NUMBER 95

BENCHMARKS continued

This one is located on Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital on Grand Canal Street in Dublin City.

Above: Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital with the 'mark just below and between the two windows to the right of the door.

NUMBER 94

BENCHMARKS continued

The Mater Hospital has been much in the news (or as some RTE reporters say it, “the gnus”) recently as the Government's proposed site for the National Children's Hospital.

This 'mark is at the pedestrian entrance to the main building on Eccles Street.

Above: The 'mark is on the base of the pillar glimpsed between the two silver coloured cars at medium left.

NUMBER 93

BENCHMARKS continued

This one is located on the base of the railings of a house at the corner of Fitzwilliam Square and Fitzwilliam Place in Dublin.

A plaque on the building states that the painter Jack B. Yeats lived there. Benchmarker was prompted to wonder if he ever painted a scene entitled “A Benchmarker rides into a Town”? Probably not.

Above: Fitzwilliam Place looking towards Leeson Street. The 'mark is on the corner of the base of the railings facing, at right.

NUMBER 92

BENCHMARKS continued

From his perch atop the column on the octagonal plinth, the statue of the national saint bestows his sweet smile on the centre of Westport. Benchmarker first set foot in this fair town 40 years ago and in the interim, and adverse to his tastes, a good degree of gentrification has occurred. An example is what has been done at the base of the monument. Steps - leading up to a small platform area where bench seats are placed - have been added all around. Fortunately the platform extends around just seven of the eight sides, and as the benchmark was on the eighth of these it survives and can still be viewed. Responsible gentrification or happy accident? Benchmarker suspects the latter.

Below: The 'mark on the base of the monument to Saint Patrick.

Above: The 'mark is located between the bicycles and the shrubs at the base of the monument.

NUMBER 91

BENCHMARKS continued

A stroll in Saint Stephen's Green - an oasis of calm, while without all was Garda sirens and students in yellow tee-shirts protesting any increase in their registration fees - uncovered no 'marks. Striding bravely out into the tumult Benchmarker emerged through the Leeson Street entrance and spotted this one on the granite blocks at the base of the railings on the corner with Stephen's Green South.

All around the perimeter of the Green the level of the pavement has risen and risen over the years. There may have once been other 'marks there, similarly positioned as this one, but if there were they are lost now.

Below: The 'mark at the base of the railings on Stephens Green South at the Leeson Street entrance.

Above: As this group of protesting students return to the bus that will take them back to the sticks, they pass the 'mark on the base of the railings at extreme left.

NUMBER 90

BENCHMARKS continued

This one is on the base of the right hand column at the entrance to Longford Town Court House.

Below: The 'mark on Longford Town Court House.

Above: Main Street, Longford looking south. The entrance to the Court House is at right with the 'mark on the base of the column at extreme right.

NUMBER 88 & 89

BENCHMARKS continued

Here are two from the centre of Omagh Town. One is on Bell's Bridge - the bridge over the Strule river - on the eponymous Bridge Street. The other is on the corner of the Court House on George's Street.

Below: The 'mark on Bell's Bridge. It has been badly daubed over in yellow paint.

Above: Bell's Bridge looking east with the 'mark at the lower centre of the wall.

Below: The 'mark on Omagh Town Court House.

Above: The Court House with the 'mark on the right hand corner between the rightmost 3rd and 4th bollards.

NUMBER 87

BENCHMARKS continued

“In the early morning, the shirt factory horn

called women from Creggan, the Moor and the Bog.”

With numerous factories, Derry was once famous for shirt manufacturing, an industry that gave employment almost exclusively to girls and women. (And for a while there were even some smaller factory units located across the border e.g. Belvoir in Newtowncunningham and Clubman in Buncrana.) And those factory workers didn't just come from Derry City. Benchmarker remembers how many women from Newtown, Kildrum and Killea took the bus into the city. Some of them used to disembark on Foyle Road near Craigavon Bridge, their stop for the Tillie and Henderson shirt factory. When it opened in the 1850s, Tillie's was the largest shirt factory in the world. Almost 150 years later it ceased production. In 2002, derelict, it caught fire and the following year was demolished.

Interestingly, in the novel Trinity by Leon Uris, some of the action happens in a shirt factory located at almost exactly the same spot where Tillie's stood. In the book the factory is destroyed in a fire with great loss of life.

