Farmleigh House

Historic House Opened to the Public

Restoration of Fota House

A Location Report

Quiet Transformation

The National Library’s New Wing

A bi-annual newsletter from the Office of Public Works

OBAIR

FARMLEIGH UNVEILED

Issue 6 December 2001

A bi-annual newsletter from the Office of Public Works

OBAIR

ONTENTSA bi-annual newsletter from the Office of Public Works

OBAIR

02 Farmleigh UnveiledHistoric House Opened to the Public

06 OPW and the Euro

10 Quiet Transformationat the National Library of Ireland

14 Work in ProgressDepartment of Education and Science, Athlone

16 Restoration of Fota House

20 National Museum of Country Life

24 The Island of Ireland Peace Park Mesen, Belgium

25 Facilities Management

28 Art of the State 2001- From Past to Present:200 years of Art on Public View

30 Mies Van Der Rohe Exhibition

31 Performance Management and Development System

32 Home and AwayArchitectural Tours 2001

35 Bill Howard and Brian Darcy

36 Brightside: OPW Charitable Organisation

37 Sports

39 An Evening of Theatre

40 Oh What a Night!OPW Annual Party 2001

Welcome to ObairWelcome to the new look Obair magazine. I hope you will find the newpresentation appealing and easy to read. The detailed table of contentsshould make it easier for you to flick straight to the articles which interestyou most.

During the last six months we have seen the opening of Farmleigh and theNational Museum of Country Life, with significant progress evident on a varietyof other projects, some of which are featured here, such as the National Libraryand Fota House.

One subject which I know is of interest to you all is the currency changeoverand a behind-the-scenes account of the run-up to the changeover is providedby Mick Long and Michael Collier on pages 6 and 7.

Over the last six months many new faces have joined the OPW – welcome toyou all – and unfortunately some old familiar ones have left us – a fond farewellto you.

Finally, I would like to thank all those who took time out of their busy schedulesto prepare the various articles contained in this issue. I would particularly liketo thank Peter Brady and John Bergin whose tireless persistence ensured thatthis issue was completed on time!

There’s a lot of fantastic work being carried out throughout the country by theOPW so please take the opportunity of telling everybody about it and send methe details for inclusion in a future issue of Obair.

Lynda HendleyPress Officer

Editorial Team Lynda Hendley Press Officer, Peter Brady and John Bergin Press Office

The major works carried out at the house andgrounds during 2000–2001 were the mostsignificant undertaken at Farmleigh since the1880s when Edward Cecil Guinness, the first Earlof Iveagh, had the house re-modelled andextended. In the intervening decades, the fabricof the building and some of the furnishings hadfallen into disrepair while certain areas hadbecome dangerous. Farmleigh is now ready toprovide premier accommodation for visitingdignitaries to Ireland and a suitable venue forimportant international and national meetings.FAR

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Farmleigh

The Office of Public Works took over responsibilityfor planning and executing the restoration of thehouse and grounds when the Irish Governmentbought it in December 1999. The house neededextensive repairs to the exterior walls, roofs andchimneys and re-wiring and re-plumbing inside.Areas such as the Conservatory were in danger ofcollapse and some of the ancillary buildings andout-houses were in a state of decay.

The OPW developed a plan for the reinstatement ofthe buildings and the integration of the wholeestate, including the courtyard, farmyard andgardens, to serve its new role. The basement,whose floor had been laid on earth, was dug out toprovide access for services. Numerous existingservices were updated and additional ones install-ed including the extension of the centralheating system throughout and security andcommunications systems. A new kitchen was builtin what was an internal courtyard and the existingcourtyard has been linked to the house to provideancillary services, such as media facilities, to themain meeting room.

Modern requirements in relation to access, fireprevention and safety dictated many of the changesand improvements, including a new entrance to theestate and roadways. There is disability access toall parts of the house.

There has been minimum intervention on theground floor, where essential repairs such as re-wiring were carried out without damaging the woodpanelling which is a feature of many of the rooms.Textile wall-coverings have been preserved,repaired where necessary and possible, and whererepair was not possible, replaced by replicas. Irishsculptures and painting have been introducedthroughout the house.

Following refurbishment, the number of bedroomshas increased to fourteen including three suites forvisiting dignitaries. Offices, exhibition areas, fitnessand health facilities and meeting rooms have beenadded to the basement while some of the originalstables have been restored around the courtyard. Ahelicopter pad has been installed in what had beenknown as the ‘donkey field’.

taircase Nobel room

At last, the extensive restoration finished andFarmleigh was ready for public inspection. Thegrand opening took place on Saturday 28 July2001. The Open Day turned out to be one of themost beautiful days of the year and an 8,000 strongcrowd flocked to the sun-drenched estate. Therewere various types of entertainment throughout theday including parachuting, Irish dancing, birds ofprey, dog show and a fantastic open air concertperformed by the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra. Thefinale, the 1812 Overture accompanied by a cannonsalute, had everyone on their feet, many withemotional tears in their eyes.

Since Farmleigh opened in July it has been indemand from a range of senior statesmen andGovernment officials. Five delegations have stayedin the house. These were: Mr Zhu Rongji, ChinesePremier; Mr V Adamkus, Lithuanian President; MrHalldor Blondal, Speaker of the House fromIceland; Mr Zozef Migas, Speaker of the Housefrom the Slovak Republic; and, a delegation fromthe British-Irish Interparliamentary Body.

In addition, a number of high-level governmentfunctions took place in Farmleigh throughoutNovember and December. The following also heldmeetings in the house; the Latvian Real EstateAgency, the Association of Embassies in Irelandand the Mexican Ambassador.

Guided tours of the house have been organisedsince the house opened in July in addition to thepublic open days. To date in excess of 33,000visitors have enjoyed a rejuvenated Farmleigh

In preparing it for another century, the Office ofPublic Works has rejuvenated Farmleigh by makingit suitable for its contemporary functions whilemaintaining its historical and cultural ambience.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, FARMLEIGH

Entrance hall Billiard room

As the changeover issues were mainly financial,Accounts Branch was asked to represent the Officeand Mick Long succeeded Gerry Doyle on thecommittee. This committee met on a monthly basis todiscuss the issues common to all Departments in theintroduction of the new currency and to ensurecompliance with Government policy of ‘Nocompulsion, no prohibition’ during the transitionperiod. In effect, the Public Servicewas required to facilitate all business inboth currencies but could not force thepublic to accept one or the other. Inorder to monitor progress on a monthlybasis, confirmation of compliance byeach Secretary General was issuedto the Euro Changeover Board ofIreland, Department of Finance, whichultimately contributes to a monthlyMemorandum for Government.

In June 2000, a divisional EuroChangeover Committee (ECC) was setup in the Office to oversee the finalstages of the changeover within theOPW. This acted as a mechanism for identifyingpossible hurdles for the organisation and wasresponsible for ensuring a seamless transition to theeuro. A detailed changeover plan was drawn up byeach Division to implement the necessary changes andan ambitious euro compliance date for the Office ofSeptember 2001 was agreed and achieved. While theOffice was in a position to offer all services in bothcurrencies for the second half of 2001, the punt willremain as the base currency of the OPW until February2002.

Accounts Branch had two major systems to beconverted. Firstly, Corepay is the new payroll systemin Accounts Branch which was introduced in the Springof 2001 and converted to euro in September 2001making the Office one of the first GovernmentDepartments to convert their Payroll system to euro.The Office is continuing to pay all staff in punts but isnow providing payslip information in euro; although the

figures look higher, there was no payincrease! Secondly, the Votes system, thecornerstone of our Financial system, whichonly recognises one currency, had to beadapted to accept and convert varioustypes of euro transactions in line withGovernment policy. Rents, Travel andSubsistence and Instructions to Pay (ITP)were payable in euro, if required, in thefinal quarter of 2001. An opportunity wasalso taken at this time to merge twosystems in Accounts Branch into onestreamlined system with euro functionalityfor tracing ITPs and making all payovers tothe Revenue Commissioners. All forms arenow available in euro throughout the Office

including manual and computerised euro ITP forms.

