Irish so-called "cities"

riverrocked · 10-06-2017 05:50PM

Cork and Dublin are the only real cities in the 26 counties. Limerick and Galway are just big towns (there is nothing wrong with that).

Onthatpoint417 · 10-06-2017 05:52PM

please helpThank YOU wrote: »

I Think the reason Galway City knocked out Waterford City because Waterford City did not have a University?. But Limerick City does but if Limerick City did not have UL University then Galway would have knocked Limerick City out like what happened to Waterford City in the 1980s.

Knocked out of what? Waterford is still considered one of Ireland's main cities. If you mean population then yes it's very conceivable the lack of a university contribute to Waterford's relative decline. This could also explain Galway's relative rise. UL is only around a couple of decades whereas Galway has had a university since the 19th century.

bodhrandude · 10-06-2017 05:56PM

I thought Tuam in County Galway would get a mention, is that not considered a city, probably the smallest in Ireland anyway.

Fred Swanson · 10-06-2017 05:58PM

This post has been deleted.

Silentcorner · 10-06-2017 05:58PM

Onthatpoint417 wrote: »

Limerick is only 15k ahead of Galway in urban population. And Galway is way ahead in terms of the diversity of its economy. It's a major centre for medical devices production. It's third level institutions are among the best outside Dublin. As a gauge of its magnetism it has the highest proportion of migrants in its population. There's no comparison!

Way ahead in terms of diversity of economy???? That is simply nonsense...

There is a much wider gap than 15k people, it is about 40k.

Up to the 80s Galway was a provincial backwater, hence the inclusion in the BMW regions initiative ...where were its educational institutions then? Since then it has grown its tourism industry to the point of it overwhelming the ordinary citizens of the city (IMO)...it is dangerously dependent on the Medical Device sector...just like Limerick was dependent on Dell.

Galway attracts so many different nationalities who are attracted to the service industry...most tourist towns would have a larger than normal presence of these people...no harm in that either...

Since Dell destroyed the local economy in Limerick the city/region has attracted a host of different industries...but outside of FDI, Limerick, and indeed Waterford and Cork always had a healthy indigenous manufacturing/industrial culture...if it weren't for FDI Galwegians would be filling the jobs the immigrants have taken...

Onthatpoint417 · 10-06-2017 06:03PM

timthumbni wrote: »

I'm from Northern Ireland and I would agree totally with this.

Newry is an absolute dive and was only given city status to appease the shinner heads after (unionist) Lisburn was going to be given city status. (Or vice versa)

Lisburn and Armagh are the same and Londonderry is also just a rather unappealing largish town (by NI standards anyway)

Belfast feels like a city. A smallish one by world comparison perhaps but a city nonetheless. The rest of the 4 so called cities in Norn Iron have young wans in tractors parked up on the main st on a Saturday night eating a bag of chips ffs.

I think people in the south forget how many large towns there are in the north. Derry is bigger than both Limerick and Galway while some of the towns around Belfast like Bangor, Newtownards, and Lisburn are around 60 or 70k. The latter though are part of greater Belfast. In that way Belfast has a similar urban structure to the conurbations of the north of England. The north coast around east county L'derry has many large enough towns close together like Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart.

Mrfrosty · 10-06-2017 06:08PM

timthumbni wrote: »

I'm from Northern Ireland and I would agree totally with this.

Newry is an absolute dive and was only given city status to appease the shinner heads after (unionist) Lisburn was going to be given city status. (Or vice versa)

Lisburn and Armagh are the same and Derry is also just a rather unappealing largish town (by NI standards anyway)

Belfast feels like a city. A smallish one by world comparison perhaps but a city nonetheless. The rest of the 4 so called cities in Norn Iron have young wans in tractors parked up on the main st on a Saturday night eating a bag of chips ffs.

That's a great post.

4068ac1elhodqr · 10-06-2017 06:19PM

Onthatpoint417 wrote: »

I think people in the south forget how many large towns there are in the north. Derry is bigger than both Limerick and Galway while some of the towns around Belfast like Bangor, Newtownards, and Lisburn are around 60 or 70k. The latter though are part of greater Belfast. In that way Belfast has a similar urban structure to the conurbations of the north of England. The north coast around west county L'derry has many large enough towns close together like Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart.

Belfast also has the tallest, and most of the top 10 tallest buildings on the Island. Guess in 30+yrs the the Dublin-Belfast development corridor will become Ireland's mega-city and single largest commuter region if they ever build something like Hyperloop or HS Rail.

If you had to pick the centre of population gravity on the island (bit of a guesstimate) but it would probably be in the SW area of Co. Louth, maybe Meath.

reason vs religion · 10-06-2017 06:31PM

Onthatpoint417 wrote: »

Limerick is only 15k ahead of Galway in urban population. And Galway is way ahead in terms of the diversity of its economy. It's a major centre for medical devices production. It's third level institutions are among the best outside Dublin. As a gauge of its magnetism it has the highest proportion of migrants in its population. There's no comparison!

