Positives of Sligo?!

Madge

Since Muffler suggessted a thread with the positives of Sligo, I came up with a few...

1. The litter problem in Sligo has improved a bit, esp around the town (that is my view anyway!)
2. Sligo has two lovely beaches- Strandhill (great for surfing!) and Rosses Point
3. There HAS been some good development commercially with the retail park at Carraroe and Quayside shopping centre- these have brought a lot of big name retailers
4. There is a 12 screen cinema in the centre of town
5. There are 2 high quality third level colleges in Sligo which are always developing and offering a variety of courses
6. The county has nice countryside, mountains and lakes- such as Benbulben, Knocknarea, Lough Gill, Hazelwood
7. The county has some good history- W.B Yeats, Lisadell House, Sligo Abbey etc
8. The county has some good golf courses such as Enniscrone
9. The county has a few famous bands come out of it- Westlife, Conway Sisters, Tommy Fleming, Dervish
10. There is a theatre in the centre of town, which puts on good shows- Hawkes Well

Resistance

You forgot Rovers the North West’s finest

muffler

Resistance wrote:

You forgot Rovers the North West’s finest

Whats that , biscuits

muffler

Madge wrote:

Since Muffler suggessted a thread with the positives of Sligo, I came up with a few...

1. The litter problem in Sligo has improved a bit, esp around the town (that is my view anyway!)
2. Sligo has two lovely beaches- Strandhill (great for surfing!) and Rosses Point
3. There HAS been some good development commercially with the retail park at Carraroe and Quayside shopping centre- these have brought a lot of big name retailers
4. There is a 12 screen cinema in the centre of town
5. There are 2 high quality third level colleges in Sligo which are always developing and offering a variety of courses
6. The county has nice countryside, mountains and lakes- such as Benbulben, Knocknarea, Lough Gill, Hazelwood
7. The county has some good history- W.B Yeats, Lisadell House, Sligo Abbey etc
8. The county has some good golf courses such as Enniscrone
9. The county has a few famous bands come out of it- Westlife, Conway Sisters, Tommy Fleming, Dervish
10. There is a theatre in the centre of town, which puts on good shows- Hawkes Well

good on ya girl. I knew there was a lot of good things about Sligo and if I knew the place in any depth myself i would contribute more but I have to say that some of the scenery is second to none

TempestSabre

Its very green.

smashey

Everywhere you go in Sligo, there are signposts pointing to Lifford.:D

il gatto

Not to put a dampner on things, but alot of these positives are in the county, not the town. And alot of the positives about the town are not due to those who run it. I will say however, the areas along the river is such a massive improvement over what it was ten years ago. It was a dump. It's nice and cosmopoliton feeling now. See. I'm not the Sligo grinch:D Oh! And I like what they've done opening the route from the Wine Street carpark into Dunnes carpark. Very handy.
With regards to the county, I think it's great. Pity more tourists don't visit. Seems to be a staging post between Galway and Donegal. It's a lovely place. I know our friends in Donegal probably think they go unnoticed with regards visitors, but Sligo seems to be a non destination. There's no life in Sligo during the summer outside of Saturdays

Tar.Aldarion

I live in the country, it is absolutlely beautiful, especially hen it is sunny and at night.

muffler

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

I live in the country, it is absolutlely beautiful, especially hen it is sunny and at night.

What sort of hens do you have in Sligo - glow in the dark ones

Tar.Aldarion

The ones that get drunk and have parties in nightclubs. (:

muffler

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

The ones that get drunk and have parties in nightclubs. (:

in other words - "grow in the dark" type

Tar.Aldarion

I have no idea what you mean.
>_>
<_<

DaBreno

Its perpetual rainfall should ensure there will never be a drought in the county.

SprostonGreen

Its take-the-p'iss humour of the townie residents.

Aine Chambers.

A rake of good pubs.

gustavo

As Resistance said , we have one of the finest soccer teams in the country
Plenty of good dramatic companies and productions each year,
Ill come back when I think of more!

Exar Khun

Surfs up bra !

Resistance

muffler wrote:

Whats that , biscuits

Hilarious muffler :rolleyes:

SprostonGreen

We also have a nice accent. Criticised by many as being "knackery", but sure what do they know?

dingding

DaBreno wrote:

Its perpetual rainfall should ensure there will never be a drought in the county.