One of the main tasks facing all organisations was theconfiguration and conversion of InformationTechnology (IT) systems. All systems in the Office havebeen adapted and tested for euro compliance whichwas the first part of the IT plan. The second part of theplan was to develop and test procedures for end yearconversions and has also been completed. Aninventory of all hardware changes required was carried

On 1 January 2002 euro notes and coins will be introduced inIreland…and in the Office of Public Works.

A committee – the Single Currency Officers Team – wasestablished to oversee the introduction of the euro throughoutthe Public Service.

OPWANDTHEEURO

out in each Division and conversion and replacementprogrammes are almost complete. Guidelines for theconversion of spreadsheets and databases issued fromOrganisation Unit and training were provided in the GreenRoom in November.

The main aspect of training identified was the provision ofrelevant staff information on the changeover. Therefore, a euroinformation page was launched on the OPW Intranet includingcalculators, images of notes and coins, newsletters andpresentations. Several editions of a euro newsletter have beenissued to staff and are available on the Intranet providingvarious pieces of information on the changeover. Anintroductory presentation at the start of in-house trainingcourses has been provided since earlier in the year and afurther video was made available to all staff in November. Staffdealing directly with cash transactions, for example, in theGovernment Publications Shop and Dublin Castle, wereprovided with specific training in conjunction with the CentralBank and Forfas and their offices are fully prepared for eurocash transactions in the new year.

In addition to the efforts made to provide information to staffon the euro, the OPW was also involved in the Government’scampaign to inform the nation. The Government SuppliesAgency have been much applauded in procuring both the euroinformation handbook and the currency Converter for the EuroChangeover Board of Ireland. A million and a half of each weredistributed to every household in the country.

End of year arrangements are currently being finalised in allDivisions throughout the Office which will ensure a seamlesstransition to the euro and it is anticipated that by 9 February2002 (the end of the dual circulation period) the ‘euro and cent’will have relegated the ‘punt and pence’ to the past. I wouldlike to take this opportunity to thank each committee memberof the ECC for their work over the past eighteen months and towish everyone all the best for the changeover.

Mick Long

EURO CHANGEOVER COMMITTEEOPW ACCOUNTS BRANCH

A brief was developed for a dual-display electronic

converter, with pre-set conversions, which had to be

tamper-proof, easy for the public to understand and

operate and have a reasonable shelf life. The ECBI

decided they wished to provide one free converter to

every postal address in the country. This meant an

order for some 1.5m units, which had to be in An Post

depots around the country before mid-November, to

enable delivery by mid-December.

The GSA recognised that

tenderers would have to be

able to demonstrate rele-

vant experience, production

capacity schedules, internal

quality control, and a proven

ability to produce mass

volumes in an extremely short

period of time.

It was absolutely vital that the

GSA would be in a position to

assess tenders independently and expertly , including

sample units, and put in place a method of checking

on-going production at the manufacturing facility

to ensure strict compliance with technical and

performance specifications and provide certification

accordingly to the ECBI before delivery would be

accepted. The necessary technical, electronic, and IT

expertise was not available within the OPW or at

research institutes or universities in Ireland. Eventually

a British testing firm was selected.

The contract was advertised in the Journal of the

European Communities in June 2001, with a closing

date of 13 August 2001 for receipt of tenders. A total of

seventeen firms tendered, each of which was required

to submit five working

samples. All tenders were

submitted by firms who

would act as brokers or

agents and in all cases

manufacturing was to be

carried out in China.

The tenders were reduced,

initially, to a short list of nine

and eventually the contract

was awarded to a Cork

based company, Carma,

Cloghroe House, Cloghroe, Cork, and signed on 27

August 2001.

Carma's tender involved manufacturing by a Hong

Kong company, Lee Handerson HK.Ltd, in their facility

at Shen Zhen in Guandang which is the special

economic zone in South East China, bordering on

THE IRISH GOVERNMENTBUYS 1.5 MILLION EUROCURRENCY CONVERTERSThe GSA was approached by the Euro Changeover Board ofIreland (ECBI) during the Spring of 2001 about the possibilityof procuring electronic converters for the general populationwhich would be used as part of the public awarenesscampaign for the introduction of Euro notes and coins inJanuary 2002.

Hong Kong. The process would involve twenty four

hours a day, seven days a week production for a

period of six weeks, with all 1.5m units to be air

freighted from Hong Kong to Ireland, to arrive by mid-

November.

The main production run was to

start on 23 September. Michael

Collier, GSA, travelled to Hong

Kong on 25 September with a

brief to check working conditions

at the manufacturing facility,

meet with the British testing team

to ensure that necessary tests

were carried out, assess internal

controls against contract

specification, ensure that

production schedules were being

met and arrange for the

independent testing to continue

until completion of the process. In

all, he spent six days in China.

At all times it was emphasised to Carma, and Lee

Handerson HK Ltd, that this contract was of national

importance to the Government of Ireland; that it was

the GSA's first such experience with China and its

successful completion could lead to further

commercial contacts in the future.

Michael arrived in Hong Kong on the morning of 26

September after an 11-hour flight from Amsterdam.

He spent the next two days in Hong Kong viewing the

facilities of the shipping and inspection companies

employed by Carma. Especially interesting was a visit

to Super Terminal 1, the largest and most modern

computerised cargo-handling terminal in the world.

Following Michael’s visit to Lee Handerson's offices

he was convinced, by the vast range of products on

display in his showrooms, that this company was a

major player in the calculator/converter and small

personal electronic equipment market.

As soon as logistical and support infrastructure was

in place Michael travelled to Shen Zhen in China to

view the manufacturing facilities. The factory is

located in a vast industrial complex on the outskirts

of the city, very drab and featureless, comprising of

mile after mile of factories and warehousing. The Lee

Handerson plant is located in a relatively new special

zone and looks distinctly modern in comparison. The

product lines are located on the second floor and

while extremely hot by Irish standards, were well

ventilated. The workers were in the main, in their late

teens or early twenties, with the

supervisory staff somewhat older.

Working conditions were very clean

and well supervised, with breaks for

meals taken en masse - the relevant

lines being closed for the duration.

During Michael’s visits to the plant

and its’ adjacent offices he formed

the opinion that this was a

progressive and innovative

company, specialising in the

manufacture of small electronic

products, mainly for export,

extremely conscious of the need to

produce goods under strict quality

control.

Michael returned to Hong Kong on 1 October, in the

midst of an exodus of over one million people

travelling across the border for the mid-Autumn

Festival. “My visit to China afforded me a brief

glimpse of a culture which while completely different

to our own, will ensure that the G.S.A will be in a

position to deliver on time and on specification this

most challenging of contracts”, said Michael.

During Michael’s visit to the factory the production

facilities were gearing up from the then daily figure of

10,000 units, to its peak production capacity, which

by mid-October would be producing 60,000 units per

day. The inspection protocols were put in place and

the testing of the production units was started. The

1.5m consignment arrived into Ireland over the

weekend of 2-5 November for repackaging and

distribution to the An Post warehouses on 9

November. The nationwide distribution to the

households is due to be completed by mid-

December.

Michael CollierGOVERNMENT SUPPLIES AGENCY

National Library of Ireland Extension

at The National Library of IrelandQuiet Transformation

Redevelopment of the National Library complexcommenced with the redecoration of the Main ReadingRoom in 1997 and the restoration in 1998 of the formerRacquet Hall in Leinster Lane to accommodateconservation, microfilming and technical services.

At that point, a nine-phase Development Control Planwas adopted to ensure a controlled and plannedprogramme for the future redevelopment/refurbishment of the complex covering an area fromKildare Street to Leinster Lane. This plan had to takeaccount of the National Library being able, at all times,to offer its services to the public, to minimise disruption

to the functioning of the Library and to reduce risk ofdamage to national treasures in the immediate futureand long term.

The phases are described briefly below:

Phase 1: This initial stage was the routing of M & Educting from Leinster House to facilitate extra servicesin the Library. (The Library will have its own services oncompletion of phase 5a of the plan which involves thebuilding of an energy centre to serve the entirecomplex.) This was carried out in 1998.

Phase 2: Nos 2/3 Kildare Street had a special sprinklersystem and other fire prevention works installed in1999. This building contains manuscripts and a readingroom. The work was carried out in a manner thatallowed access to the manuscripts collection byreaders.