Surely engineering-focused UL contributes more to the local economy than does NUIG? And I would have thought the Shannon development area has attracted quite a diverse range of industries, especially considering they are all exporters and being close to Shannon airport is important, given there aren't good transport connections on the West.

Silentcorner · 10-06-2017 06:32PM

reason vs religion wrote: »

Surely engineering-focused UL contributes more to the local economy than does NUIG?

UL was set up as an industry led University not an academic led entity, it is why today, graduates of UL have the highest rates of employment within 6 months of graduating than anywhere else in Ireland...it doesn't do anything for rankings however...indeed the entire 3rd level infrastructure in Limerick is now industry led...which is one of the reasons it is attracting large investments over the last number of years...

please helpThank YOU · 10-06-2017 07:00PM

Onthatpoint417 wrote: »

Knocked out of what? Waterford is still considered one of Ireland's main cities. If you mean population then yes it's very conceivable the lack of a university contribute to Waterford's relative decline. This could also explain Galway's relative rise. UL is only around a couple of decades whereas Galway has had a university since the 19th century.

Galway Ireland newest city 1985 a just few years older than UL University. Waterford City 1206, Limerick City 1199 .That is why Galway City 1985 feels like a small town it just 32years a city.

reason vs religion · 10-06-2017 07:00PM

Silentcorner wrote: »

UL was set up as an industry led University not an academic led entity, it is why today, graduates of UL have the highest rates of employment within 6 months of graduating than anywhere else in Ireland...it doesn't do anything for rankings however...indeed the entire 3rd level infrastructure in Limerick is now industry led...which is one of the reasons it is attracting large investments over the last number of years...

Yeah, that's an interesting point: applied research and industry engagement get very few citations, which is so central to how universities are ranked.

reason vs religion · 10-06-2017 07:11PM

please helpThank YOU wrote: »

Galway Ireland newest city 1985 a just few years older than UL University. Waterford City 1206, Limerick City 1199 .That is why Galway City 1985 feels like a small town it just 32years a city.

Age alone doesn't explain population, hence Kilkenny (if we are even to admit it as a city) remains tiny. And city status was as much determined by political considerations. Galway county had a larger population pre-Famine than it does now, but reasons which can be read in the historical Galway wikipedia page suppressed it as a population centre.

timthumbni · 10-06-2017 07:15PM

What population has cork? I've never been nor am I likely to go. Is it the 2nd largest city down south?

reason vs religion · 10-06-2017 07:23PM

timthumbni wrote: »

What population has cork? I've never been nor am I likely to go. Is it the 2nd largest city down south?

>>Link<<

please helpThank YOU · 10-06-2017 07:28PM

reason vs religion wrote: »

Age alone doesn't explain population, hence Kilkenny (if we are even to admit it as a city) remains tiny. And city status was as much determined by political considerations. Galway county had a larger population pre-Famine than it does now, but reasons which can be read in the historical Galway wikipedia page suppressed it as a population centre.

Galway city wants to pass out Limerick City like it did Waterford City but I Can never seen this happening .Cork City is Twice the size of Limerick and Dublin is 6 times bigger that Cork City.

timthumbni · 10-06-2017 07:31PM

reason vs religion wrote: »

>>Link<<

Thanks. 120 thousand? That's probably less than I though tbh. Dublin sounds like the only proper city in the south then..

reason vs religion · 10-06-2017 07:35PM

timthumbni wrote: »

Thanks. 120 thousand? That's probably less than I though tbh. Dublin sounds like the only proper city in the south then..

But what a city!

timthumbni · 10-06-2017 07:37PM

reason vs religion wrote: »

But what a city!

Dublin or cork??

reason vs religion · 10-06-2017 07:39PM

timthumbni wrote: »

Dublin or cork??

..it might be the only city, but what a city! (Dublin)

goz83 · 10-06-2017 07:39PM

I consider a city to be main hub. A city must have the following in it.

Airport
Motorway
Places of worship
National Banks
Public houses
Museums
Art Galleries
A large number of restaurants

Without these, it's not a city.

10-06-2017 07:40PM

please helpThank YOU wrote: »

I do not not think it will knock Limerick City out there is way to much power and money there so Nice try Galway.:D

please helpThank YOU wrote: »

Galway city wants to pass out Limerick City like it did Waterford City

Do you realise that Galway isn't some sort of sentient being? It doesn't have feelings and it isn't capable of wanting things.

reason vs religion · 10-06-2017 07:44PM

goz83 wrote: »

I consider a city to be main hub. A city must have the following in it.

Airport
Motorway
Places of worship
National Banks
Public houses
Museums
Art Galleries
A large number of restaurants

Without these, it's not a city.

