Achill-henge --Joe McNamara’s latest stunt?

[MauriceColgan]

Concrete degrades very rapidly in an acidic environment.

This is built on a bog, high acid content in the soil.

Not the best material to use and will lose it's structural integrity far more quickly than normal.

The beauty of concrete it is so easily protected with all the many coatings available on the market.

Once the artistic facing is done and landscaping completed we may have another national treasure like Newgrange to show to the world. Remember all the fuss about the facing of that structure?

[Astral Peaks]

The beauty of concrete it is so easily protected with all the many coatings available on the market.

Once the artistic facing is done and landscaping completed we may have another national treasure like Newgrange to show to the world. Remember all the fuss about the facing of that structure?

Ah Maurice, give it a rest.

Did Joe purchase coated pre-cast?

Doubt it.

As for comparing this cocology to Newgrange, don't make me laugh.

Does this share Newgrange's USP, was it built by hand, is it at one with the landscape?

The more you praise this monstrosity, the more you undermine the credibility of your otherwise excellent thread on the beauty of Ireland.

[MauriceColgan]

Ah Maurice, give it a rest.

Did Joe purchase coated pre-cast?

Doubt it.

As for comparing this cocology to Newgrange, don't make me laugh.

Does this share Newgrange's USP, was it built by hand, is it at one with the landscape?

The more you praise this monstrosity, the more you undermine the credibility of your otherwise excellent thread on the beauty of Ireland.

You are of course entitled to your oppinion however erroneous it may be.


You should read Davin O' Dwyer's article about Achill-henge in The Irish Times yesterday. He is by no means alone in appreciating the importance of the structure. It now has a life on the Internet thanks to Google images, Twitter and Facebook etc.

[Astral Peaks]

You are of course entitled to your oppinion however erroneous it may be.


You should read Davin O' Dwyer's article about Achill-henge in The Irish Times yesterday. He is by no means alone in appreciating the importance of the structure. It now has a life on the Internet thanks to Google images, Twitter and Facebook etc.

I agree, it is very important.

It will be a test of whether the idea of responsible, sustainable development is accepted in Ireland, or whether we now go back to a state of chaos and lassiez faire, to development without any control or planning, with all the damage that will cause to our irreplaceable landscape and environment.

[truthisfree]

Ah Maurice, give it a rest.

Did Joe purchase coated pre-cast?

Doubt it.

As for comparing this cocology to Newgrange, don't make me laugh.

Does this share Newgrange's USP, was it built by hand, is it at one with the landscape?

The more you praise this monstrosity, the more you undermine the credibility of your otherwise excellent thread on the beauty of Ireland.

Astral whether the construction was built by hand has nothing to do with the debate, nor has the finish on the concrete, the debate has become polarised into the people who say he had no right to do it and deserve everything coming to him and the people who are saying wait, this is aesthetically beautiful and enhances the area it is in.

As Maurice says this debate is in a much wider circle than this country now,,,,,,,,, you call it a monstrosity, what do you think of the Angel of the North by Antony Gormley btw?

[MauriceColgan]

Yes truthisfree, the Angel of the North a commissioned work is not a patch on Joe's, Achill-Henge.

The sheer potential of this structure

is astounding.

[junius]

Astral whether the construction was built by hand has nothing to do with the debate, nor has the finish on the concrete, the debate has become polarised into the people who say he had no right to do it and deserve everything coming to him and the people who are saying wait, this is aesthetically beautiful and enhances the area it is in.

As Maurice says this debate is in a much wider circle than this country now,,,,,,,,, you call it a monstrosity, what do you think of the Angel of the North by Antony Gormley btw?

It looks like someone going home from IKEA stores. Does it spin? What's the point of it if it doesn't produce electricity or something? I'd have it but only if it was doing useful work for me.

Potential for the henge on Achill? Must think about that one? In that location it might be useful to have a roof made of solar panels and to house an exhibition on alternative energy inside it. BTW, I hope with the amount of digger work that no ancient archaeological monument was swept away in its erection.

[tokkie]

Astral whether the construction was built by hand has nothing to do with the debate, nor has the finish on the concrete, the debate has become polarised into the people who say he had no right to do it and deserve everything coming to him and the people who are saying wait, this is aesthetically beautiful and enhances the area it is in.

As Maurice says this debate is in a much wider circle than this country now,,,,,,,,, you call it a monstrosity, what do you think of the Angel of the North by Antony Gormley btw?

Did you do your "sussing out" in Achill. What did the sage of the barstool let you know??

[Bonsai Experiment]

Concrete degrades very rapidly in an acidic environment.

This is built on a bog, high acid content in the soil.

Not the best material to use and will lose it's structural integrity far more quickly than normal.

Hmm . calm down, For a start, the circle, as you see it , requires almost no structural integrity. It barely qualifies as a structure. It has no loading. Its not supporting anything. It appears that all the units are precast which would mean that they all have their own structural integrity inherent to them. All Mc namara did was arrange them like Jenga blocks on site. The trickiest part of the build would have been the foundations. Did he pour strip foundations on site at the start of the build, this would have required a delivery of concrete of approx 8 full mixer trucks, no one has mentioned a concrete truck yet, just artics. Or did he pre-prepare the site and build straight onto the rock.
From what I have seen out there , Rock levels are very high. He may have had a rockbreaker out there for two to three weeks prior to this and level off the rock to level pads. Its quite commmon to see rock breakers at work without people getting overly excited in the planning dept.
Either way the units themselves will last for decades , with minimal treatment and all that will happen them is that some corners or edges might start to show rust streaks from the rebars if the cover is penetrated. With minimum upkeep this thing will stand for centuries. Assuming he did a good jobs on the foundations.

[Bonsai Experiment]

The beauty of concrete it is so easily protected with all the many coatings available on the market.

Once the artistic facing is done and landscaping completed we may have another national treasure like Newgrange to show to the world. Remember all the fuss about the facing of that structure?

I agree with you that this thing certainly has merit , but lets not get into comparing it to Newgrange now...