Phase 3: The former National College of Art andDesign (NCAD) building has recently been rebuilt at acost of £6.67m. This building will eventually be open tothe public for displays and seminars but because of thephased nature of the programme it will be used for staffdecanting until phase 7 has been completed.

Phase 4: Work on the refurbishment of No 4 KildareStreet, to be used as offices for the National Library

The National Library of Ireland, which opened in 1890, is oneof the country’s most valuable cultural assets. It is currentlyundergoing a quiet transformation. The buildings of theneighbouring Leinster House and National Museum are alsobeing refurbished and redeveloped. The building programmesof these two institutions have received a high media profile.The National Library of Ireland’s development programme,while not as obvious to the outsider as those of its neighbours,is just as ambitious.

staff, is currently underway. This phase is due to becompleted in mid-2002.

Phase 5: It is envisaged this phase will be a joint venturewith the Royal College of Physicians who occupy No 6Kildare Street. This project, which will be ‘client-leddesign build’, will provide repository space for theNational Library and offices for the Royal College ofPhysicians. The building will infill the yard at the rear ofNos 2/4 Kildare Street. It is proposed to construct a linktunnel from the new building, via No 6 Kildare Street,into the main National Library building. This direct linkwill provide internal access among all National Libraryproperties for the first time and reduce retrieval time fordocuments requested by readers. As documents will betransported internally they will be more secure and willnot suffer from exposure to outside extremes of weather.Planning permission has been obtained for this projectand work is expected to commence in 2002.

Phase 5a: It is proposed as part of the NationalLibrary/Royal College of Physicians joint venture toconstruct an ‘energy centre’. When complete this willprovide all the energy requirements for the complexalong with the water for the sprinkler systems in eachbuilding.

Phases 6 & 7: Originally it was proposed to refurbish theEast Wing and the Central Section of the main NationalLibrary building as two distinct phases. However it is nowproposed to combine the redevelopment of thesestages. It is proposed to demolish the rear of the EastWing, built in 1926. The replacement space along with

the extra space that will be created on infilling the yardat the rear of this building will allow the creation of extrareading and exhibition areas, stores, lifts, security rooms,cloakrooms and toilets. Support services such as a shopand café will also be catered for. Planning permission forthis phase will be sought before year-end.

Phase 8: The West Wing of the main building will betackled on completion of the East Wing and CentralBlock. It is proposed that this building will house openaccess shelving to allow readers controlled access tobooks in the National Library.

Phase 9: The last phase of the building programme willrefurbish No 5 Kildare Street for staff offices.

Stonework Cleaning and Repairs:

BMS have begun cleaning the façades of the NationalLibrary buildings. The Kildare Street (West Wing) sidewas cleaned this year and it is planned to clean andrepair the stonework on the Rotunda in the CentralSection as soon as is practical.

The entire programme of works will cost in the order of£70m.

The OPW also carries out minor projects under anongoing ‘general works’ programme for the NationalLibrary each year.

John HayesPROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES

View from Merrion Street

Members of the Project Teams on the variousphases completed or underway to date are:

Client:

Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht

and the Islands

National Library of Ireland

Project Managers:

OPW Project Management Services

Architects:

OPW Architectural Services

Structural Engineers:

Construction Services, Department of

Environment, Northern Ireland

Ove Arup

Services Engineers:

JV Tierney

McCarrick Woods

Fire and Security:

OPW Fire & Security Section

Engineers

Forbes Leslie Network

Quantity Surveyors:

OPW Quantity Surveying Section

Boyd & Creed

Seamus Monaghan & Partners

Turley Connolly & Company

Main Contractors:

Irish Sprinklers Systems

Rohcon

PJ McLoughlin & Sons

View from Leinster Lane

In 1991 the Administration, Stores and ComputerBlocks were added, greatly increasing theaccommodation there.

Accommodation for asylum seekers was provided bythe OPW on part of the 40-acre property in 2000.New palisade fencing to the Department of Education& Science property and new gates to the roadentrances were erected at the same time.

Since 1999 the staff of the North West Region ofOPW, in collaboration with OPW Sections in HeadOffice, i.e., Property Maintenance Division,Accommodation Section, Property ManagementDivision, Fire & Security Division and M&E Section,and in consultation with Department of Education &Science personnel have arranged many projects onthis campus. Contracts totalling over € 2.79 millionhave been placed and managed in the Athlonecomplex by the OPW since the beginning of 2000.

In March 2000 a contract was placed with FrankGrehan Building Contractor of Turpane, Ballyforan,Co. Roscommon, for the construction of a linkcorridor to connect the 1977 and 1991 buildings andto provide additional car parking. During this contractsite roadways were widened, spaces for 102 carswere added to the original car parking and a trucklay-by was formed.

The recovering of some 2000 square metres of theroof of part of the Examinations Branch building wasundertaken in early 2001. This contract, awarded toNoel Deane Roofing and Cladding Ltd., Kilkelly, Co.Mayo, included the renewal of 32 rooflights, the

WORK IN PROGRESS

Among the first offices in the State to be

decentralised were the Department of Education

offices in Athlone. The Department's Examination

Branch building was erected there in 1977 on a 40-

acre site in Cornamaddy Lissywollen on the edge

of the town.

Department of Education andScience, Athlone

capping of parapets and the provision of Sarnafilroof membrane and insulation. Rainwaterdownpipes which were routed originally inside thebuilding were diverted through new outlets todischarge externally. The contract was completedin summer 2001.

The Sarnafil project (Phase 1 Roof Works) wasfollowed shortly by the replacement of the roofcovering of the pitched roofed buildings on the site– Phase 2. This Phase 2 roof contract, awarded toFrank Grehan and Sons, involved the cladding ofsome 4432 square metres of roof with new Blizzard150 felt and new battens covered with NordmanTilesheets. The contract also included the renewalof valleys, ridges and hips, fascias and soffits andnew rainwater goods. This contract is due forcompletion by the end of 2001

In 2000 it was established that the urgent need foradditional space at the Department of Education &Science was at crisis level with overcrowding andno capacity for any additional staff. Taking intoaccount the timescale required to provide apermanent structure it was decided to invitetenders for a prefabricated modular officeextension. The proposed two storey extension witha floor area of 1680 square metres was to be linkedto the existing building and would be provided inconjunction with a new car park to accommodateover 90 cars. Extraspace in Dublin was successfulin the tender competition and was awarded thecontract in February 2001. The M&E Services,

designed by OPW M & E Section, are being carriedout as nominated subcontracts, as is the provisionof the lift required by the brief. This contract is onsite and is scheduled for completion by the end of2001.

Pending the completion of the two-storey ModularBuilding, 267 square metres of temporary officeaccommodation were rented for the Department’suse from April 2001.

The Department of Education & Science asked fortoilets in the complex to be modernised andupgraded. A Toilet Refurbishment Contractcovering 10 different toilet areas in the complex wasplaced with Eamonn Duffy (Rosemount) Ltd.,Moate, Co. Westmeath in May. This project involvedthe replacement of sanitary ware, new wall and floortiling, new lighting and the improvement of theventilation in the toilet areas, new suspended (tiled)ceilings, new cubicles, worktops and presses. Thiscontract is due for completion by the end of 2001

Other projects which are in train or have taken placeat the Athlone complex are the provision ofsurveillance cameras and monitoring, thereplacement of a Halon Gas fire protectioninstallation and renewal of electrical lighting in theExaminations Branch Building.

Paraic MacLochlainnARCHITECTURAL SERVICES,

SLIGO DISTRICT

Fota House stands at the centre of an internationallyrenowned arboretum and garden. The original demesne,which now also includes a golf course (based around theoriginal farm buildings) and a wildlife park, formed an islandseparating Great Island, with Cobh as its port, from themainland. This island location in the estuary gives Fota amagical timeless charm and provides a wonderful amenity onthe doorstep of Cork. Fota House is owned and managed byThe Fota Trust, which includes representatives of Cork Cityand County Councils, University College Cork, and Dúchas,The Heritage Service, of the Department of Arts, Heritage,Gaeltacht and the Islands. The arboretum and gardens wereacquired by the State.R

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Fota House, Co.Cork

Fota House was designed for John Smith Barry by the renowned Irish architectRichard Morrison and his son William. The house dates from 1825 though itincorporates an earlier hunting lodge which was altered and adapted by the Morrisons.Lighter in style than their work at Ballyfin, it still contains a wealth of interiordetailing, rich plasterwork, elegant doorcases and architraves, Ionic and Corinthianscagliola columns, marble fireplaces and fine external stonedetailing. The interiors are complemented by a painted andstencilled decoration scheme from the 1890s by the firmof Sibthorpe. The house had previouslybeen opened to the public in 1983 butclosed after a short number of years.

