Rathfarnham Castle is open to the public and holds exhibitions and performances. Refurbishment is ongoing.
Irish Fencing has been involved in works in this park for many years, firstly in the provision of perimeter railings and gates in 1988 and subsequenlyt security work to the Council Depot situated in a walled compound beside the Castle and Railings and Gates at various locations within the park.
Client Vision
An active roadway runs through an open grassed area.creating a risk to park users,especially children entering into the path of traffic.The product selected needed to complement the history of and design of the Castle,it was also required to have minimal maintenance and a feature to prevent strimmers and mowers causing damage to the fence needed to be designed for incorporationinto the installation process..
Key Challenges.
Brendan Redmond Senior Executive Engineer SDCC met with Eoin Ennis our Contracts Manager to review the products available and practicality for the task in the location,as well as the potential budget.The specific challenges once the product had been selected were the client schedule and the Health and Safety issues of working in an area which the public,were using and the active road which we were working alongside.
Overcoming The Challenges.
It is our normal procedure to meet with our client or potential client at as early stage as possible to discuss their vision and to discuss options price points and site conditions as well as specific health and safety and logistics considerations,In this case with Health and Safety being a critical issue this was specifically dealt with by Anthony Smyth our H & S Manager and SDCCs H & S personnel. Anthony prepared method statements along with risk assessments on this project which ensured all hazardous areas were clearly identified and proper preventative measures were put in place. Part of our H&S Officers role was liaising with our Contracts Manager & County Council engineers ensuring that all our team members were fully trained, and all certs and tickets were relevant to the particular contract at hand. Site specific product drawings were produced by our drawing office.
Product Used
The selected product we supplied was our Killarney Estate Railing, based on the parkland railing designs used by Lancelot Capability Brown at Compton Verney Manor and many other British and Irish grand Houses during the 18th century,the period that Rathfarnham Castle was redesigned as a home. The railings were finished with a black RAL9005 colour Powder Coating over Hot Dipped Galvanising to provide a finish requiring no maintenance for many generations. A timber skirting was provided on the bottom of each panel. The railing had ornamental cast iron features to the top of posts at entrance gaps and on gate posts.
Positive Outcomes
The Project was completed to schedule and provides a pleasing feature complementary to The Castle,as well as having unobtrusively restricted the chance of pedestrians in particular children entering into an active roadway..
