Ireland's grimmest place

[joemamas]

I'd describe the majority of NI's towns and villages as quite grim. You've got those places like Newbuildings and Dervock, in which it seems the locals are so so inbred they would happily build a 20 foot concrete wall around. Then there's the likes of Middletown, Rathfriland and Comber, which look like places time has forgot; made worse by it being an especially grey and drab period of time when they were forgotten.

Newry, Portadown, Derry, Lurgan, Omagh, Cookstown, Lisburn, Belfast. All grotty and suffer a general lack of vision, consistency and investment.

I suppose villages are a different kettle of fish, but the like of Middletown, Derrynoose, Newbuildings, Donemana, Garvagh, Fintona, Newtonstewart, Augher, Plumbridge, Coalisland would depress the life out of you if you lived there.  Its unbelievable how much nicer villages and towns down south appear, places such as Sligo, Monaghan or Castleblayney all have a bit of character to them whereas every town up north are more or less designed in that same old ugly plantation format.  Lurgan and Cookstown are two examples of this, with their big long wide main street.  Portrush has to be one of the ugliest towns about.

I think this is a relatively recent development. I grew up in Castlebar and for my teens I thought it was a hole. Now don't get me wrong, I would still argue with anyone who said their hole was better, but I still thought of it that way. The lake was a great place to go as kids but it was our secret, hidden away from the rest of the world. In the 1990s they really did a good job doing the town up and in the last 10 years the place is completely unrecognisable from the hole of my youth. They built great playgrounds for kids at the lake, completely opened it all up for everyone and created a lovely walk, run or cycle around part of the lake. I believe they are looking into connecting it to Westport and the Greenway. That would be a fantastic resource.

But if you said they have done a good job with a lot of towns/village in the south I would have to agree.

Castlebar was a right kip when I was younger, it did a great job during the boom in redeveloping.
Ballina went down hill in the 2000s and was a right kip for a long time, looks to be getting back on its feet

Swinford is depressing with not a lot going for it

Charlestown is just full of c**ts

Two years on and you are still posting complete crap, you are an embarrasment to Mayo people. When you make such disgraceful comments on a public website, you better be able to back them up.

Quote from August 2011

quote author=joemamas link=topic=49.msg1009360#msg1009360 date=1314481349]

Ah I mightnt like all the local lads but at least you'd have time for them. Played c'town a lot underage in soccer and football for club and school and they were always a sneaky underhand shower. They had a settled traveller on the soccer team, would have been U-14/16, he was about 20 by the time the U-16 came about, no birth cert but the world and it's mother knew he was no more U-16.
Ginger Tiernan pretty much epitomises Charlestown for me

Could not let this comment go without a rebuttal.

1. Charlestown "an sneaky underhand shower" please elaborate in a gaelic football sense", if anything Charlestown's biggest criticism was that there was little or no cynicism to their game.

2. Gaelic and Soccer have zero connection in Charlestown. Most play Gaelic, the few that play soccer do not. How did you play Charlestown in underage Gaelic club games ?, have the divisonal boundries been redrawn renently.
As for a traveller playing organized sports, soccer in this case, well absolutely disgraceful, what will we have next in 2011 , Asian, Eastern Europeans, Blacks playing local sports. That comment is like saying I hate Galway football because a traveller played for their soccer team.

3. As for Ginger Teirnan, as Abbeysider said, A club legend, he epitomises everything a club and county football team needs. No need to elaborate on that.

Methinks you disdain for Charlestown lies with the 2-19 to 0-8 pt defeat you suffered from us in the 2001 county senior final,  in addition to the loss you suffered in the 2009 County senior final.

Charlestown may very well get relegated, they are suffering from the same fate as a lot of small rural clubs, lack of employment locally and renewed immigration, a fate their club were decimated from in the 1980's. Your lazy attempt to colour your disdain for them with anything related to what happened on a Gaelic football field is pretty pathetic to say the least.
[/quote]

[CD]

Waterfoot?

y Rather unfortunate this one, those mingy b**tards on larne council cough up the money then this would be one of the nicest small towns in the North. Everything already in place, beach, and in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Feeling of an old deserted cowboy gold rush town an the mo.