The current restoration of the housecommenced in 1999 with EU,Government and Fota Trustfunding and was completed in2001. The work concentrated on re-opening the principal rooms on theground floor to the public and restoring aremarkably well-preserved suite of kitchenrooms ‘beyond the Green Baize door’. Thevalue of the contract totalled over £2.5m.

Externally, prior to the restoration, the housepresented an uneven appearance with little of its originalrender which had been fully removed in some areas and was detached elsewhere. Thearchitectural treatment of the exterior relies on the contrast between the white naturalrender and the grey stonework of its details. These stone elements, such as windowarchitraves, cornice, string-courses and quoins, are of Cork limestone, a very livelystone, quite light in colour and with a nice veining. Rusting of iron bars behind thestonework of the portico meant that sections had moved and delaminated. Thismovement also caused water ingress onto the ends of the timber beams of the entrancehall directly behind the portico supporting the first floor of the house. Thedeterioration of this timber in turn led to the transfer of considerable weight onto thescagliola columns in the hall, causing them to crack and damaging the decoratedplasterwork band of wreaths, crests and oak leaf decoration. The portico, timber beamsand related areas were carefully restored using Irish and English specialists.

The major problem which led to the closure of the house to the public was the collapseof a portion of the ceiling in the drawing room. Within the thickness of the floor,approximately 250mm in depth, considerable conservation work had to be undertaken.Initially the ceiling’s plaster was consolidated and repaired. It was then strengthened,using a steel cable to introduce compression in the floor, to reduce the tension in thebottom of the floor joists. This catenary wire was attached close to each end of pairs offloor joists and hand-tensioned to introduce the load, while a laser level above and splitrod measuring below ensured that there was no springing of the floor. The missingsection of the ceiling was then repaired with new riven lath plaster, a jig-saw of the manydamaged fragments was made and these were pieced in to the new plaster work andjoined with decoration and gilding.

Destroyed sections of plasterwork were modelled or cast so that elements such as the rosegarland, which contains approximately twenty different flowers, could be restored. Therewere also problems with dry rot in parts of the ante-room, drawing-room and dining-room and these were all carefully treated, retaining the existing details.

The exhibition approach, devised by Robin Wade and Partners, is quite unique, treatingthe lack of a full complement of period furniture as an asset rather than a problem. Theprincipal rooms are left largely unfurnished, allowing for a variety of functions,conferences, etc., and concentrating, during tours of the house, on the architecturaldetailing. There is a high-tech installation in each of these rooms allowing touch screenaccess by the visitor to a sequence of themed images. Furnishing is limited to minorrooms with the original kitchen fully restored and stocked, its adjoining octagonal meatlarder brimming with (stuffed) pheasant, rabbit and hare and with sides of baconprotruding from the larder’s lead-lined curing baths.

A separate Orangery on the axis of the main house, visible from the main staircase, wasalso restored.

The house has already hosted a number of functions and conferences and the interiorexhibition will open to the public early in 2002. The gardens and Orangery have beenused for an open-air performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Future phases ofwork will include opening rooms on the upper floor to the public. These rooms are quitedomestic in scale but have beautiful decorations, particularly the lady’s boudoir which hasfine plaster detailing of feigned drapery.

The new National Museum of Country Life is the firstpurpose built building for the National Museum ofIreland since 1885. The complex consists of an1800m2 exhibition building, 1700m2 of storage andconservation studios and a new link building connectingthe Museum and storage buildings and approximately1400m2 of restaurant, shop, visitor facilities andmuseum administration located in the renovatedexisting house and courtyards.

Mayo County Council bought this site in 1991 and made

the initial proposals for it as a location for a Folklife

Museum. The project is a joint collaboration between the

Office of Public Works, Mayo County Council, The

Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands

and the National Museum of Ireland. Mayo County

Council, in conjunction with the Great Gardens of Ireland

Group and Fás, have restored the lake and gardens and

provided car-parking and reinstatement of the driveways.

The Office of Public Works was responsible for the

project management, design and construction of the new

facilities and their fitting-out.

The full design team, including project management,

architects, structural engineers and service engineers

were sourced in house.

The site comprises approximately thirty acres of

woodlands and semi-formal gardens. It contains a lake

with pleasure islands, the ruins of a fortified house and

De Burgo castle, conservatories, and a nearby abbey and

round tower.

The new exhibition building is to one side of the main

house, with most of its volume below house level. It acts

as a landscape element, terminating the steep grassed

terraces which connect the house and lake. The main

entrance level is defined by a granite diagonal wall, which

View of the Museum and Turlough Park House

National Museum of Country LifeNational Museum of Country LifeDes Byrne, Architectural Services

CLIENT

The Office of Public Works; Mayo County Council;

The Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and

the Islands and The National Museum of Ireland.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

ffice of Public Works Project Management Services:

June Thompson, Dominic McNevin,

Kevin Connolly, Emer O’Mahoney

Clare McGrath, Dan O’Neill.

ARCHITECTS

Office of Public Works Architectural Services:

Des Byrne, Mark Stewart, Terri Sweeney,

Eileen Dolan, Sean Lynam, Liam Egan,

Michael O’Doherty, Pat Cooney,

Emmet O’Donnell, Jan Wassenaar

Colm Cahalan, Ruth Herman, Tom Mc Ardle,

John Joe Geraghty.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS

Office of Public Works Engineering Services:

John Gallagher, Kieran Walsh, Sean Balfe.

Michael Byrne, Len Cawley, Ollie Burke.

SERVICE ENGINEERS

Office of Public Works Electrical and

Heating Services: Padraig Cronin.

FIRE AND SECURITY CONSULTANTS

Office of Public Works Fire and Security Section:

Kevin McLoone, Derek Tallant.

QUANTITY SURVERYORS

Office of Public Works Quantity Surveying Services:

Aidan Quinn, James Walsh.

MAIN CONTRACTOR

J.J. Rhatigan and Company Limited.

LANDSCAPING

Peter Hynes: Mayo County Council

Finola Reid: Great Gardens of Ireland

Noreen Heneghan: FÁS

PHOTOGRAPHY

Paula Nolan

EXHIBITION DESIGN:

Scroope Design

GRAPHIC DESIGN:

Wendy Williams

EXHIBITION CONTRACTOR:

Gem Contracting

visually connects the house and the round tower across the valley.

To the rear of the main house, the new storage and conservation

studios form two new courtyards – one a service courtyard, the

other a public courtyard space behind the main house.

Vernacular detailing and materials, ie curved roofs and corrugated

metal, are used in a modern manner to integrate the mass of these

buildings into the landscape and act as a contrasting counterpoint

to the limestone and slate of the existing buildings. A glazed link-

building connects the exhibition and storage/conservation

buildings. This forms the third side of the new public space, with the

entrance to the exhibition building and the grassed terraces on the

fourth side.

The main exhibition space is one storey above the lake and

cantilevers out of the terraces. It contains an island-like mezzanine

which, in turn, is overlooked from the entrance floor. Openings are

punctured into the external envelope of Wicklow granite, framing

views of the house, terraces, woodlands and lake. This connection

with the landscape was considered essential and enhances the

visitor’s experience of the building and the exhibition.

The existing house and courtyards have been renovated to

accommodate visitor facilities at ground level and administration at

upper levels. This ensured that no major intervention was required

in order to comply with building and fire regulations. Existing

materials, details, and finishes have been carefully re-used and

retained.

This project has been awarded the Royal Institute ofArchitects Regional Award and the Gulbenkian ‘Museum ofthe Year’ Award.

