**** Towns and Villages of Ireland

YupLimerick

What towns and villages in this country do ye think are just awful? In my own county (Limerick), we have Rathkeale, the inner city and more. Outside Limerick, Tipp Town is fair bad, as is Buttevant. Can't think of others atm.

Jim Bob Scratcher

Are you from Limerick by any chance?

pleas advice

In before Tralee

bear1

Ballaghaderreen/charlestown/frenchpark/castlerea/ballyhaunis/tubercurry.
List is endless.

Foggy Jew

Ballivor, Co.Meath. The armpit of Ireland. Nay! The anal oriface of Ireland.

Diesel Weasel

Portarlington. The Sh1t stain on the underpants of Ireland.

YupLimerick

Jim Bob Scratcher wrote: »

Are you from Limerick by any chance?

Just pretending. I really admire the place. Lovely people and serious craic, so it is

YupLimerick

pleas advice wrote: »

In before Tralee

Been there a few times. I think it's grand. I hear it's a sh~thole though

YupLimerick

bear1 wrote: »

Ballaghaderreen/charlestown/frenchpark/castlerea/ballyhaunis/tubercurry.
List is endless.

Going to avoid Connacht then lol

wakka12

Unfortunately there are hundreds of towns and villages across the country with no redeemable features and are all equally soul destroying

YupLimerick

wakka12 wrote: »

Unfortunately there are hundreds of towns and villages across the country with no redeemable features and are all equally soul destroying

There really are. The amount of places that are too small to be considered villages (like Newtwopothouse in Cork)

dxhound2005

wakka12 wrote: »

Unfortunately there are hundreds of towns and villages across the country with no redeemable features and are all equally soul destroying

The thing they have in common is that you have been to them all.

ArchXStanton

Balbriggan... Rowdy kip

Jim Bob Scratcher

Ballinasloe looks fairly depressing.

Thurles. <shudders>

Longford.

James Bond Junior

I come from a smallish town back west. I now live in Limerick city. Work outside a smallish Limerick town. Other half is from a large town down south. We go to a holiday home outside a small town even further south. My brother lives in a large town in the East. All mentioned towns are kips in the eyes of their inhabitants and natives, it's an Irish mentality when in reality every town has it's good bits and it's bad bits but the reality is there are many, many towns in Ireland where living and raising a family is a good thing.

YupLimerick

Deleted User wrote: »

Thurles. <shudders>

I've only been there on matchdays. I like it

Conservatory

Hey op does two people, an old fella and a single woman ever turn up annoying you in here?

YupLimerick

James Bond Junior wrote: »

I come from a smallish town back west. I now live in Limerick city. Work outside a smallish Limerick town. Other half is from a large town down south. We go to a holiday home outside a small town even further south. My brother lives in a large town in the East. All mentioned towns are kips in the eyes of their inhabitants and natives, it's an Irish mentality when in reality every town has it's good bits and it's bad bits but the reality is there are many, many towns in Ireland where living and raising a family is a good thing.

Which Limerick town is it? I wanna see is it a kip

James Bond Junior

James Bond Junior wrote: »

I come from a smallish town back west. I now live in Limerick city. Work outside a smallish Limerick town. Other half is from a large town down south. We go to a holiday home outside a small town even further south. My brother lives in a large town in the East. All mentioned towns are kips in the eyes of their inhabitants and natives, it's an Irish mentality when in reality every town has it's good bits and it's bad bits but the reality is there are many, many towns in Ireland where living and raising a family is a good thing.

TBH, I'd imagine you're right. Most of the people I know who complain about small towns are single... and it's the lack of population, dating opportunities, extra activities/convenience that brings the place down.

YupLimerick

YupLimerick wrote: »

I've only been there on matchdays. I like it

I lived there for a few years due to work... and no... no. no. no. Never again. Doesn't matter how much someone would pay me. No.

YupLimerick

Conservatory wrote: »

Hey op does two people, an old fella and a single woman ever turn up annoying you in here?

Not at the moment but I'll wait and see. Might be a good laugh.

bodhrandude

Kiltyclogher, Mullingar, Athlone, Loughrea, Lisburn, Larne.

bodhrandude

bodhrandude wrote: »

Kiltyclogher, Mullingar, Athlone, Loughrea, Lisburn, Larne.

Athlone?

It's not that bad. Not wonderful but not that bad.

You might aswell include every town outside of the cities then if you're including Athlone. (Yup, I'm originally from Athlone)

I'm curious... any towns you'd consider to be good? :pac:

Canis Lupus

pleas advice wrote: »

In before Tralee

Tralee!!!

What a scrotefest of a town.

Stigura

Jim Bob Scratcher wrote: »

Ballinasloe looks fairly depressing.

Even the horses brought there have long faces (Boom, Boom!)

Deleted User wrote: »

Longford.

National septic tank. Twinned with Liverpool?

pleas advice

YupLimerick wrote: »

Been there a few times. I think it's grand. I hear it's a sh~thole though

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Tralee!!!
What a scrotefest of a town.

used to have good craic down there, but haven't been in years

mg1982

bear1 wrote: »

Ballaghaderreen/charlestown/frenchpark/castlerea/ballyhaunis/tubercurry.
List is endless.