Is Waterfoot not in the Moyle Council area? Anyway, Larne always seems to get a touch in threads like this and, as a native, I sort of feel honour-bound to defend it. But I can't

I had a good old laugh at that one! I don't like the idea of selecting Ireland's grimmest town but if I was backed into a corner, I'd have to say Larne as well! Sorry!

[southdown]

Lurgan and Lisburn for me.

[glens abu]

Larne,Newry and Portadown for me

[BennyCake]

Craigavon. What a shithole.

Worked I lovely Legahory for a year and it brought the meaning of poverty to a whole new level!

The North's answer to Milton Keynes turned out about as successful. Paisley has a lot to answer for.

[BennyCake]

Lurgan and Lisburn for me.

Lurgan is grim, but Lisburn is a black loyalist hellhole. That's where they should drop the big one. Then Portadown.

[general_lee]

Has anyone been in Lurgan lately? I see it has featured a lot on here.

They've invested thousands in the last 2/3 years on public realm work that is still ongoing. The town centre is actually quite pleasant now IMO. Granted one or two estates might be intimidating to outsiders, the place isn't as bad as people make out.

Nrico, you said Derrytrasna. Why on earth did you put Derrytrasna, there's nothing to the place! A few houses, a chapel and a school!

Virtually everywhere will have areas that make it look like a shithole. Special mentions though for Belfast (N,S,E and W), Larne, Derry, Coleraine, Ballymena, Craigavon, Newry, Dundalk,

[Tony Baloney]

It's not often nrico2006 has a decent point but he does have a point re. Waterfoot Main St. It's a pretty ugly wee strip for somewhere surrounded by natural beauty.

[45]

Rathfriland enough said .

[Arthur_Friend]

The only thing that could really fix Waterfoot main street would be trees planted on both sides of the street, a la Killough in Co. Down.

[Tony Baloney]

The only thing that could really fix Waterfoot main street would be trees planted on both sides of the street, a la Killough in Co. Down.

If there was sufficient funding available the frontage of many buildings could be smartened up and yes trees etc might help but how many would be intact after the first weekend after planting?! 

[Matthew 5:9]

"Our Wee Town"

Not Because Their "Wee Town" Is My "Wee  Town,"
But In the Hope That They Will Grow To Love
   All The  "Wee Towns" of Ireland,
And Learn The Great Lesson of Life-
That No Place Is Dull Except To the Dull -Minded,
And That No Street, though Rough Its Cobbled Footway
    And Dingy It's Uneven Houses,
Can be Uninteresting If Children Play Across It
    And Men Laugh at Its Corners
And Women Weep By Its Hearthstones.

By Louis J Walsh

[Mayo4Sam]

Joe, I'm not sure what I've said to make me an embarrassment to Mayo.  I'm glad to see that ur keeping a file of my posts and I'll keep an eye out for the Internet police for not backing up my posts.

As for my 2011 comment, if never seen ur rebuttal. For points 1 & 3 I'd point to the 2009 final when he spent the day acting the tr**p, when he epitomes ur club well it says a lot.
As for the finals I'm bitter about all the finals Knockmore have lost but I also remember the days like Bombers robbery goal in '92 

And as for my settled traveller comment I think it's quiet clear I was making no racist comments but nice of u to try and twist that.

As for being a grim place, well it hasn't been missed since it was by-passed is the best I can say about it

[Feckitt]

Imagine a town nestled between the sea and the mountains, in one of the most picturesque areas of the country, throw in a fishing harbour, and nearby sandy beaches, and you have all you could ever want.

Then festoon the place with red, white and blue, grind it down with tense sectarianism, and you end up with Ireland's most depressing town.

Kilkeel

[Leo]

Kilkeel? Hard to argue - but try Ballynahinch - its Kilkeel II - without the scenery!