Thanks, Paul. May I suggest that it's important here to distinguish between the old lime mortars and modern concrete, which uses Portland Cement. Books have been written on the beauty of traditional lime mortars, and on the unforgiving rigidity of concrete. The former allows for human-scale building; the latter for poured-concrete skyscrapers and churches.
It's a fascinating subject. Portland Cement requires huge energy in its manufacture, and yields a product that is exceedingly hard, and relatively impervious to shifts in the weather. Lime mortar has been produced in relatively simple lime kilns since time immemorial, and yields a mortar that is flexible. Having worked a little with both, I find lime mortar, and its dilute cousin whitewash, to be beautiful and a pleasure to work with. Concrete is a different matter. When I see old (pre-Portland) stone walls repointed with cement, it makes me sad.
That speaks to me. Things that are exceedingly hard, and impervious to shifts in the weather correspond to our vision of what absolute should be, as in AB-SOLUS, which is in relation to the individual taken as an isolated entity, out of context. But life itself does not live out of context. Only our words, and symbolic systems comfort us in the idea that this is possible, although even in our symbolic systems, building a world of elements taken outside of context is fatal.
Even worse, is the current short shelf life of many modern buildings, I have friends who work in the building trade and the current expectation is that most buildings have a life span of about 30-50 years, it is cheaper to pull them down and rebuild them than it is to refurbish them. It's insane.
Unfortunately in rural Ireland, the traditional vernacular architecture was too often associated with poverty and disease, the thatched cottages beloved of the tourists were quickly jettisoned when cheap concrete alternatives became available. Bungalow Bliss was a book written in the seventies for the self builders, and you could drive along some rural areas and pick out individual pages, they weren't pretty, but were very functional.
Often you could see the original cottage left to rack and ruin beside the brand new replacement (and in many cases you still can). Rural Ireland is full of derelict houses (and in my minority opinion these should be repurposed). For a nation with such a long history we are remarkably lax about our built heritage.
I notice that everywhere: the ruined cottage next to the new concrete bungalow. The house I live in is opposite the stone ruin of the one it replaced. Same for my neighbours next door. It was one thing that really struck me when I moved here because you would never see it in England. There, an old thatched cottage would be snapped up by some middle class buyer who would do it up and sell it for half a million minimum. I think you are right about the history. In England, our rural poverty is further in the past. But also, due to the enclosures and the theft of the land of so many English people, we are nostalgic for our rural past in a way the Irish are not.
I think under the 'Look at us, we are modern people, with our motorways and new houses and data centres, and traffic problems' is the secret subtext of 'we are not the disease ridden, poverty stricken beggars of Europe anymore'. And the old buildings and churches were a visual reminder of those times, that is the only explanation I can think of for some of the wanton vandalism and neglect of the built heritage in Ireland. So we build rubbish like Barack Obama Plaza......don't get me started.....
(ps if you ever decide to get into real estate imo all those neglected Irish cottages are ripe for refurbishment when climate change means everyone will holiday in the Irish countryside!)
I've passed that place many times on the way to Dublin. Crap pizzas, crap burgers and mountains of energy drinks: modern Ireland!
I wonder if the pendulum will swing in a generation or so, as people who did not grow up with the poverty and/or Troubles etc realise what they've lost. Maybe they'll go looking for it again.
Oh yes, absolutely. This well is modern concrete, as are most modern houses in Ireland. Not just new ones either - I live in a cottage built in the 50s out of solid poured concrete. It would withstand a hurricane but the walls don't breathe. Many old houses have had their lime plaster replaced with modern paints, and so they don't breathe either. It is costing a lot to strip that all off and replace it with breathable lime wash again.
I have just returned from Mull and Iona Monastery and thought of you when I visited St Ninian’s Holy Well, it’s beautifully looked after by the Mothers with a little drinking cup, the water is pure and lovely.
You would love the brothers house on Iona, you can send an email and stay for free…one of the brothers from Yorkshire is setting up Bee Hives, Fr Seraphim has his pottery…a little Shephard’s hut for a chapel. No children allowed due to ‘elf and safety rules’ but it would make a great little solo trip if you wanted to stay or a family holiday staying in separate accommodation.
This concrete structure looks like my French house, built in the 1960's, too.
My house is unbelievably, and soul sappingly ugly, but it is still my (concrete) house.
