Carlow Castle - the example of indolence and incompetence of Carlow Council

In the latest issue of Carlow leading newspaper - The Nationalist - there was an article about the Carlow Castle issue. One of the biggest tourist attractions of the town has been left without proper tourist facilities (car park, easy access to the site), covered with litter and in darkness during the night. I have described Carlow Castle in one of me first posts on my Polish blog 2 years ago. I mentioned the large number of the broken bottles that were covering the yard (or interior of the building). It seems that Carlow Council noticed that 2 years after me. Also, they have noticed that there has not been lights in the Castle during the nights for the last 8 months. Indeed it is very hard to notice that because of the surrounding estates that were built up recently. This is the worst thing that Carlow Council could do to the castle. It is surrounded by a ugly modern estates that almost completely wiped out the castle from the town’s landscape. The castle is almost invisible to the newcomer - somebody who doesn’t know the town. The modern estates are placed too close to the castle that the surrounding around the ancient building are not attractive to the tourists at all. It seems that the Carlow chancellors have forgotten about the simple fact - the monument is not only the castle but its vicinity as well, and now - thanks to the Carlow Council - there is nor historical surrounding nor facilities for tourists around the castle.

I remember, it was only 2 years ago, while I was walking down the Graigcullen town’s park or walking down the Castle Street I could watch the beautiful shape of the castle but not any more. The parts that remained visible don’t help the overall ugly look of that part of Carlow town’s landscape.

Dear chancellors - it is a pity, but it is to late to cry. You did nothing when the land around the castle was sold out to the developers, you didn’t prevent the destroying of the town’s landscape and cutting off the castle from the living organism of the town. In my opinion The Carlow Council’s policy in that part of the town was as much devastating to the castle as the ideas of the mad doctor Middleton (who nearly completely destroyed almost untouched structure). The light won’t help much. The castle will remain abandoned by tourists.

It is obvious that Ireland needs more and more development and it is changing rapidly. I am just afraid that there is not too many people in charge who care about the Irish heritage. I wish you all not to wake up one day when you are not able to get back part of your soul that is being sold these days.

there is litter everywhere

Not so long ago I was dealing with the issue of litter, pollution and contamination of water, and whole Irish environment. I was trying to answer the question about reasons of the fact, that some Irish people are throwing litter everywhere, and don’t care at all about the environment. I think it is an effect of consuming style of life… people spending life in a idle hedonism, thinking probably, we have money, we don’t care.. there is always somebody who will have to clean after us…

Here is some photos of strictly Carlow town centre on Monday morning…. would you like to see that kind of photos in a leaflets and booklets about Ireland?

Carlow, Ireland, litter on the street, Photo: Krystian Kozerawski

Carlow, Ireland, litter on the street, Photo: Krystian Kozerawski

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Contamination

Recently, in almost every Irish newspaper I could read about problem of water contamination, illegal dumping of litter, and the issue of keeping Ireland tidy.

The most troubling news are concerning water contamination in Galway, and polluted waters of Lough Corrib that is a water supply for Galway. The picture that stroke me the most was a photo of dumped household wastes in the river Suileen which is linked with a main drinking water resource. A river full of black rubbish bags, Coca-Cola and Lucozade empty bottles and many other rubbish and waste produced by a consumption.

I think it would be an excellent black PR for those companies to see big billboards with the photos of dumped wastes in a water supplies. Always Coca-Cola? or maybe always e-Coli, a microbe related to the human and animal sewage, that could be find in almost every water tap in Galway and Kerry?
In the local Carlow newspaper (The Nationalist) I found a terrifying article about rotting carcasses of fox, chickens and other animals dumped in the cardboard boxes just on the edge of the road close to the estate.

Carlow Town Council is deliberating on cutting all of the trees and bush around the Liberty Tree fountain, which is central part of the town, due to the large amount of waste, they are also thinking about setting up CCTV cameras in the most often littered parts of the town.

Year ago, I found bottom of the Barrow river full of dumped wastes, Tesco’s troleys etc.

What is going on? Is this an effect of consuming style of life, a kind of hedonism which sneaks into the Irish life? Is Ireland becoming dirty and polluted country? It seems that the run for earning more money, and having more goods, better and faster cars, especially fancy jeeps and pickups (with the higher level of CO2 emission) made some Irish people completely insensitive on environmental issues.
To prevent any comments in a way “go back home”: I don’t claim that Poland is clean, but I can see rising level of environmental awareness over there.

People of Ireland, where do you go from here?

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