BENCHMARKS continued
Not many people know this but just like London and New York, there is an area of Dublin City that is called Soho. To explain: - the 'ho' bit comes from that part of Dublin where the Heuston Railway Station and the eponymous Bridge are located; the 'So' bit means 'south of'. Therefore Soho stands for south of Heuston. But it hasn't really caught on with your average Dub.
Anyone who has been to Dublin's Soho Square will know they are extremely unlikely to find any benchmarks there; its a modern offices, shops and apartments development. But the same can not be said for the nearby Heuston area and these two have been located there, one each on the eponymous station and bridge.
During the 1916 Rising, the 25 year old Sean Heuston was the commander of the volunteers in the Mendicity Institution (the original building now long demolished) on the south side of Dublin city. His task was to hold the position for three or four hours, in order to delay the advance of the British troops and give the headquarters staff time to prepare their defenses. He and his comrades succeeded and more, by holding out for over two days and for that Heuston was executed on 8th May. On the 25th anniversary of the Rising the bridge was renamed in his honour, while in 1966 the station, where he had worked for a time, was given his name. However many rare auld Dubs still refer to the structures by their original name i.e. King's Bridge. The bridge when it was opened in the 1820s was named to honour an earlier visit to Dublin by George IV. From 1923 until it was renamed for Sean Heuston in 1941, it was called Sarsfield Bridge in honour of Patrick Sarsfield. Is this perhaps the only occasion where a structure named after a nationalist hero was later renamed for another person? The railway station which opened in the 1840s, took its name from the bridge. At the time, with no internal roof support pillars, it had the largest open floor area of any similar building in the world.
Below: The 'mark on the Bridge.
Above: The south western corner of the Bridge with the 'mark at bottom right.
Below: The 'mark on the south eastern corner of the Station. There is something appropriate about this 'mark and its positioning. It is almost as if it represents a 'quality mark' on the building testifying to a job well done.
Above: The 'mark was spotted recently as Benchmarker was en route to the Airport. It can be seen on the left, just to the right of Benchmarker's luggage.