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Bray - A kip - And I'm from bray !

  • 15-04-2009 10:50pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭MarkHobBray1977


    Bray is full of €2 shops , take aways , pubs and thats it...A total dive..Throw in the new Meth clinic , shops opening and closing in the space of a year...Feck me , where did it all go wrong...Such potential ...Wasted in the extreme !!!!!!


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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,700 ✭✭✭brayblue24


    Bray is full of €2 shops , take aways , pubs and thats it...A total dive..Throw in the new Meth clinic , shops opening and closing in the space of a year...Feck me , where did it all go wrong...Such potential ...Wasted in the extreme !!!!!!

    Jebus, when I saw that description I thought you were talking about Dun Laoghaire!!


  • Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭MarkHobBray1977


    :) ..Ok 1st post may seem a bit general...But I really think Bray has taken a dive in the last few years...I love the place , its my home town....But , it is not a nice place as it stands


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,475 ✭✭✭Lil' Smiler


    I have to say, your first post was a bit general. I agree with you in a sense. Lived in Bray all my life, work in Donnybrook so am rarely here. Went down to see the chicks in Anvil last week and couldn't believe the difference! Lots of shops closed, didn't notice Cafe Bar Deli had gone!

    It looks grubby, places down towards the end such as Ledwidges and where the supposed Florentine Centre is look awful. All the shop fronts need to be done up. I have to say Quinnsboro Road looks great, glad the cinema went, it was an eye sore!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 21,191 ✭✭✭✭Latchy


    I still laugh when english people tell me they went to ireland and when i ask wereabouts they reply '' Bray ''

    ( which is very much like southport ) :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 21,401 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    It looks grubby, places down towards the end such as Ledwidges and where the supposed Florentine Centre is look awful. All the shop fronts need to be done up. I have to say Quinnsboro Road looks great, glad the cinema went, it was an eye sore!
    There was a great hoo-ha (sp?) recently when Bray traders association, or whatever they're called, announced they were going to do exactly this, with some money from Bray UDC, I believe. What this actually entailed was just plastering yet another layer of paint on top of the 50 layers that were already there, and putting a few hanging baskets out .. absolutely pathetic.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 5,015 ✭✭✭Ludo


    I lived in Bray for 8 years up to last year and I agree with everything you say. The place has great potential but is just grotty as it is now. Look at Gorey for example...a place with not a lot going for it, but it looks well.

    Bray main street needs a serious overhaul. The area round the train station is also in need of work as it creates a terrible first impression of the town.

    Take even the Southern Cross...another access point to the town which looks terrible...cut the fecking grass on both sides of the road for the love of god...stop bickering over whose responsibility it is (maybe this situation has changed in the last year though).


  • Registered Users Posts: 21,401 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    Ludo wrote: »
    Take even the Southern Cross...another access point to the town which looks terrible...cut the fecking grass on both sides of the road for the love of god...stop bickering over whose responsibility it is (maybe this situation has changed in the last year though).
    No, as far as I know, that part of Bray still falls under Wicklow CC rather than Bray Town Council.


  • Hosted Moderators Posts: 10,661 ✭✭✭✭John Mason


    i left bray 15 years ago because it was a kip and it still is a kip.

    its nice go back there every now and again to see the family but you couldnt pay me enough money to live in the place full time


  • Registered Users Posts: 28,378 ✭✭✭✭murpho999


    I'm from Bray and still live there and I have to agree with the OP.

    Main St is looking very run down.

    Terrible selection of shops.

    For example male clothing, only option is Allen's (ok but expensive) or what used to be Mr T's. Really terrible stuff there. Tansey's is another option if you are a pensioner.

    There are too many €2 shops, hairdressers, beauticians.

    No really nice food shops, clothing or home furnishings.

    Lots of shops are run down and dirty.
    Town also has a serious litter problem.

    The town has not improved in the last 20 years like others have and its really a place I do grocery shopping and go to Dundrum or City Centre for anything else.

    It really is a great shame as there is great potential there.

    Main st needs to be tidied up, and council should insist on caps being put on numbers of types of business allowed.

    Does Bray need another Bookmaker or Hairdresser?

    No it needs, decent cafes/restaurants, clothing stores, home furnishings etc.

    Only hope is the new town centre which will hopefully make Main St traders improve their act, but who knows when that will happen.

    Also, seafront is not taken full advantage of. Should be full of nice cafes etc not pubs and amusements.....all very shabby.

    All a great pity as I love Bray but the town is dying on its feet and nobody seems to be doing anything about it.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 3,731 Mod ✭✭✭✭The Real B-man


    murpho999 wrote: »

    No it needs, decent cafes/restaurants, clothing stores, home furnishings etc.