PROJECT TIMESCALE:

Initial Feasibility Study – September 1997

Planning Permission Granted – August 1998

Tender Documentation Prepared

– January/February 1999

Start on-site – May 1999

Practical Completion – September 2000

Completion of Fitting-out and Opening of Complex

– September 2001

THE ISLANDOF IRELANDPEACE

THE ISLAND OF IRELAND PEACE PARK,

The island of Ireland Peace Park at Mesen, Belgium wasopened on 11 November 1998 by President MaryMcAleese in the presence of Her Majesty QueenElizabeth II and His Majesty King Albert II. The Park wasdeveloped by A Journey of Reconciliation Trust with thesupport of the people of Mesen and many public andprivate sponsors in Ireland, North and South, in memoryof those from the island of Ireland who fought in the FirstWorld War. Financial difficulties prevented the Trust fromcompleting the Park to the standard that it would havewished. For the same reason, maintenance work sincethe official opening had been intermittent.

In April 2000, the Taoiseach expressed the view that theOffice of Public Works and the Construction ServiceNorthern Ireland should jointly manage the maintenanceand upkeep of the Park. A joint project managementteam was established, with two priorities: the first was toprovide an appropriate and dignified presentation of thePeace Park in line with its original objectives ofcommemoration and reconciliation; the second was toassist in personalizing the story of the war for visitors,especially those from the Island of Ireland. To meet theseobjectives the team commenced the followingprogramme of works on I October 2001.

The works comprise:

Work to the entrance wall and its surrounds.

Improvement works to paved and gravelled areas on thesite. The main ceremonial paths to both the Tower andthe Rath will be paved with ‘Liscannor’ flagstone. Otherpaths will be maintained in gravel but formally edged.

Improvement works to waterproof the Tower.

Drainage works to ensure survival of trees and shrubs.

Installation of feature stones, plaques and seating,including four sentry stones inside the main entrancerecording each provincial name, nine stone tablets eachrecording ‘words of war’ of the ordinary Irish soldieralong the main path to the Tower, and a bronze panel of‘Mesen Battle’ overlooking the Mesen Ridge landscape.

Refurbishment of the Tower entrance to improvedisabled access and to accommodate ‘books of thedead’ in four memorial boxes set in stone tabernacles.

The project will be completed in March 2002.

Catherine Kennedy

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES

MESEN, BELGIUM

FACILITIES MANFACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Dublin Castle

PROFILE

Facilities Management manages a number ofproperties and provides a varied service tocustomers in both the public and private sectors. Theproperties in which these services are provided atpresent are:

– Áras an Uachtaráin

– Dublin Castle

– Farmleigh

– Royal Hospital Kilmainham

The service will be extended to the Department ofEducation Marlborough Street Campus in the nearfuture and planning for the provision of a service atJohnstown Castle, Wexford and Christ ChurchCathedral, Waterford are also underway.

The nature of the service varies by propertydepending on its character and the requirements ofcustomers. Normally, the service includes suchmatters as energy management, groundsmaintenance, security and waste management butthe greatest demands are made in the area of eventmanagement.

Dublin Castle, a founder member of the Historical

Conference Centres of Europe, along with the Popes’Palace in Avignon and Palcaio Da Bolsa in Portugal,has long been established as one of the country’spremier event venues, playing host to an average offive hundred enormously varied events each year.The Conference Centre, with its custom builtfacilities, can cater for up to three hundred and thirtydelegates, while the State Apartments may see asmany as one thousand guests at ministerialreceptions. The flexibility of other spaces in theCastle, such as the Coach House, makes themamenable to a variety of uses, including dinners,book and product launches and small- to medium-sized conferences.

Apart from the ambience and historical significanceof the property, it is in the area of event managementthat the Castle has earned its reputation. Typically,users of the Castle are seeking a prestige venue for aprestige event and the management of these eventsleaves little, if any, margin for error. At present theNational Forum on Europe plans to hold weeklymeetings in the Castle for the next eighteenmonths. High-level political delegates, as well asrepresentatives of the social partners, attend theForum and it is envisaged that there will also be

President Clinton’s visit to Dublin, May 2001 Conference Centre, Dublin Castle

limited public access to sessions. Management of anevent like this presents a variety of challenges,including access control, delegation facilities, audio-visual and other technical installations and mediarequirements. Because of the success of FacilitiesManagement in handling such high profile events,client Departments, particularly the Department of theTaoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs,increasingly seek its services both in its coreproperties and in other venues.

The public elements of the last official visit to Irelandby President Clinton took place in the GuinnessStorehouse and in an open-air venue in Dundalk. Allfacilities and arrangements not related to securitywere undertaken by Facilities Management. FacilitiesManagement was also fully involved in the recentState funerals for the ten War of Independenceveterans, nine of whom were re-interred in GlasnevinCemetery with the tenth being re-buried inBallylanders, Co. Limerick. This involved workingclosely with the Defence Forces, Gardai, R.T.E. and arange of other parties to determine what was requiredto allow the ceremonies to proceed smoothly.

Often, the notice given for these events is very short

and Facilities Management are required to respondvery rapidly. There are two notable forthcomingexceptions. The first is the Special Olympic WorldSummer Games in June 2003, the first time since theGames’ inception in 1968 that they will be heldoutside the U.S.A. It will be a massive undertakingwith 7,000 athletes from 170 countries taking part.Dublin Castle will be the full-time communications andcontrol centre for the duration of the Games andplanning of this element has already commenced withthe organisers. The other major event for whichplanning has already started is Ireland’s Presidency ofthe E.U. in the first half of 2004. Dublin Castle will beused for many of the meetings during the Presidency.However, the growth in membership of the E.U., andthe need to provide observer status facilities for agrowing number of applicant countries, means thatthe Castle will not be large enough to host the Summitmeeting in June 2004. Discussions have opened inrelation to other venues and Facilities Managementwill undertake all physical preparations for theSummit.

Tommy O’Shaughnessy

GENERAL MANAGER, DUBLIN CASTLE

Royal Hospital Kilmainham Farmleigh

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Royal Hospital Kilmainham

The exhibition venues are:

Draíocht, Blanchardstown Centre, Dublin 15

5 September – 22 September 2001

The Old Market House Art Centre, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford

27 September – 20 October 2001

Wexford Vocational College, Westgate, Wexford

27 October – 4 November 2001

Enniskillen Castle Museum, Co. Fermanagh

8 November – 4 December 2001

Coleraine Town Hall, Co. Londonderry

6 December 2001 – 6 January 2002

Atrium, OPW, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2

9 January – 29 January 2002

A fully illustrated colour catalogue

accompanies the exhibition.

This year the Department of Finance and

Personnel of Northern Ireland and the Art

Management Group of the Office of Public

Works decided to broaden the scope of the

annual exhibition to include works of art in

the ownership of municipal and other local

authorities, as well as some items from the

two Departments not previously exhibited

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The result was amazing. From this widened choice aselection of fifty works of art, spanning a period of almosttwo hundred years, was made. Since September theexhibition has been on tour and has provided an opportunityfor the public to enjoy treasures in public ownership whichdeserve an even wider audience.

From Moyle District Council and Coleraine Borough Councilcome splendid, unusual works by John Henry Campbell andAndrew Nicholl RHA, watercolours of the Northernlandscape and of topographical views by the River Bann, aswell as illustrated books with exceptional calligraphy.Fermanagh District Council has loaned an unusual early stilllife of flowers by locally born William Scott, R.A., as well asinteresting works by other local artists. The Department ofFinance and Personnel completes the Northern contributionwith seven paintings including works by Basil BlackshawRUA, Neil Shawcross RUA, and Colin Middleton RHA, RUA.

The Waterford Municipal Collection has recently been re-housed in what was previously known as the French Churchin Greyfriars Street. The Municipal Authority generously lentits exceptional Breton scene by Charles Lamb RHA and itsearly Louis le Brocquy painting of Refugees, as well as fiveother master works including a still life from 1997 by LiamBelton RHA, Keeper of the Royal Hibernian Academy.

The Corporation of Drogheda has lent seven exceptionalworks, including Loafers by locally born Nano Reid and adelightful early twentieth century rendition of lovers byBeatrice Elvery RHA, who became Lady Glenavy.

The Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo has contributed thelovely Jack Yeats painting, An Island Funeral, as well as ahaunting landscape by local artist Sean McSweeney HRHAand an unusual portrait of a lady by George Russell (AE) aswell as exceptional works by Jellett, MacGonigal and PaulHenry.