This one was spotted on Tillie's Brae, the narrow pathway that runs between Craigavon Bridge and the site of the the former building. (A brae is a Scottish word meaning a small hill or slope.)

Below: The'mark on Tillie's Brae.

Above: The 'mark is on the wall between the supports of the direction sign on the right. The wall is part of the west side of Craigavon Bridge. Behind the hoarding is the site of the former Tillie and Henderson shirt factory.

"For what's done is done and what's won is won

and what's lost is lost and gone forever."

NUMBER 86

BENCHMARKS continued

This one is on a mile-marker on the right hand side of the road from Slane to Ashbourne in Co Meath. Benchmarker is unsure of the name of the townland in which it is located but will add this information when it comes to hand; and also has no idea of what or where are the destinations indicated by the numbers.

Below: The 'mark on the Slane to Ashbourne Road.

Above: The Slane to Ashbourne Road looking towards Dublin with the 'mark at right.

NUMBER 85

BENCHMARKS continued

“From Carrickmacross to Crossmaglen

There are more rogues than honest men.”

If there was any truth in that old rhyme then the Court House in Carrickmacross must have been a busy spot. However that was far from the case when Benchmarker came calling. The place was locked shut, including the grounds, and it was necessary to poke a long lens through the bars of the railings to capture this 'mark on the front right hand side of the building.

Below: The 'mark on Carrickmacross Court House.

Above: The Court House with the 'mark visible through the bars of the gate at right.

NUMBER 84

BENCHMARKS continued

“The noble and the brave have departed from our shore
They've gone off to a foreign land where the wild cannons roar
No more they'll see the shamrock, the plant so dear to me
Or hear the small birds singing around sweet Tralee.”

That noble and brave – as well as good and faithful – Benchmark hunter, P.G.R., sent this one; spotted on the Court House in Tralee, Co Kerry. Nearby is a monument to those Kerry men who fought in the Crimea; at the Indian Mutiny; and in the bother that ensued from forcing the Heavenly Middle Kingdom to trade with the Empire.

Below: The 'mark on Tralee Court House.

Above: Tralee Court House in Autumn sunshine. The 'mark is on the left just around the farmost corner.

Below: The monument to the fallen.

NUMBER 82 & 83

BENCHMARKS continued

Of the many people (two!) who took up Benchmarker's request to forward pictures of any 'marks they might discover, one of the more avid has been - and continues to be - M.C. When he is not gazing at the stars, he can regularly be found walking along the footpaths of Dublin busily scanning the bases of walls, an activity that tends to draw suspicious looks from passing Garda.

Recently M.C. spotted these two. One is on the 'mile' marker on Templeogue Road, and the other is on Brighton Road at the corner with Terenure Road East.

Below: The 'mark on Templeogue Road, highlighted in yellow paint. Emmm .... wonder was it B.B.

Above: The 'mark on Brighton Road, highlighted in white paint. Emm ...... wonder does B.B. have two paint colours in his paint box.

NUMBERS 80 & 81

BENCHMARKS continued

“They say that Nass is a terrible place

and Athy is just as bad.

But the worst town I've ever been in

is bleep you Kinnegad!”

Naas was far from terrible for Benchmarker as two 'marks were spotted during a short stroll along the main street. One is on the front of the Courthouse and the other is opposite and a short distance along on the front of the Bank of Ireland building.

Below: The 'mark on Naas Courthouse.

Above: Nass Courthouse with the 'mark on the corner at left.

Below: The 'mark on the Bank of Ireland.

Above: The 'mark is on the corner at right, below the metal railings.

NUMBER 79

BENCHMARKS continued

Benchmarker can not be sure that this is/was a benchmark. The location - on the base of the left hand pillar at the entrance to the Mansion House in Dublin - is just the sort of spot where a 'mark would be expected to be. If indeed it was a 'mark then it appears that it was attacked with a blunt instrument at some stage. If this is what happened, might it have occurred on the occasion of the sitting of the first Dail in 1919? Perhaps an emotional supporter or two decided to show their antipathy to the colonial power by attacking a small symbol of that power, namely the benchmark inscribed on the building by British Army Ordnance Survey personnel.

Perhaps if any old photographs of the building come to hand, some of the mystery can be solved.

Below: The 'mark, if indeed it is such, at the entrance to the Mansion House in Dublin.

Above: The Mansion House with the 'mark on the entrance pillar on the left.