    Also, seafront is not taken full advantage of. Should be full of nice cafes etc not pubs and amusements.....all very shabby.
    .

    For the Love of God bray doesnt not need another Coffee Shop! :D


    I have to say Quinnsboro Road looks great, glad the cinema went, it was an eye sore!



    May had looked Shabby but its a Joke the Only Cinema in Co. Wicklow is all the way down in Arklow! i mean having to Trek to Dun Laoghaire or Dundrum is a Joke!


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 89 ✭✭waves


    What are your ideas for the town?

    The reason why shops close is because they don't get local support.... I shop in Get Fresh for my veg and fruit, the little chinese fishmongers up the Arcade for my fish and Holland's Off licence for my beers.

    I get my coffee from the Italian deli opposite Campo - and I drink my coffee there too. I shop local when I can.

    The more you put into the town the more you get out of it. Get involved. Join some local community groups. Get on the Summerfest committee.... Help out rather than just give up.

    I use the seafront every day for walking/jogging/kayaking/cycling (don't tell the council) and sometimes surfing..... it always amazes that more people don't. The rowing club have just started back....

    I'm not saying that the town doesn't have its downsides. The litter is a big problem... as is the growing level of grafitti... The council should make the entrances (particularly the DART and Albert Walk) a priority.

    That's where some new blood on the council will hopefully help come the next elections.... new ideas and less of the inertia and posturing that seems to inhabit the present council.

    As for things to do, well there's always the cinema in the Mermaid on Monday nights, as well as all the other stuff they have on, The JAzz festival is coming up over the May Bank holiday and the comedy club is celebrating its 5th b'day this year....


  • Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭MarkHobBray1977


    Some great replies !! ... As with some of you , its my home town... And Im gutted to see it decline year on year...It really has gone downhill...If you look into Brays history , it used to be a thriving spot , with its own cable car on the bray head !!....Now bray head has lots of homeless people there ( not their fault ) , a site where an old pitch and putt was...and thats it.... BRAY UDC should be ashamed of itself... Bray traders Assoc too...A group of idiots....


  • Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭MarkHobBray1977


    as for my ideas

    - total re-vamp of bray head hotel area

    - albert walk clean up

    - limit amount of fastfood , coffee shops and pubs

    - Get rid of McDonalds from the TOWN HALL !!!

    just a few for starters


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,138 ✭✭✭foxy06


    Lived here all my life (except for a year in greystones) and yeah it has a few bad points but I still wouldnt live anywhere else.

    Good Points:

    The people are friendly. I have worked in The Ardmore bar, Katies, Jim Doyles and the Martello at different stages so have met lots of locals from different walks of life and 99% are sound people.

    The Summerfest is the best thing to happen to the town and I enjoy it every year. The kids love it and if I can get down for the music in the evenings thats great too. Mundy last year was great and there have been other great acts throughout the years.

    The restaurant situation has improved a helluva lot! The pubs on the beach have great food and the Barracuda, Pallazo, campo da fioro and shelbys have stuck around and made it easier to stay in Bray for a meal out.

    Your close to town and country (Dart to town and a few miles to glendalough)

    We have one of the most beautiful beaches/Prom in Ireland.


    Bad points:

    Lack of sun on said beach/Prom!

    Good few skangers around that could do with locking up. The tend to hang around the amusements, McDonalds and outside a few estates so I tend to avoid these areas. And on that point McDonalds should not be where it is.

    The run down areas ie: Bray Head hotel, Dart station area and some of the shops (especially at the hoarding where the Florentine was supposed to go) really could do with a make over but as these are mostly privately owned there is not a lot that can be done.

    Lack of shops. Can't see this improving for a long time but still disappointing.


  • Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭MarkHobBray1977


    Nice reply Foxy !! Think you served me in Katies all those years ago :P

    But the reason for my 1st post was to highlight the wasted potential .... Bray still has "some" good points


  • Registered Users Posts: 26,555 ✭✭✭✭Creamy Goodness


    bray is my bed, until i get graduate and then i'm getting the fudge out, it's a dive.

    it has some nice residential areas and the prom is nice when it has just been cleaned but it only stays clean for like 15 minutes.


  • Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭MarkHobBray1977


    GET THE FUDGE OUT , AND STAY OUT LOL!!!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,700 ✭✭✭brayblue24


    I'm a blow in living here since the mid '90s. Today I went to mass in the Holy Redeemer (I'm far from a holy joe I just like the church and their services) followed by a visit to the bank and a stroll on the prom before the rain started. Not a bad morning really. I stopped at the boathouse for coffee before I got back into the car. Some days after school I bring the kids to play pool in Star amusements and often after the dinner we walk the prom (lovely spot in deepest, darkest winter). The owners and staff in the chemist we use and the local newsagents can't be faulted and the primary schools that my kids go to are A1. That's simply to point out the good in Bray.

