Most miserable and grim towns and villages in Ireland

freshpopcorn · 21-04-2020 07:33PM

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

I think most if not all Irish towns have been mentioned here so far. Real uplifting thread in a time of such woe.

That's a bit over dramatic statement.
Several places mentioned over and over again and most places not mentioned.
Stay out of the threads if they are full of woe if they're not for you. You should get the message after a first few posts.

Chalk McHugh · 21-04-2020 07:40PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

That's a bit over dramatic statement.
Several places mentioned over and over again and most places not mentioned.
Stay out of the threads if they are full of woe if they're not for you. You should get the message after a first few posts.

Thats a bit of of an over dramatic reply. Relax man. Most towns are miserable and backward and grey. I get the message. I dont agree at all but there you go.

freshpopcorn · 21-04-2020 07:45PM

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

Thats a bit of of an over dramatic reply. Relax man. Most towns are miserable and backward and grey. I get the message. I dont agree at all but there you go.

Why are you saying such a depressing statement in these times
''Most towns are miserable and backward and grey''
People here have only mentioned a few places and you drag down most of the towns in Ireland.
I don't agree with you either.
Chin up!

Chalk McHugh · 21-04-2020 07:46PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Why are you saying such a depressing statement in these times
''Most towns are miserable and backward and grey''
People here have only mentioned a few places and you drag down most of the towns in Ireland.
I don't agree with you either.
Chin up!

Ha my chin is up. I find all Irish towns have their own unique charm.

howareyakid · 21-04-2020 07:56PM

I think there’s been some good discussion in this thread but I find that calling towns kips and sh1tholes etc. - no matter how true it may be - can add to an overall negative feel.

Chalk McHugh · 21-04-2020 07:57PM

howareyakid wrote: »

I think there’s been some good discussion in this thread but I find that calling towns kips and sh1tholes etc. - no matter how true it may be - can add to an overall negative feel.

Absolutely. Very demeaning for those towns and the good decent people from them.

freshpopcorn · 21-04-2020 08:16PM

howareyakid wrote: »

I think there’s been some good discussion in this thread but I find that calling towns kips and sh1tholes etc. - no matter how true it may be - can add to an overall negative feel.

I find the worst for slagging Tipp town are those from it.
I have friends and family in various towns and they may moan about the odd estate or not having certain shops and facilities but in general they like there town however those I know from Tipp seem to hate the place. They like the county but have little or no time for the town:

Chalk McHugh · 21-04-2020 08:19PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I find the worst for slagging Tipp town are those from it.
I have friends and family in various towns and they may moan about the odd estate or not having certain shops and facilities but in general they like there town however those I know from Tipp seem to hate the place. They like the county but have little or no time for the town:

My cousins are from Tipp town and love it. They have everything that any other town has.

howareyakid · 21-04-2020 08:22PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I find the worst for slagging Tipp town are those from it.
I have friends and family in various towns and they may moan about the odd estate or not having certain shops and facilities but in general they like there town however those I know from Tipp seem to hate the place. They like the county but have little or no time for the town:

That may well be the case. I’ve often heard people from other counties say some choice things about some of their towns.

freshpopcorn · 21-04-2020 08:27PM

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

My cousins are from Tipp town and love it. They have everything that any other town has.

That’s good to know. It’s honestly nice to hear people loving the place.

Chalk McHugh · 21-04-2020 08:33PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

That’s good to know. It’s honestly nice to hear people loving the place.

Dont we all love our home place? There's no place like home and all that.

The_Honeybadger · 21-04-2020 08:35PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I find the worst for slagging Tipp town are those from it.
I have friends and family in various towns and they may moan about the odd estate or not having certain shops and facilities but in general they like there town however those I know from Tipp seem to hate the place. They like the county but have little or no time for the town:

County Tipp has an unusual settlement pattern generally speaking, lots of small to mid sized towns within 15-20 mins of each other, it must really stretch local authority resources as they all compete for resources and money. Very hard to develop one without another moaning that they are getting nothing etc. Cahir and Cashel are nice places, Nenagh not too bad either in my experience.

I drive through Tipp Town several times a month and rarely stop for anything more than a fill of diesel because of the traffic. No town can develop in to a quality place to live when you have that volume of traffic day in day out, it’s crazy.

Chalk McHugh · 21-04-2020 08:39PM

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

County Tipp has an unusual settlement pattern generally speaking, lots of small to mid sized towns within 15-20 mins of each other, it must really stretch local authority resources as they all compete for resources and money. Very hard to develop one without another moaning that they are getting nothing etc. Cahir and Cashel are nice places, Nenagh not too bad either in my experience.