The OPW has contributed a lyrical Whitethorn Bush paintedin the late 1960s by Barrie Cooke HRHA, as well as recentlyacquired photographic works by Mary Kelly and AmeliaStein, a painting by Rosie McGurran from her WexfordFestival Opera 2000 exhibition and recent graphic works byCora Cummins and Andrew Folan.

The exhibition has provided an opportunity to bring togetherworks of art from diverse and fascinating collections. Manyof the works have never previously toured and have beengenerously lent by the individual local authorities.

Jacquie MooreART MANAGEMENT

1

3

4

2

1. Affectionate Couple (1902)

Beatrice Elvery, Lady Glenavy RHA.

2. Lough neagh Winter (1978)

Basil Blackshaw RUA, HRHA.

3. Gelantine (2001)

Mary Kelly

4. Breton Peasants at Prayer (2001)

Charles Lamb RHA, RUA

VAN DER ROHE

From 17 August to 20 September, the OPW played host to an exhibition

of the winning designs in the European Union Prize for Contemporary

Architecture, the Mies van der Rohe Award, 2001. This prize is a

biennial prize for European architecture – granted by the European

Union and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation of Barcelona – whose

principal purpose is to recognise and commend excellence in this field.

Born in Aachen, Germany in 1886, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was one

of the masters of twentieth-century architecture. He was Director of the

Bauhaus from 1930 until its closure in 1933. He emigrated to Chicago

in 1937, where he designed numerous influential buildings in the USA,

notably the Farnsworth House, Illinois, the Seagram Building, New York

and 860-880 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. He died in Chicago in 1969.

The winning prize scheme by Rafael Moneo, and the Emerging Architect

Special Mention scheme by Florian Nagler were on exhibit, as were

thirty-five other exemplary works selected by the jury.

A talk by internationally renowned architect Edouard François -

attended by more than a hundred guests - brought the exhibition to a

close, having attracted over a thousand visitors during its short stay.

MIES VAN DER ROHE EXHIBITION

L-R: Edel Collins, Mary Fitzsimmons, Michael O’Doherty, Edouard François - guest speaker -

Anne Moran and Angela Rolfe at the Mies van der Rohe Exhibition, 2001.

EXThe following promotions have taken place in the last six months:

Lynda Hendley Higher Executive Officer to Assistant Principal Officer

Mary Murphy Higher Executive Officer to Assistant Principal Officer

Frank Coffey Higher Executive Officer to Assistant Principal Officer

Mary Heffernan Higher Executive Officer to Assistant Principal Officer

Michael Collier Executive Officer to Higher Executive Officer

John Kelly Executive Officer to Higher Executive Officer

Derek McCormack Executive Officer to Higher Executive Officer

Kevin Kennedy Executive Officer to Higher Executive Officer

Anthony Collins Executive Officer to Higher Executive Officer

Noreen Brehony Executive Officer to Higher Executive Officer

Kate Quinn Architect to Senior Architect

Gerard O’Sullivan Architect to Senior Architect

Brendan Cormican Architectural Assistant Gr. I to Architect

Brendan Dillon Clerk of Works to Senior Clerk of Works (M&E)

John Brady Clerk of Works to Senior Clerk of Works (M&E)

Adrian Purcell Clerical Officer to Staff Officer

Kathleen O’Neill Clerical Officer to Staff Officer

Brian McQuillan Clerical Officer to Staff Officer

Sharon Doyle Clerical Officer to Staff Officer

Margaret Clancy Clerical Officer to Staff Officer

Teresa Kelly Clerical Officer to Staff Officer

Robert Guihan Superintendent Furniture Branch to Chief Technical Officer

Joe Smith Deputy Superintendent Furniture Branch to Superintendent

Paul Plunkett Deputy Superintendent Furniture Branch to Superintendent

Jim Ryan Chief Inspector of Stores to Chief Technical Officer

In addition Jim O’Sullivan, Grade II M+E Engineer has been appointed to Acting Chief

M+E Engineer; Roeland Van Elsen, Architect, has been appointed to Senior Architect in

an acting capacity; Anne Keegan, Executive Officer, has been appointed to Higher

Executive Officer in an acting capacity.

Congratulations to all concerned.

Promotions

Following a recent tender competition, CarrCommunications Limited have been appointedto carry out training for the PerformanceManagement and Development System (PMDS)in the OPW.

Carr Communications Limited is an experiencedand respected firm in the area of training andpublic relations consultancy. They havepreviously carried out PMDS training in theDepartment of Health and Children, the LegalAid Board and the Forensic Science Laboratory.They are currently involved in the secondmodule of the PMDS training in the Office of theComptroller and Auditor General, havingsuccessfully completed module one in thatOffice.

Carr’s eventual success in receiving the contractfollowing an extremely competitive tendercompetition is testament to the calibre of thefirm and they are sure to make the PMDStraining very interesting and stimulating foreverybody. They recognize the merits of thePMDS and believe that people will see that theSystem will improve the way they approach theirwork thus leading to more job satisfaction.

So it is full steam ahead for the PMDS in theOffice. The PMDS Project Team will be workingtirelessly to have a pilot training course set up forJanuary 2002 and the training proper (Module 1)is planned to begin in February 2002.

It is expected that following the first module of training (2 days) the second module (1 day perperson) will be held in April/May 2002 with the final module (2 days per person) inOctober/November 2002.

Frank CoffeyTRAINING UNIT

PMDS TrainersAppointed

OPW Head Office, 51 St. Stephen’s Green

Once again due to the sponsorship of the OPW Partnership

Committee, we had another successful year of architectural

tours. After a slow start owing to the foot and mouth restrictions,

our tours finally started in June with visits to Donegal and the

Aran Islands. We had a huge response to all of our tours, and

hopefully this will continue next year.

This year’s tours were:

1. June: Donegal Castle – Glenveagh National Park –

Devenish Island, Enniskillen

2. July: Leinster House – Old and New

3. August: Aran Islands – Dún Aonghasa – Athenry Castle

4. September: Dublin Zoo – African Plains

5. December: Farmleigh - A Christmas Evening

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the tours in 2001and made them such a success.

Denis Carr ARCHITECTURAL TOURS COMMITTEE(SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE OPW PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE)

ARCHITECTURAL TOURS 2001

HO

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Leinster HouseLeinster House was the destination of the first tour whichwas conducted by Mr David Byers, OPW Commissioner,and Mr Nick O’Brien, Usher, Dáil Éireann. David began bydetailing some of the works involved in the building of thenew wing, known as Leinster House 2000. As we walkedthrough the new wing it was wonderful to see how well itblended with the original building. There are manystriking features in the new wing and the one whichimpressed most was the garden, complete with a runningstream and dwarf trees. The path of the stream gives atrue feeling of depth and space. An ideal place to relaxand meditate.

Despite the various problems encountered, not least ofwhich being a strike by bricklayers, the project wascompleted just one day beyond schedule.

Nick O’Brien then brought us through the Dáil andSeanad telling us the great history of this famousbuilding. We were reminded of the many verydistinguished Heads of State who had addressed bothHouses of the Oireachtas with the late J F Kennedyprobably being the most revered. Our guide was verywell versed and had no difficulty fielding the barrage ofquestions directed at him. The light banter exchanged onthe portrait gallery was amusing indeed. After the tourswe returned to the Atrium for some refreshments and theby now customary sing song.

The Aran IslandsThe weekend chosen for the tour of the Aran Islandsthankfully coincided with the best spell of weatherexperienced in the west in many a year. Because oflimited accommodation on the island, the numberstravelling were restricted. The lucky fifty-three who did gohad a truly wonderful time, though not before Denis Carrhad forced us to endure a three-hour coach trip withoutthe obligatory ‘pit-stop’. When eventually we reachedPaudrician’s Bar, just outside Spiddal, it was every manfor himself as the rush to the loo began. Pity those at theback, I say! After a short break for lunch it was on toRossaveal to catch the ferry to the island of Inishmorewhich, as the name suggests, is the largest of the threeAran Islands.