    That said there is plenty of work to do when it comes to the general decor of the place and the tannoy that plays in the town on a saturday afternoon is just annoying. The football team is attracting big crowds this season only because the season ticket is €99. How, in a town of 30,000, can they not fill that place out on a Friday?

    Oh yeah, and that McDonalds thing....


  • Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭MarkHobBray1977


    But even since the mid 90's , you have to agree , there has been a decline !?!?!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,219 ✭✭✭Lab_Mouse


    its a ****hole....full of culchie knackers pretending they are from ballyfermot if their accents are anthing to go by..apart from the knackers who well... sound like knackers

    its not called brayruit for nothing


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  • Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭MarkHobBray1977


    LOL harsh...but I know where you are coming from


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,700 ✭✭✭brayblue24


    Lab_Mouse wrote: »
    its a ****hole....full of culchie knackers pretending they are from ballyfermot if their accents are anthing to go by..apart from the knackers who well... sound like knackers

    its not called brayruit for nothing

    Funny, I thought it was called Brayjing. Yeah Mark I do see where you are coming from. It does need a makeover.


  • Registered Users Posts: 99 ✭✭MarkHobBray1977


    brayjing...brayruit , brayzil ...take your pick :P


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,580 ✭✭✭Splendour


    waves wrote: »
    As for things to do, well there's always the cinema in the Mermaid on Monday nights, as well as all the other stuff they have on, The JAzz festival is coming up over the May Bank holiday and the comedy club is celebrating its 5th b'day this year....

    Don't forget Signal Arts Centre on Albert Ave. (across from Albert Walk). Open Tues-Sun with a different exhibition every two weeks. Openings also held every fortnight which offer a chance to meet new people, see/buy some great artwork and a free glass of wine or two to boot :D

    Check it out, signalartscentre.ie

    Btw, if anyone has any ideas for community art work in Bray they can call in or phone.Signal is all about community work.


  • Registered Users Posts: 28,378 ✭✭✭✭murpho999


    For the Love of God bray doesnt not need another Coffee Shop! :D

    I didn't say coffee shop, I said cafe and there is a big difference.

    Bray doesn't need the likes of another Molloy's with fried food and sandwiches, but it needs more places like Betelnut with alternative menus and healthy options and also decent decor.


  • Registered Users Posts: 90 ✭✭jclare56


    has anyone else noticed the amoung of tatoo shops in bray? there cant be that much demand for tatoos.... random.

    wasn't there some big shoping centre to go opposite winstons there on the town? think that woudl have made a difference in terms of attarcting peopel in to bray to shop but as far as i kno it got tied up with plannign permission.........:confused:

    also didnt notice tht cafe bar deli was gone altho i cant say im surprised every time i was in tehre it was empty - shame tho!!


  • Registered Users Posts: 28,378 ✭✭✭✭murpho999


    jclare56 wrote: »
    has anyone else noticed the amoung of tatoo shops in bray? there cant be that much demand for tatoos.... random.

    wasn't there some big shoping centre to go opposite winstons there on the town? think that woudl have made a difference in terms of attarcting peopel in to bray to shop but as far as i kno it got tied up with plannign permission.........:confused:

    also didnt notice tht cafe bar deli was gone altho i cant say im surprised every time i was in tehre it was empty - shame tho!!

    Cud u rapeet dat in Inglish pleeze?


  • Registered Users Posts: 90 ✭✭jclare56


    murpho999 wrote: »
    Cud u rapeet dat in Inglish pleeze?

    **** off.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,939 ✭✭✭mikedragon32


    jclare, murpho999: please don't derail the thread.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,909 ✭✭✭Tippex


    The only ones to blame on this are the shower in Bray town council.

    They have sat on their hands for far too long. Look at the shambles that they allowed go on with the florentine.

    Mcdonalds should never have been allowed open in the Town Hall.

    Without Bray town centre getting built the town will Die totally.

    I've lived there all my life and I rarely spend more than an hour shopping on the main street.

    From what I can tell the council / chamber of commerce do not make much of an effort in attracting any decent stores into the town and to be honest without the town centre development its not going to happen.

    The comment about wanderers is one of the things that infuriates me about the town. I've been going since I was a kid and bring my youngest now (eldest has not interest in football anymore) last summer the ground was full against Leeds and there was hope that we would get more for subsequent games but it never happened. It's €15 in for adults for each game or €99 for a season ticket. When you consider there are so many football teams in the town and surrounding areas it kills me that we cannot get at least crowds of 2000 in for each game.

    I think its just a general attitude about the town of not giving a F***.


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