Must be time for the annual water rationing

il gatto

A nice accent? Now that's sarcasm. It goes through me like a dentists drill. I've grown up in and around Sligo since I was 3 years old, and I'm eternally grateful to the speech gods that I haven't been lumbered with it. Don't know how I managed to avoid picking it up. Loads of people I grew up with had it, and most I've worked with.
It's like a nasal Dublin accent with a sneery edge. It's completely exclusive to the town and a small area around it. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the country. "Welll Bud. How'ya now? Me mudder an' me fadder are out in de gaarden, readin' de Chaampion. NNNHH! You lukin' at me buddy? I'll rip off ur hed an' s#*t down ur troat! NNNHH!" God. I cringe just typing it.:D

SprostonGreen

il gatto wrote:

A nice accent? Now that's sarcasm. It goes through me like a dentists drill. I've grown up in and around Sligo since I was 3 years old, and I'm eternally grateful to the speech gods that I haven't been lumbered with it. Don't know how I managed to avoid picking it up. Loads of people I grew up with had it, and most I've worked with.
It's like a nasal Dublin accent with a sneery edge. It's completely exclusive to the town and a small area around it. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the country. "Welll Bud. How'ya now? Me mudder an' me fadder are out in de gaarden, readin' de Chaampion. NNNHH! You lukin' at me buddy? I'll rip off ur hed an' s#*t down ur troat! NNNHH!" God. I cringe just typing it.:D

Yes, but judging from your most recent posts in this section, you dont seem to like Sligo full stop, so its of no surprise you dont like the accent.

Spoken properly with good diction its sounds nice. Spoken by a knacker it doesnt.

Madge

il gatto wrote:

Not to put a dampner on things, but alot of these positives are in the county, not the town.

Most of them are in the town actually.

il gatto wrote:

Pity more tourists don't visit. Seems to be a staging post between Galway and Donegal. It's a lovely place. I know our friends in Donegal probably think they go unnoticed with regards visitors, but Sligo seems to be a non destination. There's no life in Sligo during the summer outside of Saturdays

I think you're mistaken.. The town is choc a block with foreigners! You only have to go into Pennys- full of foreign students. I was coming out of the cinema the other night and there was loads of foreign students at the entrance. Not to mention the camping sites at Strandhill and Rosses Point have been full for the last few weeks.
BTW, I think the Sligo accent is nice... ' I'm from Slyyygo' (heavily pronounce the g..!)

magnumlady

I agree with you about the lovely countryside and beaches.
The town is getting better, but people have got to stop objecting to progress.
I see in the paper there have been a load of objections to the Wine Street shopping centre. Do the shop keepers that object not realise that by stopping the shops that people want coming into the town they are forcing people to go elsewhere.
The cinema is good, but should be out of town or have its own car park.

gustavo

il gatto wrote:

A nice accent? Now that's sarcasm. It goes through me like a dentists drill. I've grown up in and around Sligo since I was 3 years old, and I'm eternally grateful to the speech gods that I haven't been lumbered with it. Don't know how I managed to avoid picking it up. Loads of people I grew up with had it, and most I've worked with.
It's like a nasal Dublin accent with a sneery edge. It's completely exclusive to the town and a small area around it. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the country. "Welll Bud. How'ya now? Me mudder an' me fadder are out in de gaarden, readin' de Chaampion. NNNHH! You lukin' at me buddy? I'll rip off ur hed an' s#*t down ur troat! NNNHH!" God. I cringe just typing it.:D

have to say i agree with you there!
I find it very harsh

il gatto

Spoken properly with good diction and it's not a true Sligo accent. I specifically meant your every day nasal whine. What is most identifiable as a Sligo town accent.
My previous posts are in relation to how Sligo has been managed by those who take our tax money as wages and do a crappy job. If I didn't like Sligo I would have left. My "career" isn't so good that I couldn't up sticks and move. I'm just annoyed by how civil servants and polititions not addressing problems and letting things run on til it's too late to fix(like the Mid-Block Route).
In relation to tourism, Sligos a dead duck. There's coach trips stop off in the Southern and loads of Spanish exchange students. Not much else really.If you visit Westport or Galway or Killarney or Kilkenny this time of year, they're buzzing. Every night of the week. For my sins I work in the hospitality industry in Sligo town, and any night outside of a Saturday or Bank Holiday Sunday is sooo quiet. You could go out on a Friday or Sunday and it might be busy, but chances are it won't. That's a pity because like I said, I think Sligo has alot to offer visitors. They're just not coming here in any numbers.
By the way SprostonGreen? Is that like the Charlatans song on the Some Friendly album?

