Like the Dublin Jackeen, the true Carlovian must be a rara avis these days. The Regional Technical College, An Foras Taluntais and the expansion of several local industries have boosted the population enormously, mainly, I suspect, with blow-ins. These, in spite of the recession, have enhanced the economy greatly as evidenced by the proliferation of new super stores and markets that have opened up in the past ten years. The Regional College alone must have added at least 2,000 persons, between students and staff, the population with the resultant financial gain to landladies and property owners.
Many of the older industries have disappeared e.g. Governey’s, Barrow Mills, Steel Products, McHugh’s Foundry, Purser’s Engineering, Eagle Light Engineering, Milford Tannery, etc. On the other hand, some important new ones have sprung up, e.g. Lapple, Braun, Hydrohoist and many others in the industrial estate at Strawhall. By and large, Carlow was not hit quite as badly as some of the surrounding town in the matter of redundancies. That is not to say, however, that unemployment did not exist here, but it wasn’t nearly as acute as elsewhere.
Carlow has had its share of characters over the years. I wonder how many readers can put names on the following?
Knick Knock, Tarzan, Digger, Bomber, Smut, Scorcher, Pert, Golly and Packie.
The origin of these nicknames is probably lost in the mist of time but one could make a fair guess why the sobriquet was earned by some. Street trading became popular several years ago and every Monday saw dozens of stalls erected along Barrack Street and in the car park at Potato Market. This was cause for complaint from many quarters not the least from motorists who received tickets for illegal parking when there was no room for them in the recognised places. Strangely enough, the other major car park behind the Town Hall never caught on and rarely contained more than half a dozen cars. So, when the U.D.C. wisely decided to move the fair traders to the venue things quickly settled down after one or two protests at the move.
One unforeseen development of this has been the increase in temporary dwellings around town to the annoyance of local residents and to the embarrassment of the officials. Initially, only the travelling people used this type of accommodation on a permanent basis (as distinct from people like myself who took to the roads during holiday times). Carlow was singularly free from these half a century ago but today almost every vacant lot in and around town is occupied by one or more caravans. And this in spite of the efforts of both urban and county officials to discourage them. Special housing and halting places have been provided on the one hand and barriers placed at unauthorised sites, on the other, but all to no avail.
The structure of the town has altered considerably over the years. New roads and bridges have been built while others have disappeared. Some of the traditional buildings have been demolished and others have replaced them. Open spaces have been filled up while others have been created. Buriness premises have been closed down or transferred while others have been created.
Many have disappeared while others have changed hands, often more than once. The best example in this regard is Dublin Street. From memory only seven businesses which existed in 1940 still exist today,. Two banks have moved on, one being converted into a charmingly intimate chapel by the Capuchin Fathers, Leverette & Frye has gone, the G.P.O. has been transferred and three pubs have changed hands a number of times. This pattern has been repeated in Tullow Street which, apart from being converted to one-way could be altered almost beyond recognition if plans to pedestrianise it come to pass.
The residential part of the town has spread northwards, eastwards and southwards more than a mile in each direction. Westwards development, however, has been curtailed to some extent due to the fact that the neighbouring County Laois comes right up to the doorstep, so to speak. Even so, Graiguecullen has expanded threefold in fifty years with housing estates, ribbon building, etc.
The End
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- © 2001 County Carlow Genealogy IGP