A thought for the way "concrete", as in solid, and "concrete" as in the building material, could fit together.
I know that the Romans would not leave their concrete buildings undecorated with just NAKED, UNADORNED concrete, the way that we are currently doing just to save a buck. That makes a big difference between the Romans (pagans...) and us, and the difference is not in our favor.
A few years ago, I reflected on the fact that in French, Peter's name, alias the name of the founder of the original Christian church, means "stone", as in "Petrus", and that it is certainly wiser to build your house out of stone than to build it out of sand, and probably even... concrete.
Concrete may last a long time, but probably not as long as "Petrus".
Too bad that the "modern" Catholic, universal church forgot this, in my opinion.
That is one fearsome looking church! The ‘No Entry’ sign seems to sum it up very well!
There is something essentially unfriendly about concrete…I too often fell head first off my bike into the stuff as a child….
IJohn O Donahye, an Irish poet/philisopher got it right….talking about cities I think….when he said ‘man was not made for concrete and sharp corners’….
Almost Greek Orthodox colours on that well. Reminds me of the baptismal fonts I’ve seen outside Orthodox churches. (Also looks a bit like a swimming poool.)
Thank you for a new well Paul. I remember being completely astonished to learn (through Classical Civilisation A level many decades ago) that the Romans used concrete, even when making structures that were exposed to sea water. Some new research is discovering the secret of Roman concrete's longevity: https://news.mit.edu/2023/roman-concrete-durability-lime-casts-0106.
To make concrete/cement one must dig down towards hell for material to build up towards Heaven.
Disturbing the mineral deposits necessary for making Portland Cement releases as much CO2 into the atmosphere as does the rest of the production process and transportation.
They ought to be planting a few trees around those churches eh.
Maybe its the thought that counts. Whoever built the concrete structure obviously wanted to preserve and respect the well. In Exodus God said to build Him an alter of uncut stone. I think He prefers His Creation over ours.
"Did you know that there will soon be more concrete in world than biomass? Me neither, but it turns out that we get through 30 billion tons of the stuff every year."
I seem to recall that modern concrete exposed to the elements has an effective lifespan of about a century, at which point serious maintenance is required. Massive dams will be maintained for as long as possible, and for as long as they are valued (neither is 100% guaranteed), but I suspect that some if not much of that 30 billion tons is going to replace older concrete structures before they fail. The older structures become landfill and eventually some kind of rock and putrid soil.
One cubic metre of concrete weighs about two tons. 30 billion tons divided by the size of the Republic of Ireland (around 70,000 km^2) is around 427,000 tons per km^2, or 0.4 tons per m^2. The annual world-wide production of concrete could cover Ireland 20cm high.
Wood, stone, mudbrick, can fit perfectly anywhere.
Redbrick is almost as good.
Then there's metal. It's not strictly unnatural, but at too large of a scale, and when too shiny and new, it feels alienating. I'm quite lenient with metal, though; even a rusting tank or steel mill has a certain charm. Metal wants to return to its natural state, and will if we let it. It's a noble material even when misused.
Concrete is worse. It doesn't degrade right. What natural material cracks and calves in that way? It's like a weird, counterfeit stone.
Plastic is the worst of course. Jarring and alien everywhere, it can never be beautiful, and looks even worse when it breaks and tarnishes. Is there any surprise that it subtly poisons everything it touches?
Thanks, Paul. May I suggest that it's important here to distinguish between the old lime mortars and modern concrete, which uses Portland Cement. Books have been written on the beauty of traditional lime mortars, and on the unforgiving rigidity of concrete. The former allows for human-scale building; the latter for poured-concrete skyscrapers and churches.
Thank you for teaching me this. I'm not sure that I'm equipped to fully understand your fine point, but I know it is important.
It's a fascinating subject. Portland Cement requires huge energy in its manufacture, and yields a product that is exceedingly hard, and relatively impervious to shifts in the weather. Lime mortar has been produced in relatively simple lime kilns since time immemorial, and yields a mortar that is flexible. Having worked a little with both, I find lime mortar, and its dilute cousin whitewash, to be beautiful and a pleasure to work with. Concrete is a different matter. When I see old (pre-Portland) stone walls repointed with cement, it makes me sad.