A group of dolphins kept us company by swimmingalongside as we made the journey across. Once there,we were taken on a tour of the island in varying forms oftransport with the drivers treating us to amusing andinteresting folklore. After some time we arrived at a stonefort known as Dún Aonghasa. This wonderful site on acliff edging on to the Atlantic Ocean gives a spectacularview of the west coast of Ireland. With little but rocks inevidence all around it was surprising to learn from thedisplay in the Visitor Centre that the site had beeninhabited during the Bronze Age. Once again the skills of

our ancestors were very evident as the display of tools,jewellery and weapons testified. After many photo callswe returned to our appointed accommodation with somebeing a little nearer to the centre than others! For somethe notion of three day camel rides will come to mind. Alittle reminder here. Denis drinks Smithwicks.

Following a splendid meal we were invited to a traditionalIrish show of music, song and dance which would rivalanything seen in Riverdance. The group known as Ragús,all home grown talent, also provided the music and songin one of the local hostelries. At closing time some of usrevisited our youth and headed off to a ‘dry’ disco.

The preferred mode of transport on the island is thebicycle and some of the early risers could be seenenjoying the scenery as they pedalled around theboreens. All too soon we had to board the ferry for ourreturn to the mainland. Suncream and peaked caps werein evidence on the journey back.

Athenry Castle was scheduled for a visit on our way backto Dublin and a very good choice it was too. Here wereceived a very warm welcome from the tour guides. TheCastle, which dates back to the mid-thirteenth century, issteeped in history which was imparted to us by ourguide, whose depth of knowledge and appreciation ofher homeland were a credit to her. The recentlyrefurbished Castle is now a very impressive sight indeed.

Dublin ZooDublin Zoo, incorporating the recently opened AfricanPlains, was the somewhat unusual venue for the mostrecent tour. The tour, which also included a barbequewas an outstanding success. This is partly due to thefriendships which have been formed during the previoustours.

For a lot of people it was a case of recalling younger dayswhen a trip to the Zoo was at least an annual event. TheZoo has seen a lot of changes over the years andwhatever one’s view about animals being locked up,there are definite signs that efforts are being made toprovide a more natural habitat for them. This isparticularly so in the African Plains. Here the animals arerelatively free to roam.

Mr Carr obviously has a hot line to Met Éireann or theman above, as once again the weather for this eveningwas ideal. The caterers must be complimented as it wasthe only barbeque I’ve been at where the food was notincinerated. The karaoke brought out the very best andthe very ordinary in the movers and shakers, all of whichmade for a memorable night.

Everyone appreciates that a lot of time and effort go intothese tours. So to all concerned, a big thank you from theOPW tourists.

Nigel O’Mahony,

BMS, LAD LANE

DONEGAL TOUR

We departed from Collins Barracks at 4.00 p.m. andheaded directly to the Mount Errigal Hotel inLetterkenny arriving at about 8.00 p.m. After checkingin, the evening was free for perhaps a swim in the poolor a walk around Letterkenny followed by a drink ortwo in the bar. However, an early night was advised, asthe schedule for Saturday and Sunday wouldbe hectic.

Saturday began with breakfast, or for some, anotherswim in the hotel pool. Our first port of call was theNewmills Corn and Flax Mills. These mills show howhydropower was used to run a successful corn andlinen business. The tour guides here were excellent,taking us swiftly through the extensive buildingsbefore sending us on our way to Glebe House.

Glebe House is best known for its association with theartist Derek Hill who lived there. Our guide took usthrough the small cottage, full of paintings and ‘objetsd’art’, telling us the many interesting storiesassociated with them. The King of Tory Island (RíThoraigh) is also a painter and some of his paintingsare displayed here.

A tour of Glenveagh Castle and gardens completedSaturday’s visits. Margaret Magee was ourentertaining guide for the interior of the Castle. Shehad many humorous anecdotes about the variousinhabitants of the Castle down through the years. Thegardens here are worthy of note and there is a nicewalk around the estate – perfect for building up anappetite for dinner back at the hotel.

The following morning the vast majority of the group(including many who had gone into town to sampleLetterkenny night-life!) made it up in time for the busto our first stop at Donegal Castle. This is a beautifullyrestored building situated on the edge of Donegaltown and here also we had the services of an excellenttour-guide.

Onwards from here to the sandstone quarry inMountcharles, stone from which was used in thebuilding of The National Museum in Kildare Street. Theowner of the quarry gave a very informative tour,finishing up with a fantastic candle-lit mining song ofmany verses.

Finally, before having dinner at the Kilmore Hotel inCavan, we took a boat journey across to DevenishIsland in County Fermanagh, near Enniskillen. MickBrennan, a representative from the Northern IrelandHeritage Services, was on hand here to show usaround this beautiful historic island. Along with amuseum and historic church and dwellings, Devenishhas an amazing round tower, one of the few remainingin Ireland today.

Another very worthwhile, informative, enjoyableweekend for the OPW staff. This tour was very wellorganised and credit is due to all those involved. Welook forward eagerly to the next one.

Brian McQuillan

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES

DONEGAL TOUR

An era came to an end in the Office of Public Works on 19 October

2001 with the retirement of Bill Howard, Head Services Officer. Bill

joined the OPW in January 1981 as a Temporary Messenger and went

from strength to strength endearing himself to all staff. He carried out

his duties in an exemplary manner. No job was too big or too small for

Bill to undertake and he gave of his best at all times. Before joining

the staff of the OPW Bill was employed as a Transport Manager in

London and Glasgow. Bill’s father and brother were also employees of

the OPW.

On the occasion of Bill’s retirement a reception took place in the

Chairman’s Office and the Minister of State, Mr Martin Cullen

presented him with a Waterford Crystal vase and the Chairman, Mr

Barry Murphy presented him with a copy of ‘Building for

Government’. Later that night at a party in Toner’s Public House in

Baggot Street the staff presented Bill with a cash voucher. Everyone

partied late into the night and all agreed that there will never be

another Bill Howard.

Best wishes to Bill for a long and happy retirement.

Mary Furlong

PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

The End of an Era

Brian Darcy Cruising on...

Bill Howard

SOCIAL

Brian joined the OPW in January 1964.

He was on the first pilot scheme of

Engineering Technicians in Ireland,

which was set up by the OPW. Brian

qualified as a member of the Institute of

Engineers of Ireland in 1973 mainly as a

result of the coaxing and

encouragement of his great friend Tom

Vaughan of the Department of the

Marine and Natural Resources. He

worked as an engineering technician

until 1973 when he qualified as an

engineer and was appointed to Grade III.

He worked on the Boyne Drogheda

scheme until 1980, when he was

promoted to Engineer Grade II and

assigned to Shannon Navigation. He

was appointed Engineer Grade I in 1992,

and Assistant Chief Engineer in 1996.

Brian leaves the OPW to take up the

post of Director of Operations with

the newly formed cross-border

implementation body, Waterways

Ireland. He will be greatly missed by all

his work colleagues and by the OPW

Soccer Club where he played a most

active role, being the only PO level able

to play for the OPW team!

Tony SmythENGINEERING SERVICES

Brian Darcy

L-R: Minister of State Martin Cullen, Bill Howard, Barry Murphy, Chairman OPW

BRIGHTSIDE

Brightside is a charitable organisation within the OPW thatassists exceptional cases of need in the OPW and alsomakes donations to charitable groups. During the year ended30 September 2001, Brightside raised almost £12,500through staff salary deductions, the annual Christmas raffleand various other fundraisers. A total of £5,600 was donatedto seventeen charitable groups and £7,200 was used toassist staff members.

The annual quiz was held in the Gingerman pub on 8November with twenty teams vying for the top prize. The

winners after a tiebreak were a team representing Personnel, Development and Organisationservices (Denis Ryan, Phil Sheehan, Kathleen O’Neill, Catherine Morrin and Joe Farrell). Donationsof £500 each were made to the following charities at the quiz: The Schizophrenia Association, TheSimon Community, The Guide Dogs Association, The Failtiu Drop-in Centre and the Aisling SchoolProject.

The next event will be the annual Coffee Morning and Christmas Raffle on 21 December – last year£2,000 was raised through this raffle and we hope this year’s will be just as successful.

You can support Brightside in a number of ways:

(1) Become a member (details on the Intranet)

(2) Donate any Dublin Bus tickets with change on them

(3) Donate any ‘spare’ Irish coins that you may have hoarded away (before they cease tobe legal tender!)

(4) Contribute to any of the raffles held during the year.