NUMBER 78

BENCHMARKS continued

This one is on Saint Finian's Church (Lutheran) on Adelaide Road – just opposite the Royal Eye and Ear Hospital – in Dublin City.

It is to the left of the entrance on the corner of the building.

Below: The 'mark on Saint Finian's Church.

Above: Saint Finian's Church. The 'mark is not visible in this shot. It is on the corner of the building to the left, behind the shrubs.

NUMBER 77

BENCHMARKS continued

This one - fringed with fuchsia - is at the junction of Upper Kilmacud Road and Birchs Lane, Dublin, on the pillar of the original entrance to Airfield House.

Below: The 'mark on Upper Kilmacud Road.

Above: The entrance to Airfield House, Dundrum. The 'mark is on the base of the pillar at right while Benchmarker's trusty metal steed stands by awaiting commands.

NUMBER 76

BENCHMARKS continued

Intriguing, is perhaps the best word to describe this benchmark located at the bottom of Leinster Road in Dublin. It appears to have been carved into the pebble-dash rendering on the pillar on which it is located. Could this be so, and why was it decided? And if so, why did the rendering not disintegrate at the time or sometime since? Intriguing indeed.

Below: The 'mark on Leinster Road. Note the rendering which shows signs of disintegrating at the base of the pillar.

Above: The east end of Leinster Road in Dublin with the 'mark on the pillar at left near the pedestrians.

NUMBER 75

BENCHMARKS continued

This one is behind the railings at the front of the Church of Saints Augustine and John on Thomas Street in Dublin.

Below: The 'mark on the front of Saints Augustine and John's Church in Dublin.

Above: The 'mark can be seen through the railings at right. Just past the car parked on the pavement is the National College of Art and Design, formerly Power's Distillery.

NUMBER 74

BENCHMARKS continued

Old churches, especially those belonging to the Protestant faiths, are a good place to look for benchmarks. And so it came to pass that as Benchmarker was on the excursion to Garville Avenue, a detour was made to check out Christ Church, Rathgar, situated at the junction of Rathgar Road and Highfield Road in Dublin. And sure enough, this one was spotted on the front of the building.

Below: The 'mark on Christ Church, Rathgar.

Above: The 'mark is on the front facing buttress on the right.

NUMBERS 72 & 73

BENCHMARKS continued

'Trinity' a blockbuster novel by Leon Uris was published in the 1970s. Benchmarker only recently got around to reading it. Though criticized for being overly sentimental and romantic in places, it's a rattling good read. It clearly involved an enormous amount of research and makes an excellent primer for anyone wanting to understand the ancient enmities that still persist between the two tribes on this island.

Some of the action is set in a house with the address of 34 Garville Avenue in Dublin. This prompted a visit there in a small act of homage by Benchmarker who, long ago had a close acquaintance who owned a house on that same street. The last that was heard of the fellow is that he sold up and moved to France where, wearing a black beret and with a string of onions 'round his neck, he cycles from village to village challenging the locals to a game of boules. Proof indeed, if it were ever needed, that we Irish have the happy knack of being able to fit in whatever the circumstances.

An then, ambling around the corner and onto Rathgar Road, two benchmarks were happened upon. Such a fine trace remains of one of them that in order to confirm its existence it was necessary to use fingers - a bit like Thomas Didymus (and how we used to snigger at that name in school religion classes) - to feel for the 'cuts' in the stone. Yes! It is definitely there, as the photograph helps to confirm.

Below: The 'mark on Rathgar Road just up from the junction with Garville Avenue and on the same side.

Above: The 'mark is on the base of the pillar at right.

Below: This 'mark is on the same side of the road as the previous one, and up near Rathgar Village.

Above: The western end of Rathgar Road with the 'mark on the base of the gate pillar at right.

NUMBERS 69, 70 & 71

BENCHMARKS continued

Benchmarker is unsure whether these three can be classified as true benchmarks. However they do appear to have some connection with the Ordnance Survey. At still over nine hundred short of the target, needs must. And so they go in. They are located on the east side of Temple Street West, Dublin.

Below : Two of the 'marks.

Above: Temple Street West with one of the 'marks at extreme right and the other on the near corner of the building.

Below: The 'mark on the corner of Temple Street West and Arbour Hill. It is very much the worse for wear and somewhat difficult to decipher.

Above: The corner of Temple Street West and Arbour Hill with the 'mark on the wall at right.