That speaks to me. Things that are exceedingly hard, and impervious to shifts in the weather correspond to our vision of what absolute should be, as in AB-SOLUS, which is in relation to the individual taken as an isolated entity, out of context. But life itself does not live out of context. Only our words, and symbolic systems comfort us in the idea that this is possible, although even in our symbolic systems, building a world of elements taken outside of context is fatal.
What is the difference between the two products, besides the old way being man scale and the new way industrial scale?
I seem to remember reading lately that we are running out of sand, which is used to make concrete? One more thing... :)
Yes, we are running out of sand
https://theweek.com/news/science-health/960931/why-is-the-world-running-out-of-sand
and concrete is an absolute environmental disaster:.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24062022/concrete-is-worse-for-the-climate-than-flying-why-arent-more-people-talking-about-it/
Even worse, is the current short shelf life of many modern buildings, I have friends who work in the building trade and the current expectation is that most buildings have a life span of about 30-50 years, it is cheaper to pull them down and rebuild them than it is to refurbish them. It's insane.
https://www.witoldrybczynski.com/architecture/short-life/
There is an alternative approach to architecture
http://www.kimfoerster.com/files/foerster-and-common-rooman-architecture-of-coexistence-ivan-illich-re-read.pdf
Unfortunately in rural Ireland, the traditional vernacular architecture was too often associated with poverty and disease, the thatched cottages beloved of the tourists were quickly jettisoned when cheap concrete alternatives became available. Bungalow Bliss was a book written in the seventies for the self builders, and you could drive along some rural areas and pick out individual pages, they weren't pretty, but were very functional.
Often you could see the original cottage left to rack and ruin beside the brand new replacement (and in many cases you still can). Rural Ireland is full of derelict houses (and in my minority opinion these should be repurposed). For a nation with such a long history we are remarkably lax about our built heritage.
And just to show that Galway can compete with Dublin I give you
https://churches-uk-ireland.org/images/galw/athenry_assump.jpg
in the middle of a beautiful medieval town, makes me shudder every time I see it from the train......
I notice that everywhere: the ruined cottage next to the new concrete bungalow. The house I live in is opposite the stone ruin of the one it replaced. Same for my neighbours next door. It was one thing that really struck me when I moved here because you would never see it in England. There, an old thatched cottage would be snapped up by some middle class buyer who would do it up and sell it for half a million minimum. I think you are right about the history. In England, our rural poverty is further in the past. But also, due to the enclosures and the theft of the land of so many English people, we are nostalgic for our rural past in a way the Irish are not.
I think under the 'Look at us, we are modern people, with our motorways and new houses and data centres, and traffic problems' is the secret subtext of 'we are not the disease ridden, poverty stricken beggars of Europe anymore'. And the old buildings and churches were a visual reminder of those times, that is the only explanation I can think of for some of the wanton vandalism and neglect of the built heritage in Ireland. So we build rubbish like Barack Obama Plaza......don't get me started.....
(ps if you ever decide to get into real estate imo all those neglected Irish cottages are ripe for refurbishment when climate change means everyone will holiday in the Irish countryside!)
I wasn't fibbing about Barack Obama Plaza:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPZzhzOUAbY
You Can't Make This Stuff Up.......
I've passed that place many times on the way to Dublin. Crap pizzas, crap burgers and mountains of energy drinks: modern Ireland!
I wonder if the pendulum will swing in a generation or so, as people who did not grow up with the poverty and/or Troubles etc realise what they've lost. Maybe they'll go looking for it again.
Deep dive into how Barack Obama Plaza got built.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE1dGuokz54
Oh yes, absolutely. This well is modern concrete, as are most modern houses in Ireland. Not just new ones either - I live in a cottage built in the 50s out of solid poured concrete. It would withstand a hurricane but the walls don't breathe. Many old houses have had their lime plaster replaced with modern paints, and so they don't breathe either. It is costing a lot to strip that all off and replace it with breathable lime wash again.
I have just returned from Mull and Iona Monastery and thought of you when I visited St Ninian’s Holy Well, it’s beautifully looked after by the Mothers with a little drinking cup, the water is pure and lovely.
I'll get there one day!
You would love the brothers house on Iona, you can send an email and stay for free…one of the brothers from Yorkshire is setting up Bee Hives, Fr Seraphim has his pottery…a little Shephard’s hut for a chapel. No children allowed due to ‘elf and safety rules’ but it would make a great little solo trip if you wanted to stay or a family holiday staying in separate accommodation.
