Old abandonded building near the Sugar Loaf

It was an old filling station - I always knew it as Calary Filling Station as it is close by to Calary Bog.

Yes and even the old brain cells remember it as such....

Before the flood? I seem to remember buying ice cream and Taylor Keith lemonade there back in the late 1960s before making the assault on the Sugar Loaf and it didn't look much different then. Same sheep too.

Sure it will be grand wrote: »

Are you referring to the Dargle flood down in Bray or another flood before my time?! Interested to know.

Before the Flood is an old saying meaning a very long time ago. It refers to the Biblical Flood that God sent to cleanse the Earth - Noah's Ark etc....:D

joeybloggs wrote: »

Anybody know what this is, just south of the old filling station in a field.....

Those are 2 water filled excavations, one each side of the track.Probably a by product of earth moving machinery when planting the forest, or else for attracting wildfowl.

Franb64 wrote: »

I remember my late father stopping there to get us an ice cream in the early seventies.We were all loaded into the old anglia estate on the way to glendalough.Ufortunatly there has been a demolision notice put on it..it has to be demolished within the next two months.
I think it is an awful shame,so on monday i will start my fight to save it..wish me luck:-)

Save your breath for cooling your porridge.

I drive by this building at least twice everyday and have seen countless photographers taking pictures of it. There was a photo of it with the Sugarloaf in the background on the rte weather for a while last year. I recently saw a guy in underwear standing in the window of the building while being snapped by a photo crew. It obviously has aesthetic appeal to a large number of people.

Yes, it does seem a pity to see it swept away after all this time. It really was like base camp before the assault on Great Sugar Loaf. Nice pic too brings it all back.

recedite wrote: »

It is an eyesore........and yet there is a fascinating incongruity about the whole setting, its like Father Ted's house on Craggy Island.

I really disagree that the building itself is an eyesore. It is simply derelict. The leylandii trees planted around the site are so out of place in such a naturalistic landscape and look terrible. It is also really inappropriate for this site to be used for storing heaps of gravel. Remove the trees and gravel and the site goes back to being a beauty spot-the type of place where tourists could pull in to take photos and appreciate the surroundings.

Muas Tenek wrote: »

we Irish seem to be very quick to dislodge our heritage. We should be protecting those things that our forefathers worked for. .

Right you are! I've just sent an email to the heritage officer in Wicklow County Council suggesting that the building itself is an intrinsic part of the character of the area and it has long been a landmark there. Also that it is fondly remembered by many people and that it is a part of our heritage that deserves to be protected from unnecessary destruction. If anything the site should be cleaned up and the building left alone.
Most likely this will have no effect but at least I said something and these issues should get some consideration before the building is knocked (and most probably left on site with the other crap for the next 20 years).:)