I drive through Tipp Town several times a month and rarely stop for anything more than a fill of diesel because of the traffic. No town can develop in to a quality place to live when you have that volume of traffic day in day out, it’s crazy.

Sure Dublin is one of the worst traffic blackspots in Europe. If not the world. I remember reading that few months ago. But us Dubs still love it. Nobody likes traffic but your not going to dislike your hometown because of it.

Chalk McHugh · 21-04-2020 08:40PM

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

County Tipp has an unusual settlement pattern generally speaking, lots of small to mid sized towns within 15-20 mins of each other, it must really stretch local authority resources as they all compete for resources and money. Very hard to develop one without another moaning that they are getting nothing etc. Cahir and Cashel are nice places, Nenagh not too bad either in my experience.

I drive through Tipp Town several times a month and rarely stop for anything more than a fill of diesel because of the traffic. No town can develop in to a quality place to live when you have that volume of traffic day in day out, it’s crazy.

What unusual settlement pattern? Sure all counties have the same. Towns 15-20 minutes from each other? Again every county the same.

Mehaffey1 · 21-04-2020 08:43PM

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Timaru, a town about the size of Kilkenny and I couldn't find anywhere to have a drink on a Tuesday night

I'll second that on Timaru. Such a nice location for a large town and sweet eff all in it. Think weed and illicit drugs are far more popular than drinking in bars there which explains the lack of pub options. RP Tavern wasn't too bad one night.

I'll still see Timaru and raise you Rakaia, mad to see the big branch petrol station do better food than two pubs and a chippy, the locals will tell you as much.

freshpopcorn · 21-04-2020 08:58PM

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

What unusual settlement pattern? Sure all counties have the same. Towns 15-20 minutes from each other? Again every county the same.

Tipp might seem to have a few larger towns compared to some but I don't know if that's the exact issue.
Same with traffic lots of towns coped with worse traffic in the 1990's and 2000's.

I find people finds it a little rough due to lack of investment in council housing estates and a lack of any factories in the town even when things were going good enough.(I know they had something that went in the early 1990's) and due to it's size it probably seems like a bigger problem than it actually is.

harry Bailey esq · 21-04-2020 08:59PM

Dunmanway and Bandon in cork are fairly poxy. For a 'Deliverence' experience visit Rathnew Co Wicklow. Actually, don't. If you want really grim, any medium sized town in the occupied six will tick every box.

The_Honeybadger · 21-04-2020 09:00PM

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

Sure Dublin is one of the worst traffic blackspots in Europe. If not the world. I remember reading that few months ago. But us Dubs still love it. Nobody likes traffic but your not going to dislike your hometown because of it.

Dublin is a city. Tipp is a small rural town that can take 30 mins to drive through because a national route runs through the Main Street. Most comparable towns have a bypass or at the very least a relief road to alleviate the heavy traffic. You can’t keep road surfaces right with that much traffic, never mind the dust and dirt all those HGV’s bring. Small places like that don’t have the maintenance budgets to deal with it and it has a very negative effect on local quality of life.

s1ippy · 21-04-2020 09:02PM

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Athy, Navan, Courtown, Bandon.

I thought Bandon was just the name of the Car Dealership when I was a child.

The_Honeybadger · 21-04-2020 09:05PM

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

What unusual settlement pattern? Sure all counties have the same. Towns 15-20 minutes from each other? Again every county the same.

Tipp has an unusually large number of relatively big towns, Clonmel being the biggest. Most other counties have a county town and then a smaller series of towns and villages with services and budgets being allocated accordingly. The old North / South municipal split is also still a bit of a political issue there I believe, despite them being merged a good while at this stage.

LillySV · 21-04-2020 09:06PM

dotsman wrote: »

???

All the nicest places I can think of are more than 40 minutes outside Dublin.

What I meant was that there is nearly no investment in this country outside Dublin ..the roads and infrastructure in the rest of the country is not good enough..and very little money or plans to improve it ...and there is not enough effort put in trying to get big companies to move to other parts of country outside of Dublin ... as a result you have loads of ghost towns in Ireland where majority of people have had to move away to get work in Dublin

21-04-2020 09:06PM

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Dublin is a city. Tipp is a small rural town that can take 30 mins to drive through because a national route runs through the Main Street. Most comparable towns have a bypass or at the very least a relief road to alleviate the heavy traffic. You can’t keep road surfaces right with that much traffic, never mind the dust and dirt all those HGV’s bring. Small places like that don’t have the maintenance budgets to deal with it and it has a very negative effect on local quality of life.

