Shiny Clock in Douglas

PaulyD1989

Hello,
I'm looking for a picture of the shiny clock that used to be outside Douglas Court. I think it was knocked down around 1997. I can't find any pictures of it online...

curly from cork

id forgotten about that clock. i quite liked it but boy did it cause a riot when it went up first. i lived in rochestown at the time it first went up. about 20 yrs ago. there was actually a door to door petition to get people to sign up and get it taken down... iamgine having the energy or time to bother !
sorry no pic though.

MunsterCycling

Ah yes the nonsence of the Rochestown Road brigade, all nice and cosy in their 2 up 2 downs, laughable. Yeah we could even see it from the height across town and just smile that such a monstrosity could be built.

MC

rebel.ranter

I think we might have pictures of it in the office. I'll have a dig around tomorrow to see if I can find it. Hopefully they were not thrown out in a clear out.

PcAngel

It was on the front page of the echo when the place was opened if that's any good to you.

Faith

Was that the big blue one with 4? faces?

JohnMearsheimer

Ya, that's the one. I seem to remember it being reflective as well. I'd forgotten all about it until this thread. I remember when they built it, I think I was 5/6 at the time. Anyone know why they took it down?

Kimono-Girl

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

Ya, that's the one. I seem to remember it being reflective as well. I'd forgotten all about it until this thread. I remember when they built it, I think I was 5/6 at the time. Anyone know why they took it down?

as far as i remember they took it down to build on the extension which now holds costa coffee and the cumins sports discount outlet!

LilMrsDahamsta

When it was taken down they did eventually use the place where it had stood to extend the shopping centre. However, this was not the reason it was removed.

I worked in Dunnes at the time, and one very wet, extremely windy day, the shiny material started to come down off it in the high wind. Once a few missing sheets let wind into the hollow tower, they just started to fly down at shoppers; very dangerous as they were glass or glass-like material. Some people said it was hit by lightening as the power in the centre went off at around the same time; others said the falling glass cut the power or the damage to the clock caused the electricity to trip out. Either way, the customers had to be allowed out of the back of the shop through the stores area to avoid injury. It was wrapped in some sort of cover the next day I was working and was taken down rapidly after that.

Sorry; no photos of it. I always thought it was a monstrosity and was very glad to see it gone!

Flesh Gorden

I think i can remember it being dumped here (51.917803,-8.432372) in the unused bog land

I remember looking out the back window when I was younger and seeing a massive hideous clock being dumped there

long gone though, along with the other bits of scrap metal that ended up there

PaulyD1989

I had no idea how hated the clock was, I just thought it got knocked down after the Christmas Eve storm in 1997...

Me and my friend were looking for a picture of it for a project except when we asked people about it, noone could even remember it...

Bill-e

I moved to Douglas in 95 and that clock was for me like the symbol of Douglas. I liked it.

Typewriter

Bill-e wrote: »

I moved to Douglas in 95 and that clock was for me like the symbol of Douglas. I liked it.

Same story for me, moved to Douglas / Rochestown in 1994 always liked it. Shame it wasn't replaced.

Here's an OSI map from 1995. you cant really see it but it helps you remember. There was also a lot more green areas back then.

http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,570315,569685,7

Colibri

(Forgive the photoshopped mountains in the background, taken from the web)

bladebrew

i dont live in cork long enough to remember the clock, i showed the g/f the pic and she remebered it and said everyone has a different reason why it was removed!! although it falling apart in a storm seems like a good enough reason!
i dont know if i love it or hate it though

ScrubsfanChris

I remember the taking down of the clock conincieded with I think alot of renovating and construction on the shopping centre.
Although I can barely remember the clock ifself.

PaulyD1989

Colibri wrote: »

(Forgive the photoshopped mountains in the background, taken from the web)

Thank you

Sugarfree

PaulyD1989 wrote: »

Thank you

Maryborough hill seems to have changed a lot!!

Flesh Gorden

Sugarfree wrote: »

Maryborough hill seems to have changed a lot!!

They should be christened the mountains of debt

Outkast_IRE

why would someone take the time to photoshop in mountain ???

Jasonw

Ha. This brings back memories. When I first left school my first job was working on the steel framework of that clock. The company I worked for did a lot of the steelwork around Douglas court. Handrails and the like.

I Still remember the pain of the welding flash I got after I spent an afternoon watching the welder weld the endplates on the Bicycle rails.

run_Forrest_run

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

why would someone take the time to photoshop in mountain ???

I prefer to ask why wouldn't someone take the time to photoshop in a Mountain.
Rapid rate of plate tectonic activity from Maryborough, that's all the pressure from them SUVs driven by wives of property developers.

Condo131

MunsterCycling wrote: »

.... we could even see it from the height across town

God bless you eyesight then! It wasn't that big! ...and it was in the bottom of the Tramore valley ...and you'd still have needed a good pair of binoculars.

If you're (guessing from your moniker) talking about the Munster Motorcycling club in Vernon Mount, you might be able to see it...but that's only about a mile away (as the crow flies)...not across town.

Kazbah

I remember there was a colouring competition to draw the infamous clock shortly after Douglas Court was officially opened by the legendary Terence from 96FM LOL

Ghost Estate

i so misread the title of this thread

pa990

Colibri wrote: »

(Forgive the photoshopped mountains in the background, taken from the web)

lol ... mountains

parsi

It's a shame that those mountains were knocked down and replaced with 'ouses 'ouses 'ouses...

corkcoco

I can confirm that this tower was taken down following a xmas eve storm when some of the tiles were blown off. I was on to staff in DC looking for a photo recently & they had none so the photo shopped version is good enough for now. It was a brave & controversial move by the architect so I say well done, it was Cork's spire......:)

kub

corkcoco wrote: »

I can confirm that this tower was taken down following a xmas eve storm when some of the tiles were blown off. I was on to staff in DC looking for a photo recently & they had none so the photo shopped version is good enough for now. It was a brave & controversial move by the architect so I say well done, it was Cork's spire......:)

You are correct, I remember the day and witnessed the panels been blown off the structure of the clock. One actually hit one of the entry doors to the centre at the time, which was close to the front of where the AIB premises is.