il gatto

And Madge, 4 out of your 10 posts referred to "county" and Strandhill and Rosses point and not in the Borough of Sligo either. I said alot of your positives reffered to the county, not the town and, as half of them do, I stand by that.

muffler

il gatto wrote:

Spoken properly with good diction and it's not a true Sligo accent. I specifically meant your every day nasal whine. What is most identifiable as a Sligo town accent.
My previous posts are in relation to how Sligo has been managed by those who take our tax money as wages and do a crappy job. If I didn't like Sligo I would have left. My "career" isn't so good that I couldn't up sticks and move. I'm just annoyed by how civil servants and polititions not addressing problems and letting things run on til it's too late to fix(like the Mid-Block Route).
In relation to tourism, Sligos a dead duck. There's coach trips stop off in the Southern and loads of Spanish exchange students. Not much else really.If you visit Westport or Galway or Killarney or Kilkenny this time of year, they're buzzing. Every night of the week. For my sins I work in the hospitality industry in Sligo town, and any night outside of a Saturday or Bank Holiday Sunday is sooo quiet. You could go out on a Friday or Sunday and it might be busy, but chances are it won't. That's a pity because like I said, I think Sligo has alot to offer visitors. They're just not coming here in any numbers.
By the way SprostonGreen? Is that like the Charlatans song on the Some Friendly album?

You may be getting confused about what thread you are posting in. Stay on topic or if you want to post the above comments do so in the relevant thread

il gatto

There's not much point responding to comments made to me in a different thread. I'm just replying to people who have quoted my posts. I thought that was the nature of dicussion. They've taken issue with what I've said and I've taken issue with what they've said. It's not off topic. It's just a differing view.

Besprechen

Madge wrote:

Since Muffler suggessted a thread with the positives of Sligo, I came up with a few...

1. The litter problem in Sligo has improved a bit, esp around the town (that is my view anyway!)
2. Sligo has two lovely beaches- Strandhill (great for surfing!) and Rosses Point
3. There HAS been some good development commercially with the retail park at Carraroe and Quayside shopping centre- these have brought a lot of big name retailers
4. There is a 12 screen cinema in the centre of town
5. There are 2 high quality third level colleges in Sligo which are always developing and offering a variety of courses
6. The county has nice countryside, mountains and lakes- such as Benbulben, Knocknarea, Lough Gill, Hazelwood
7. The county has some good history- W.B Yeats, Lisadell House, Sligo Abbey etc
8. The county has some good golf courses such as Enniscrone
9. The county has a few famous bands come out of it- Westlife, Conway Sisters, Tommy Fleming, Dervish
10. There is a theatre in the centre of town, which puts on good shows- Hawkes Well

hey dont forget...
11. Aine C. and her wee sister

Fitzo

Resistance wrote:

You forgot Rovers the North West’s finest

couldnt agree more Forza Rovers;)

Madge

il gatto wrote:

And Madge, 4 out of your 10 posts referred to "county" and Strandhill and Rosses point and not in the Borough of Sligo either. I said alot of your positives reffered to the county, not the town and, as half of them do, I stand by that.

6 points referred to the town actually. I also disagree with you about the amount of foreigners here. Theres a lot more than you think..
Of course I agree Sligo is badly managed- no public toilet and planning objections. But imo, it certainly isn't the worst place in the country.

dramaqueen1979

I love Sligo, because of...

all my lovely friends
Strandhill
Knocknarea
Rosses Point
Hazelwood
Parkes Castle
Innis Free Lake
Mullaghmore
small hidden paths
beautiful sceneries
the sunset in strandhill
people are nice
Sligo Riding Centre
Eden Hill Hostel
St. Anns B&B
neverending parties
the drinks are in pints
Envy
Toffs
Fiddlers Creek
Bistro Bianconi (yummy)
Paprika (more yummy)

and and and....