Well that's Kilkenny off the table, then..

Onthatpoint417 · 10-06-2017 07:46PM

The Wikipedia pages on Irish cities are a serious LOL. They betray an obvious insecurity here about the sizes of Irish cities. For example

On Galway: "According to the 2016 Irish Census, Galway city has a population of 79,504; however, the rural county agglomeration is far bigger." ????

The Dublin page says in the introduction that "The city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people." What's quoted as the urban population is the population of the COUNTY! This error has been there for months.

There's also a page on Metropolitan Cork that says "Metropolitan Cork is the core employment hub of the Greater Cork area." Please translate that for me!

timthumbni · 10-06-2017 07:52PM

reason vs religion wrote: »

..it might be the only city, but what a city! (Dublin)

Ceratinly a great city. But one I haven't had much luck with. I was asked my religion outright a few times on a visit down there which in all my time in Belfast I have never been asked. This was in the central tourist area too.

I thought originally that I wouldn't visit again but have decided to give it another try and stay in a decent hotel. Though as a city it's very expensive imho so my wallet will be saying NO.

Yourself isit · 10-06-2017 07:55PM

Onthatpoint417 wrote: »

The Wikipedia pages on Irish cities are a serious LOL. They betray an obvious insecurity here about the sizes of Irish cities. For example

On Galway: "According to the 2016 Irish Census, Galway city has a population of 79,504; however, the rural county agglomeration is far bigger." ????

The Dublin page says in the introduction that "The city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people." What's quoted as the urban population is the population of the COUNTY! This error has been there for months.

There's also a page on Metropolitan Cork that says "Metropolitan Cork is the core employment hub of the Greater Cork area." Please translate that for me!

All countries do that. The metropolitan areas are bigger than the city.

The problem with Dublin is that it's not actually got a defined city admin - 4 counties. Insane.

Onthatpoint417 · 10-06-2017 07:57PM

Silentcorner wrote: »

Way ahead in terms of diversity of economy???? That is simply nonsense...

There is a much wider gap than 15k people, it is about 40k.

Up to the 80s Galway was a provincial backwater, hence the inclusion in the BMW regions initiative ...where were its educational institutions then? Since then it has grown its tourism industry to the point of it overwhelming the ordinary citizens of the city (IMO)...it is dangerously dependent on the Medical Device sector...just like Limerick was dependent on Dell.

Galway attracts so many different nationalities who are attracted to the service industry...most tourist towns would have a larger than normal presence of these people...no harm in that either...

Since Dell destroyed the local economy in Limerick the city/region has attracted a host of different industries...but outside of FDI, Limerick, and indeed Waterford and Cork always had a healthy indigenous manufacturing/industrial culture...if it weren't for FDI Galwegians would be filling the jobs the immigrants have taken...

I've reconsidered by position here. I definitely overstated Galway's economic clout and I had just thought of the collapse of Dell earlier. Didn't it make up a couple of percentage points of the nation's GDP? Waterford had a similar blow from the collapse of glass making and call centres.

But I'm still convinved on the populations where are you getting the 40k?!

reason vs religion · 10-06-2017 07:57PM

timthumbni wrote: »

Ceratinly a great city. But one I haven't had much luck with. I was asked my religion outright a few times on a visit down there which in all my time in Belfast I have never been asked. This was in the central tourist area too.

I thought originally that I wouldn't visit again but have decided to give it another try and stay in a decent hotel. Though as a city it's very expensive imho so my wallet will be saying NO.

I think you've should realise that those people who care about your religion (:D) are in a tiny minority. I could never imagine caring, let alone asking. Concentrate on all those who don't ask!

Onthatpoint417 wrote: »

The Wikipedia pages on Irish cities are a serious LOL. They betray an obvious insecurity here about the sizes of Irish cities. For example

On Galway: "According to the 2016 Irish Census, Galway city has a population of 79,504; however, the rural county agglomeration is far bigger." ???

When is that not the case?!

please helpThank YOU · 10-06-2017 08:01PM

Omackeral wrote: »

Do you realise that Galway isn't some sort of sentient being? It doesn't have feelings and it isn't capable of wanting things.

The people in power in Galway City want this big time to pass out Limerick City this is there number 1 goal .

timthumbni · 10-06-2017 08:03PM

reason vs religion wrote: »

I think you've should realise that those people who care about your religion (:D) are in a tiny minority. I could never imagine caring, let alone asking. Concentrate on all those who don't ask!

Awk I know that. I was just taken aback a wee bit that they asked that question. ... in a bar, out of the blue as I was talking to me girlfriend..

No badness at all meant probably, but I just thought it was odd. As I said in all my years in Belfast I was never asked my religion..

My NI accent obviously drew attention. We will visit again soon with my kids anyway.

Irish so-called "cities"

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