Donal Wickham

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS

Brightside

Brightside Committee

Chairperson: Una Cluxton

Vice-Chairperson: Alan French

Secretary: Eileen Scanlan

Treasurer: Donal Wickham

Committee Members:

Lorus Collum Margaret Clerkin

Colm Higgins Deirdre Butler

Linda Quinn

Una Redmond presenting Clare Hutchinson fromDublin Simon Community with a donation

The OPW Golf Society had six outings in 2001. It was a very

successful year for Hugh Fanning who won both the Captain’s

Prize and Golfer of the Year. The Commissioner’s Cup is still in

progress as we write. The winners of the other outings during

the year were: St. Annes – Dermot Reid; Craddockstown –

Hugh Fanning; Castlewarden – Terry Beagon; Skerries –

Michael Fahey and Corballis – John Mahony.

The Society would like to express its appreciation to the

Partnership Committee for the sponsorship received during

the year, which enables us to keep the cost of golf for

members down to a minimum.

The outings for 2002 are as follows: April – St. Anne’s; May –

Kilcock; June – Corrstown; July – Trim (Captain’s Day);

September – Castlewarden; and October – Corballis. The

Captain for next year is Lochlan Walsh.

New members welcome

Contact details to join: Terry Beagon - (01) 647 6712

Donal Wickham - (01) 647 6809

OPW Golf Society

SOCIAL

We have arrived once more at the end of another good

golfing year.

During this year our Golf Society ran various outings to

Elm-Green Golf Club which is our Resident Golf Club.

Our Captain’s Day was held on 23 November 2001 and

congratulations go to Albert Glynn for winning the main

prize.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the OPW

Sports Committee for their generous support and

funding for various outings during the past year.

We hope that your support and commitment will

continue into the New Year.

Hugh O’Neill

CLUB CAPTAIN

Farmleigh Golf SocietyB.M.S Golf Society

As the season draws to a close I would like to

thank our members who supported our outings in

good numbers to make them the success they

were. On behalf of our members I wish to thank

the Sports Committee 2001 for the sponsorship

we received. The golfing for 2002 will start on

Easter Tuesday, usual Thursday outing, weekend

in September and a new outing to be held on the

October Bank Holiday Monday.

For new members please contact :

Philip Maher,BMS ROYAL HOSPITAL KILMAINHAM

TEL: 087-6868272.

L-R: Hugh Fanning, Donal Wickham and Ray Dunne at the presentation of the Captain’s Prize

Horse Riding

On the endurance riding front, year's programme of

events suffered all season due to the impact of the FMD

crisis and the necessary precautionary measures which

were put in place. The nature of the sport requires access

to large tracts of land of varying terrain and for a number

of weeks I was confined, in common with other riders, to

the immediate environs of the livery yard where I keep my

horse. As a result, I was unable to put in the training

needed to bring his fitness to top competition level; in any

event, all the major competitions were cancelled for 2001

and Ireland had no representatives at the European

Championships held in September in Italy. Nevertheless, I

was able to compete in a few training rides at shorter

distances when the restrictions were lifted and in recent

weeks competed in a couple of hunter trials. As the

endurance riding season is over for 2001, the main activity

I'll be engaged in for the next few months will be drag-

hunting, all going well.

Eileen Carr

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

The OPW has again offered me sponsorship for my sport

of Mountain Running. This sponsorship has allowed me to

complete the Irish Championship Connaught

Championship, Munster Championship, and Wednesday

League.

I also took part in an international race in Wales (Mount

Snowdon), one of the toughest on the calendar. In

September I took part in the World Trophy in Arta Terme in

Northern Italy.

It has been a very good year in Mountain Running for me

and I look forward to the next Season.

Thomas Galvin,

ROYAL HOSPITAL KILMAINHAM

Pool

I am a member of the Southern Ireland

Pool Federation for the past ten years

and have, over the years, participated

in the many overseas events, namely

the World, Nation and European

Championships. I have now joined the

Irish Pool Association and play on the

Ladies’ Dublin Team.

We play around Ireland in the Inter

County Pool League. There are also

ranking tournaments around Ireland to

pick the Irish Men’s and Ladies’ Teams

to represent Ireland in the forthcoming

Embassy World Championships.

This year I was fortunate to win the

Irish Ladies’ Singles Tournament and

represented Ireland in the BAPTO

Championships in England in October

2001.

Patricia Doherty

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

Mountain Running

Apparently it was, because there wasa good number of ‘bums on seats’ andeverything was ‘alright on the night’ forthe Arts Group of the PartnershipCommittee. How did this evening oftheatre come about? Well, as everyonein the OPW knows, there is no suchthing as a free lunch and the ArtsGroup put this principle into practice.The way in which the Arts Groupworks is that it gives grant aid to artsgroups that have as one of itsmembers an employee of the OPW.This member makes a submission tothe Arts Group for consideration.

Amongst the successful groups thisyear were three amateur theatricalgroups: The Dalkey Players (GerardBourke), The Olivian Players (EileenScanlon) and The Parnassus ArtsGroup (Seamus Thackaberry). The ArtsGroup met with the representativesand suggested an evening of theatrefor the staff of the OPW in return forthe grant aid offered. This wasenthusiastically taken up by thecompanies concerned and a date wasagreed.

And so on the evening of Thursday 25October, the Atrium had become atheatre. After a drinks reception thatwarmed up the audience of nearly ahundred staff and friends, and awelcome from the undersigned, withall the usual emergency exit guidancesand a request to turn off all mobiletelephones, the room was plunged intodarkness. There was a terriblecrashing noise and as the stage lightsgradually rose we were in a crashed

train somewhere ‘Close to Croydon’.This one act play by Gillian Plowman,presented by The Dalkey Players, wasdesigned and tautly directed byGerard Bourke, who drew two reallystrong performances from Emma JaneNulty and Andrew Lummas as the twopeople trapped in the wreckage. Therewas both comedy and tragedy in thisplay and it drew the audience in as itunfolded in the overturned carriage.

The second offering was performed byJohnny Reynolds of The OlivianPlayers. ‘One for the Road’ was themusings of Brendan Behan on his lifeand times and as we listened andlooked, Johnny Reynolds became theman himself. It was a beautifullygauged performance.

The final piece presented by TheParnassus Arts Group was ‘Culture MeArse!’ and this group brought us ‘theroar of the greasepaint and the smellof the crowd’ as they belted us withtheir view of culture in Ireland with aseries of wonderfully observed andhilarious sketches ranging fromHeritage Bus Tours through World CupWidows to Anúna with a very funnylyric followed by a chaotic alternativeRiverdance. Within this were twobrilliant monologues on Saint Patrickand the Male Bladder, which is nearwhere I began.

Allen Smith

ARTS AND DRAMA COMMITTEE

(SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE OPW

PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE)

An Evening of TheatreIn the Atrium

SOCIAL

‘Culture Me Arse!’ Was this an appropriate title for

something as refined as a thespian evening? For

this was the message on the poster that appeared

around the office buildings of the OPW.

OH WHAT A NIGHTMERIT PAY PARTY 2001

A Merit Pay Scheme has been in existence in the civil servicesince 1994. This Scheme allows for 0.2% of the annual paysubheads to be allocated for the benefit of staff. A sub-committee of the Office’s Partnership Committee administersthis Fund and the Partnership Committee has to approve themanner in which the Fund is used.

A number of methods of distribution have been used over thelast number of years. For the past three years the Merit PayFund has been put towards a party to which all staff have beeninvited. In November 2001 the party was held in the RoyalHospital, Kilmainham.

The theme this year was a ‘Grand Casino’ night. With a turnoutof around 850 the night was a great success. For those whowon prize vouchers, don’t worry these will be honoured soon.

As to next year’s theme, well, check the sanity clause. The sanityclause? There ain’t no sanity clause!

OH WHAT A NIGHT

Committee Members:

Denis Carr

Valerie Corcoran

Lynda Hendley

Johnny McMahon

Tommy O'Shaughnessy

l-r: Johnny McMahon, Lynda Hendley, Tommy O'Shaughnessy, Valerie Corcoran, Denis Carr

Published by

Office of Public Works

51 St Stephen’s Green Dublin 2 Ireland

Tel: 353 1 647 6000

Email: info@opw.ie

www.opw.ie

OBAIR A bi-annual newsletter from the Office of Public Works

Issue 6 December 2001

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