Thanks for this tip. I might just do that ... Who would I contact?
I just went through the main contact on their website...It's such a transformative experience!
This concrete structure looks like my French house, built in the 1960's, too.
My house is unbelievably, and soul sappingly ugly, but it is still my (concrete) house.
A thought for the way "concrete", as in solid, and "concrete" as in the building material, could fit together.
I know that the Romans would not leave their concrete buildings undecorated with just NAKED, UNADORNED concrete, the way that we are currently doing just to save a buck. That makes a big difference between the Romans (pagans...) and us, and the difference is not in our favor.
A few years ago, I reflected on the fact that in French, Peter's name, alias the name of the founder of the original Christian church, means "stone", as in "Petrus", and that it is certainly wiser to build your house out of stone than to build it out of sand, and probably even... concrete.
Concrete may last a long time, but probably not as long as "Petrus".
Too bad that the "modern" Catholic, universal church forgot this, in my opinion.
That is one fearsome looking church! The ‘No Entry’ sign seems to sum it up very well!
There is something essentially unfriendly about concrete…I too often fell head first off my bike into the stuff as a child….
IJohn O Donahye, an Irish poet/philisopher got it right….talking about cities I think….when he said ‘man was not made for concrete and sharp corners’….
Almost Greek Orthodox colours on that well. Reminds me of the baptismal fonts I’ve seen outside Orthodox churches. (Also looks a bit like a swimming poool.)
Thank you for a new well Paul. I remember being completely astonished to learn (through Classical Civilisation A level many decades ago) that the Romans used concrete, even when making structures that were exposed to sea water. Some new research is discovering the secret of Roman concrete's longevity: https://news.mit.edu/2023/roman-concrete-durability-lime-casts-0106.
Dodgy link. Maybe this one works https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-may-have-found-magic-ingredient-behind-ancient-romes-self-healing-concrete
Great explainer article. Fascinating. Thanks for the link.
You're welcome. I thought it was fascinating too! Ancient knowledge.
To make concrete/cement one must dig down towards hell for material to build up towards Heaven.
Disturbing the mineral deposits necessary for making Portland Cement releases as much CO2 into the atmosphere as does the rest of the production process and transportation.
They ought to be planting a few trees around those churches eh.
Maybe its the thought that counts. Whoever built the concrete structure obviously wanted to preserve and respect the well. In Exodus God said to build Him an alter of uncut stone. I think He prefers His Creation over ours.
It looks a lot like a rich man’s outdoor swimming pool, but at least it is not grey.
“St Ceily” makes me think of “St Ceilidh” which would be a lovely take on St Cecelia patron saint of music. (But I’m totally projecting.)
"Did you know that there will soon be more concrete in world than biomass? Me neither, but it turns out that we get through 30 billion tons of the stuff every year."
I seem to recall that modern concrete exposed to the elements has an effective lifespan of about a century, at which point serious maintenance is required. Massive dams will be maintained for as long as possible, and for as long as they are valued (neither is 100% guaranteed), but I suspect that some if not much of that 30 billion tons is going to replace older concrete structures before they fail. The older structures become landfill and eventually some kind of rock and putrid soil.
Welcome back! You were missed.
One cubic metre of concrete weighs about two tons. 30 billion tons divided by the size of the Republic of Ireland (around 70,000 km^2) is around 427,000 tons per km^2, or 0.4 tons per m^2. The annual world-wide production of concrete could cover Ireland 20cm high.
I've noticed a hierarchy of materials.
Wood, stone, mudbrick, can fit perfectly anywhere.
Redbrick is almost as good.
Then there's metal. It's not strictly unnatural, but at too large of a scale, and when too shiny and new, it feels alienating. I'm quite lenient with metal, though; even a rusting tank or steel mill has a certain charm. Metal wants to return to its natural state, and will if we let it. It's a noble material even when misused.
Concrete is worse. It doesn't degrade right. What natural material cracks and calves in that way? It's like a weird, counterfeit stone.
Plastic is the worst of course. Jarring and alien everywhere, it can never be beautiful, and looks even worse when it breaks and tarnishes. Is there any surprise that it subtly poisons everything it touches?
https://www.rte.ie/culture/2022/1119/1331057-little-republics-the-story-of-bungalow-bliss-read-an-extract/
A piece on a new book on the Irish building style called 'Bungalow Bliss'