there are million things about Sligo that are great, and I think people who don't take some time to get to know Sligo deeper shouldn't jugde about it! Unfortunately I only be able to come there once or twice a year, but every year I discover new little wonderful things or places...SLIGO IS GREAT!

il gatto

I'm not saying it's the worst town, only the worst run. I like living here and I've no intention of leaving it. I criticise out of a disapointment in how its many assets are not exploited properly. I know nearly every hole and corner of Sligo, town and county, and I'm very proud of what it has to offer. As far as town vs. county goes though, Madge specifically referred to county 4 times and Rosses Point and Strandhill in another, neither of which are in the town. Ergo, 5 points do not refer to the town.
There is indeed alot of foreigners in town, but many of them live here. There is a much smaller number of tourists in Sligo per. capita of population than most other large towns/cities in coastal locations elsewhere. The proof of that is the non existant nightlife on any weeknight. It's lamentable because Sligo has the potential, but it's not living up to it.
And of course Forza Rovers:D

l3LoWnA

things I love about the town of Sligo..........

>>>>>>>>> the new road, you can get out of the town MUCH faster now!!!



Ahaha - ah no, c'mon people it's not THAT bad. As regards accents the TOWNIE town accent is VERRRY bad!! That said, I work in a big organisation in Sligo and just today I noted a colleague of mine has a very strong sligo accent but i very easy on the ears......compared to a girl who works in the kitchen (NNNNNNehhhhhh Nnnnnehhh whine whine) but when I happened to HEAR her speaking she was saying to a colleague of hers how she'd love to KILL someone or something so I think it depends on the type of chat that's coming out of the person with the accent a bit!!

Ah Sligo Town isn't THAT bad......rockwood parade, jfk parade, tobergal lane is LOVELY now and reemer what stephen st carpark was only a few years ago? derelict waste-ground almost.......all over past the blue lagoon to doorly park is beautiful as is up the holy well road etc........I could go on......

GG66

And Madge, 4 out of your 10 posts referred to "county" and Strandhill and Rosses point and not in the Borough of Sligo either. I said alot of your positives reffered to the county, not the town and, as half of them do, I stand by that.

" Positives of Sligo". I think you're getting a bit hung up on the town versus county bit, Sligo is both! Although, perhaps the best thing about Sligo town is quick access to some of the finest scenery and countryside in Ireland. There are lots more beaches further out where you can enjoy miles of strand with very few people if any.

I have to agree that Sligo doesn't get as many tourists as other parts of the country, I don't necessarily see that as a downside. More space for the rest of us.....

Planning development has been objected too but in some cases there is a case for objecting (I'm not talking about the Argos lark). Take for example the Carraroe shopping centre, badly needed outlets most will agree but where once there was a majestic view of Benbulben entering Sligo town from the South, now there is a big grey box on top of a hill. With a little more thought and possibly objections we could preserve whats good about Sligo and still have development....

Well done for hailing some positives about Sligo.......

il gatto

I'm not getting hung up on it. I'm just trying to explain that my point was the exceptionally poor management of Sligo town. I'm not trying to divide the two or compete them against each other. It's the county town of Sligo, and therefore, anyone from or living in Sligo county has an interest in how their "capital" is run. I love Sligo, but that doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye to the inept and the crooked who are well paid to run the town in the best interests of the population of Sligo. Paid with our tax money.
Sligo's a great place, and I wouldn't leave over any of these problems. It's got some of the nicest scenary in the country, and, being a smallish county, it's all within a short drive of the town. There are some excellent facilities, both in and out of town. Still someway short of other towns though. Sligo town has some great pubs. The only complaint I have is that the things that bug almost everyone (street surfaces, traffic congestion, toilets, litter, parking, parking costs, blocking development because it doesn't suit some local business people, not enough playgrounds, day-time roadworks, speed mountains instead of speed ramps, not enough pedestrian crossings etc. etc.)
are the unadressed responsibility of, or worse, the direct result of the polititions and civil servants who are charged with these things. They do a poor job. It's not enough to ruin the place, but when you live in or around it and work there every day, it's annoying. That's all I've been saying and some people have taken it up as an attack on the town and county. It's not. I was seeing if anyone else gets annoyed at these things. Some do, some don't. I appreciate if others don't notice or care about these things. It's still a great place in many ways

SprostonGreen

At this stage you're labouring the point.

il gatto

I wouldn't be labouring it if people grasped it at the start. You said I didn't like Sligo full stop. dramaqueen1979 said people shouldn't criticise it until they get to know it, despite the fact that I live here and she only visits. I realise some people like to play the Devils advocate, and some people genuinely disagree. That's their perogative. I just don't want to be misrepresented as some sort of a Sligo grinch. As someone who hears people continually bitch about the town, I thought some of you might appreciate the chance to get it off your chests. On this thread, I've said positive things about Sligo, but qualified them with the opinion that those running the place are morons.