Tubber isnt a bad town its small but at least it looks in decent nick. Gurteen and ballymote on the other hand depress the life out of me. Boyle isnt a ray of sunshine either.

JupiterKid

Apart from a handful of tourist oriented towns, mainly in coastal areas, most medium to smaller rural Irish towns are in serious decline. The larger towns with substantial employers and commuter belt towns will probably be OK. I've posted up a thread about this already.

The process of urbanisation is speeding up and Dublin and the bigger provincial cities are sucking the life and population out of rural Ireland. I think the process is inevitably irreversible at this stage.

Atrocious/non existent strategic spatial planning is partially to blame - we had our chance with the Buchanan Report of 1968, the National Spatial Strategy in 2002 and we blew it - they weren't implemented thanks to gombeen parish pump politics.

I picture hundreds of thousands of virtually dead villages and towns and abandoned bungalow blitz one-off rural houses in my own lifetime. Much of the more marginal farming land given over to forestry and many more wind farms. I could bet a lot of money on this prospect.

mg1982

Yep come back in 50 years and theres gonna be a lot of ghost towns with tumbleweed going through them.

Benildus

Tralee, Thurles, Rathkeale, Dundalk, Portlaoise

Cee-Jay-Cee

Ballymote is a real dead end depressing shhole with absolutely zero going for it except the road out of it which is a horrible twisty thing with no hard shoulder or verge but it at least is the way out of the town.

Longford. No need to say anymore.

veryangryman

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Longford. No need to say anymore.

Your father is your brother,
Your sister is your mother,
Your ****ing one another
Your a Longford family!

Click click!

snotboogie

JupiterKid wrote: »

Apart from a handful of tourist oriented towns, mainly in coastal areas, most medium to smaller rural Irish towns are in serious decline. The larger towns with substantial employers and commuter belt towns will probably be OK. I've posted up a thread about this already.

The process of urbanisation is speeding up and Dublin and the bigger provincial cities are sucking the life and population out of rural Ireland. I think the process is inevitably irreversible at this stage.

Atrocious/non existent strategic spatial planning is partially to blame - we had our chance with the Buchanan Report of 1968, the National Spatial Strategy in 2002 and we blew it - they weren't implemented thanks to gombeen parish pump politics.

I picture hundreds of thousands of virtually dead villages and towns and abandoned bungalow blitz one-off rural houses in my own lifetime. Much of the more marginal farming land given over to forestry and many more wind farms. I could bet a lot of money on this prospect.

Great post but I do think there will continue to be a large number of one off houses within the wider Dublin commuter belt and in Co Galway and Co Cork. I think it will be to the detriment of all three cities but I still see huge numbers of people buying 1hr30mins from Dublin or 40 mins from Cork to have the city job and the country life, or because they don't want to or can't pay the cost of a city house.

whisky_galore

JupiterKid wrote: »

Apart from a handful of tourist oriented towns, mainly in coastal areas, most medium to smaller rural Irish towns are in serious decline. The larger towns with substantial employers and commuter belt towns will probably be OK. I've posted up a thread about this already.

The process of urbanisation is speeding up and Dublin and the bigger provincial cities are sucking the life and population out of rural Ireland. I think the process is inevitably irreversible at this stage.

Atrocious/non existent strategic spatial planning is partially to blame - we had our chance with the Buchanan Report of 1968, the National Spatial Strategy in 2002 and we blew it - they weren't implemented thanks to gombeen parish pump politics.

I picture hundreds of thousands of virtually dead villages and towns and abandoned bungalow blitz one-off rural houses in my own lifetime. Much of the more marginal farming land given over to forestry and many more wind farms. I could bet a lot of money on this prospect.

People will naturally graduate from countryside and villages to cities, happens everywhere from Cork to China. A lot of small towns and villages here are populated by the elderly and young families and not much in between.

Feisar

Wasn't there a thread like this about a year ago?

Basically though more people equals more services/amenities. No point in 50 meter pools and adventure parks in every small town and village.

Also for example, I'm from Mullingar, total kip right? Someone on boards listed all the various activities about the town once, bloody long list! There is more to most places than the pub and the GAA if you look a small bit.

munster87

Abbeyfeale

whisky_galore

whisky_galore wrote: »

People will naturally graduate from countryside and villages to cities, happens everywhere from Cork to China. A lot of small towns and villages here are populated by the elderly and young families and not much in between.

That's true to a certain extent, although it's being encouraged by the limited employment (except in certain particular areas), and lack of investment to bring up the general quality of life (or services/convenience) in the countryside. More investment with improved job opportunities would likely result in more younger people remaining in the larger towns.

Most people I know in my home town don't want to live in the cities or move abroad. They do move because there are so few options available, and there is huge competition for anything mainstream that does appear. (for example, we've just had 200 jobs announced for the area. Great! All in specialised software enginnering fields. Last year, another large company opened, Great! but you needed a Pharma related degree and experience. These jobs aren't geared for normal people with 'normal' education to take advantage of them)

Lastly, Ireland is kinda unique in that the size of Ireland is so small. Whereas in other countries the distances involved are far larger between towns and the cities requiring a move, that's far less of an issue here.