A proper motorway to Limerick which bypasses Tipp town would do wonders for it. Actually has some fine buildings but they can't be maintained with the dirt from the traffic etc.

LillySV · 21-04-2020 09:12PM

Casey78 wrote: »

An ironically Dublin is the biggest kip in the country.

I agree with ye... I’m bein misunderstood ... I’m just stating that rural Ireland is falling apart as a lot of Ireland’s youth have to move to Dublin or abroad to get work ... as a result lots of towns have little or no money been spent there... shops closing up ... no investment going on in the towns ... sad to see

Our govt were all about decentralization of public service years ago for instance and then just gave up on that and a good lot of their organizations still up in Dublin ... no plans or efforts to get more employment down the country

Chalk McHugh · 21-04-2020 09:34PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

A proper motorway to Limerick which bypasses Tipp town would do wonders for it. Actually has some fine buildings but they can't be maintained with the dirt from the traffic etc.

Yes agree a bypass would be great.

21-04-2020 09:39PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

A proper motorway to Limerick which bypasses Tipp town would do wonders for it. Actually has some fine buildings but they can't be maintained with the dirt from the traffic etc.

Could make rural crime v.difficult to control....the areas surronding the cork-dublin motorway gey plauged by dublin gangs breaking into houses etc in rural areas and away on motorway then

Would a motorway not give same oppurtunities to limerick gangs??

(But the road from cahir to limerick is only a glorified boreen in parts,hard one to weigh up?)

21-04-2020 09:48PM

Guillermo Gentle Rationalism wrote: »

Starting to think you are the head of the local chamber of commerce.

I'm not saying Bray is the most grim town in Ireland, but if it didn't have the seafront, it would be close. The sheer volume of junkies in the town is unbelievable - openly dealing on the main street. A main street that has too many units boarded up, and even the units that aren't boarded up, arent great. A previous poster said it's like walking down a street in Dublin, that is kinda true, but you are talking Talbot Street or Meath Street - not Grafton Street.

It has a good selection of supermarkets, that's about the best thing I could say about Bray, if you exclude the seafront.

There are indeed some massive houses up the King Edward Road, but those folk aren't your typical Bray person.

It's no different to Dun Laoghaire main street. It's a bit grim but most main streets outside of Grafton Street kind of are too to be honest. I think you're over exaggerating and have a chip on your shoulder. Should I lambast Greystones train station as being full of junkies because one time I saw a deal there?

Have you seen how big Bray is geographically speaking? It's a solid portion of South County Dublin when you pick it up and visualise it...

I think you're stuck in the 90s with your point of view. Do you consider Ashford a **** hole too because it has nothing in it?

Do you think Ballybrack and Killiney are the same place? What about Whitechurch and Rathfarnham? Clontarf and Raheny? Bray is about the size of many South Dublin suburbs lumped into one. You need to give it a break and appreciate how in most parts, it's now a very desirable place to live with Dart access to the city and surrounded by mountains and sea etc. What do you think of Shankill main street??

21-04-2020 09:49PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Could make rural crime v.difficult to control....the areas surronding the cork-dublin motorway gey plauged by dublin gangs breaking into houses etc in rural areas and away on motorway then

Would a motorway not give same oppurtunities to limerick gangs??

(But the road from cahir to limerick is only a glorified boreen in parts,hard one to weigh up?)

That's a really poor reason to not provide infrastructure imo. Plenty of local crime in Tipp and Waterford afaik anyhow.

bazermc · 21-04-2020 09:50PM

Dolphins Barn

fryup · 21-04-2020 11:14PM

chopperbyrne wrote: »

The answer is Arklow though. Sister in law used to be a social worker there. Grim doesn't even begin to describe the place.

ah come on now, Arkla is not that bad, you got nice beaches nearby Brittas and Clogga

maestroamado · 21-04-2020 11:20PM

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Being beside the Shannon hasn’t stopped the decline in most of them. Portumna is one example. It’s beside the Shannon, has a lovely forest park with castle, the harbour, a great golf course, plenty of fishing and horse riding in the area. Yet it doesn’t even have a hotel since the last one burned down in slightly suspicious circumstances. It’s hard to stop the rot after it gets into a place.

Oddly enough Portumna was the one town i did not take to but i thought it was just me,the hotel on the edge of town just did not work.
That's a few years ago.
I deliberately just mentioned a few places i liked as i do not like making negative comments without good reason.
Maybe we should start a thread about where is good to be like "here"

Most miserable and grim towns and villages in Ireland

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