GG66

I'm not getting hung up on it. I'm just trying to explain that my point was the exceptionally poor management of Sligo town.

Fair enough, but that was a previous thread which I hadn't read. I live in County Sligo but grew up in Sligo town and I have to agree to some exasperation at the way the town is developing....for instance a 15 storey hotel on a 1 acre site at Carraroe rounabout seems a bit out of place. I guess having this will make us more like a "City" in councillors eyes, which there seems to be an obsession with.

Some people may see this as positive so with that in mind

Some Positives

I know you may disagree but in the spirit of the thread, go on try and add some positives rather than more negatives .

street surfaces

(seem to be improving all the time)

traffic congestion,

( It's an old town with streets made for donkeys and we can't blame councillors for people insisting on driving)

toilets,

I never have any problem finding a toilet, just use one in a Pub. Event if there were a public toilet or two it would still be more convenient to pop into a pub rather than locate one. Don't get overly upset about it. Think positively

litter,

Agree it was terrible but Sligo has increased its ranking from Litter Blackspot to Litter free in the last 2 years. Source IBAL survey. www.antaisce.org/pressclippings/ibal_results_may2006.pdf

parking,

There's always plenty of parking on Connaughton Road, only a 5 min walk from most shops.

parking costs,

2 euro for a days public parking seems ok to me. Hourly rates can work out expensive

blocking development because it doesn't suit some local business people,

Consumers have a voice which they can excercise. If a large proportion of people are unhappy councillors will hear about it. If I remember right an objection to a toy store was publicly made by an existing toy store on the quays. His business closed, I believe as much to do with public reaction to his unreasonable protests as the new store opening. Name and shame the business people you mention if you have any specific info.

not enough playgrounds,

Agreed, but the old Sligo racecourse is proposed to be developed as a Park with playgrounds etc.

day-time roadworks,

Necessary to improve roads

speed mountains instead of speed ramps,

slows down cars, protects pedestrians

not enough pedestrian crossings

O Connell st seems to be one large pedestrian crossing, cant wait for it to be pedestrianised.

il gatto

Street surfaces in the very recent past have improved. Still poor in many places. Other towns with similar street layouts manage their traffic better. Eg. Castlebar, Enniskillen and Athlone. BOrough councils are under an obligation to use the public tax money to provide facilities. Toilets included. A walk around Sligo is enough to tell you it's not litter free. An ill timed survey does not show the reality of it. Connaughton Road is fine for me, but explain that to my mother who had a hip replacement earlier on this year. Might as well tell her that the cars on top of Benbulben. Only reason's it's half empty is because it's a tough walk back up for alot of people. Per hour, parking is very costly. In Athlone you can get a ticket from a machine for as little as twenty minutes and it only costs 20-30 cent.
As regards blocking development, it's no secret that the Chamber of Commerce came out against out of town retailing. So basically anyone who's a member of that unless they left it in objection. I'm no sleuth. It was in the papers.
Proposing a recreation area 10 years into an economic boom seems more than slightly slow. Road works in other major towns are carried out at night, as the broadband installation which eventually arrived was. The speed ramps are too big. Less slows traffic down without depositing the underside of your car on them.
I also think that along with O'Connell Street being pedestrianised, they should look at closing Gratten Street and the lower end of John Street (from back way to Tesco to Four Lanterns) and let it develop into a busy shopping area instead of a tailback of frustrated motorists.

I'm just responding to above comments, which in turn were responses to earlier comments. I realise the name of the thread, but feel I should reply to other posters in the spirit of lively debate:)

trilo

ahh the sligo townie accent is awlful, but i love it at the same time.

sligo is great because i'm not there, ah no it truly is lovely. And i love the view of Benbulben form my house( in sligo that is).