Yesterday I spend some time in the country, trying to take some good shots of drivers in their cars chasing time in the struggle for prize of Carlow Rally 200.
Here is some photos of that:
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Archive for the 'Carlow' Category Page 2 of 2
Walking on the Tullow Street - main street of Carlow, I have noticed that some old houses have been being demolished. The front of one of them has been intact so far, together with the shop on the front. It has reminded me a kind of war scene, a town after bombardment.
The sign sticked to the front window perfectly fulfil the picture (click to enlarge)
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Inside the latest issue of Nenagh Guardian you can find a bilingual article about my project of Polish community of Nenagh web portal Nenagh.pl. I am glad that there is a English version of that text available for Irish people who may will be interested in co-operating, participating or just in buying advert space. There have been some feedback since the publication of it, both from Poles (they are registering on Nenagh.pl forum) and some from Irish as well.
Parallel to works on Nenagh.pl I am working on Carlow.pl. The service is almost done and almost ready for opening. In forthcoming weeks I will be looking for potential Irish co-operators, advert space buyers in Carlow, and I will be dealing with registration of my Sole Proprietorship. If you can help me with gather information about it and possible UE grants please let me know.
Meanwhile, I have just come back to Ireland, but I can’t get rid of bad luck as far as health of mine and my wife is concerned. I am ill, and I have fever, headache, and earache, due to extraction of one of my teeth. I hope I will be able to go for tonight Clannad concert.
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For last few years Ireland has been changing rapidly and has been a European country facing the biggest investment and developing - new estates, shopping and amusement centers, roads, motorways etc. Cranes have been an inseparable part of a landscape of every town or city. In the country, silence of green meadows is disturbed by heavy machinery on the future road sites. In the hearts of quiet towns a scaffolds are appearing rapidly and finally a shopping centers made of glass, iron and stone.
Before I came to Ireland, I had downloaded some pictures of Carlow from the internet. The town in the 80ties and 90ties looks similar but not the same. I got the conclusion that this massive investment is killing the soul of Ireland, and the uncountable amount of money that has been pushed into Irish economy has two ends. The good one is the highest living standards, excellent labor market, very low unemployment rate, but I am afraid that people in charge of that don’t care much about the tradition and the Ireland as a land of a great culture and tradition won’t manage that.
Don’t take me wrong, I am not expecting carts with donkeys on the street and old men sitting outside the pubs, a common image of Ireland. I have just got an impression that Ireland country and towns are being sliced by a developing and investment without any respect to the landscape and tradition.
I wish my impression was wrong.
Here is an example of the same place in Carlow. I cound’t find an oryginal website of that photo, but I am going to complete it as quickly as I can.
An old picture
Carlow 2006 AD.
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As you know I am living in Carlow – not a very big town on the rivers Barrow and Burren. The guide book I have reminds Carlow as a place not worth of visit, the same opinion about this town has some Irish people I know. Does Carrlow really suck? I am not sure of that.
First of all the town centre has a beautiful shape and line, quite typical for Irish, or even for Scottish towns. I really like Tullow Street especially near the junction with Barrack Street where some nice pubs are placed and the junction with Dublin Street and Castle Street. The last two streets are really nice and creating something like a real heart of the town. I like to walk down the Castle Street and have a pint or two in Tavern, if you go further you will find yourself on Castle Road that ends with nice stone bridge. You can find me near to the river in Corcorian’s which is our archaeological social pub (successor of Tavern and Carlovians).
Of course Carlow has a castle – ruins to be correct. This Castle is the one of the finest examples of Norman castle architecture, and was built in the 13th century by William Marshal a Norman successor of Strongbow.
I was very disappointed of my guidebook which only reminds in few words the Brownshill Dolmen placed just outside of the town. As far as I know it is one of the biggest, if not the biggest dolmen in the Europe. It is really huge thing built by Neolithic farmers that used to live on the Burren and Burrow rivers.
Carlow town is not a boring place. There is plenty things to do, from having pint or more in one of the nice pubs, going crazy in on of the nightclubs to just a quite walk at the banks of Burrow river.
Not everything is such nice of course. The Burrow Bank south to the bridge is not so clean, and the architecture is also not so nice. But the north path is very nice.
Of course, for the Irish people living here, the town is nothing special. There is plenty of castles in Ireland, most of them are much better preserved than Carlow Castle, but I am not an Irish person, and that why I can appreciate cozy little town.
Old Courthouse
Dublin Street
Dublin Street
Castle Street view on Tullow Street
Castle Street view on Carlow Castle
Castle Hill
13th century Norman Castle
I am wonder if Okocim Brewery would appreciate that kind of advertisment?
River Burrow bank south of the bridge is not interesting
Bridge, view on the other side of the river
River Burrow
River Burrow
View on Carlow from the bridge
I love Irish gaeilge:)
One of the nice pubs
Tullow Street.
Tullow Street
Tullow Street
Tullow Street
Irish birds don’t care about birds flu
I am living near to the Masonry Lodge. Maybe that’s why I left Poland 
Carlow can surprise me even today. After 3 months of living in that town I have just discovered a beautiful old cemetery on the Burrow river bank, just 5 minutes of my place.
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