Feisar

JupiterKid wrote: »

Apart from a handful of tourist oriented towns, mainly in coastal areas, most medium to smaller rural Irish towns are in serious decline. The larger towns with substantial employers and commuter belt towns will probably be OK. I've posted up a thread about this already.

The process of urbanisation is speeding up and Dublin and the bigger provincial cities are sucking the life and population out of rural Ireland. I think the process is inevitably irreversible at this stage.

Atrocious/non existent strategic spatial planning is partially to blame - we had our chance with the Buchanan Report of 1968, the National Spatial Strategy in 2002 and we blew it - they weren't implemented thanks to gombeen parish pump politics.

I picture hundreds of thousands of virtually dead villages and towns and abandoned bungalow blitz one-off rural houses in my own lifetime. Much of the more marginal farming land given over to forestry and many more wind farms. I could bet a lot of money on this prospect.

I seen something similar in France, was driving from Paris hours west to a WW2 graveyard, can't remember it's name however the point is we drove through a load of ghost villages where there was literally not a soul.

topper75

wakka12 wrote: »

Unfortunately there are hundreds of towns and villages across the country with no redeemable features and are all equally soul destroying

Hundreds of towns and villages that are not NY or Las Vegas yes.

That is how it works in all countries. Including the U.S.

The problem here isn't the towns. It's expectations.

These places may be soul destroying. But they are great places to set a novel!

RhubarbCrumble

Tipperary. Without a shadow of a doubt the kippiest town in Ireland.

Mailcoachinn

Tipp Town I never particularly liked. In fact, most of the drive from Limerick to Waterford (along the N24) I have always found quite depressing for some reason that I can't explain. I just feel overcome with a sense of despair. I'm not sure if anyone else feels the same way or can relate.

Bunclody felt like a very strange place any time I passed through it.

If I had to decide on one town in Ireland which has no future and absolutely no redeeming features to it whatsoever though, it would have to be Kilrush, Co. Clare. No explanation needed really...

wakka12

topper75 wrote: »

Hundreds of towns and villages that are not NY or Las Vegas yes.

That is how it works in all countries. Including the U.S.

The problem here isn't the towns. It's expectations.

These places may be soul destroying. But they are great places to set a novel!

Doesnt have to be NYC
But theres plenty of little villages and towns with things going for them, a nice buzz, I don't think its asking much for a town people live in to not be soul destroying

blue note

This is a strange thread where people have a chip on their shoulder about a particular place that they want to tell people about that pops up fairly regularly.


In my particular case it's Mount Mellick. I use to drive through it a bit and I was always worried the car would break down and I'd end up in some deliverance style scenario. I'm trying not to be mean about the place, but you just get the feeling that the place has a significantly lower IQ than an average town and a significantly higher proportion of people with webbed feet and the like. Basically, you get the impression that there's a nuclear power plant nearby dumping it's waste near the towns water supply.

YupLimerick

RhubarbCrumble wrote: »

Tipperary. Without a shadow of a doubt the kippiest town in Ireland.

Has to be up there.

the purple tin

Moate. Hands down the biggest sh1thole in the country.

Mailcoachinn

I forgot to mention New Ross. What the hell happened there???

Poor_old_gill

I see Tralee being mentioned here- I think the town suffers from a bias due to the proximity of other towns such as Killarney or Dingle.

When you are in Kerry you are visiting all 3 places and 3 isnt anywhere near as nice as the other 2 but jeez its really not that bad compared to about 50 other small towns around the country.

I've driven though West Limerick, North Cork and Tipperary - Tralee is like a palatial masterpiece equivalent to 10th century Constantinople

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Deleted User wrote: »

Athlone?

It's not that bad. Not wonderful but not that bad.

You might aswell include every town outside of the cities then if you're including Athlone. (Yup, I'm originally from Athlone)

I'm curious... any towns you'd consider to be good? :pac:

Athlone is an easy target in these kind of threads because most people from outside the midlands consider the region to be a depressing kip (mainly, it seems, due to the lack of mountains or a coast). Also, because Athlone is a garrison town, it has a rough reputation.

It's all bollocks if you ask me. I've lived in Galway, Donegal and Kerry and in my opinion, Athlone is as good a place to live as any. Most of the conveniences and necessities of a city are to be found in the town, there's good shopping, great restaurants and vibrant nightlife for a town of its size. It isn't overly expensive to live here and there are fantastic transport links if to other parts of the country. I remember a woman I worked with in Kerry coming up for the Community Games when they were hosted in Athlone and she was extremely surprised at how much was in the place.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

I remember a woman I worked with in Kerry coming up for the Community Games when they were hosted in Athlone and she was extremely surprised at how much was in the place.

When you come from the arse-end of Kerry then everywhere is going to be a revelation.

Ger Roe

I am living in Newtownmountkennedy myself, but once heard it described thusly :

" If Wicklow is The Garden of Ireland, then Newtownmountkennedy is that dark and dank place down behind the shed where the disused garden furniture is dumped"

I thought the description was quite poetic