN: IE68 BOFI 9001 7210 2607 54

Annually, beginning on the 1st day

of [month] [year].

Signed:


P.O. Box 8411, Ballsbridge Dublin 4. www.ulsara.ie


Ulsara 2020 newsletter

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