Upcoming Events

Donegal | Environment

no events match your query!

New Events

Donegal

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.? We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).?

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

The Saker >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Can Science Tell Us the Meaning of Life? Mon Dec 23, 2024 19:54 | Dr David Bell
At Christmas time, Dr David Bell reflects on what has true value in this world, the limits of science to tell us what that is and what a baby in a manger might have to say about it.
The post Can Science Tell Us the Meaning of Life? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Non-Crime Hate Incidents Surge in Half of Police Forces Despite Government Crackdown Mon Dec 23, 2024 17:46 | Will Jones
The number of?non-crime hate incidents?recorded by police has surged in half of Britain's forces despite attempts by the previous Government to crack down on the practice, official data show.
The post Non-Crime Hate Incidents Surge in Half of Police Forces Despite Government Crackdown appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Reeves?s Simplistic Thinking Spawned This Budget from Hell Mon Dec 23, 2024 15:44 | David Craig
Simplistic linear thinking by Rachel from Accounts and the Treasury spawned this Budget from hell, says David Craig. A systems thinker would have known it would send the economy into a doom loop of recession and decline.
The post Reeves’s Simplistic Thinking Spawned This Budget from Hell appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link British Drivers Steering Away From New Cars In Their Droves Mon Dec 23, 2024 13:00 | Sallust
British car-buyers are turning away from new vehicles in their droves and keeping their reliable old petrol models going for far longer as Labour's Net Zero war on affordable motors heats up.
The post British Drivers Steering Away From New Cars In Their Droves appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Britain on Brink of Recession After Growth Revised to Zero Following Reeves?s Horror Budget Mon Dec 23, 2024 11:09 | Will Jones
Britain is on the brink of a recession after official figures were revised to show zero growth in the third quarter of the year and living standards fell, with Rachel Reeves's horror Budget blamed.
The post Britain on Brink of Recession After Growth Revised to Zero Following Reeves’s Horror Budget appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Ireland, Donegal and development

category donegal | environment | opinion/analysis author Monday March 15, 2004 12:16author by C. Price Report this post to the editors

A Canadian visitor reflects

Before coming to Ireland, I was warned not to have any romantic notions about the ‘Emerald Isle’. My Irish friend had travelled to my home country of Canada and was aware that many Canadians, especially those of Irish ancestry, have notions of Ireland that are based on commercial hype about leprechauns and beer and on the nostalgic laments of The Chieftains and the Irish Tenors about rolling hills and a glorious past. He cautioned that Ireland was changing and that the nation is manifesting the most unfortunate symptoms of economic success. I shrugged off the warning because my hopes for Ireland went much further than commercial stereotypes and, admittedly, because I really wanted to believe. After all, I endured eighteen years in a North American suburb.
mountain.jpg

As I drove up to Co. Donegal from Shannon airport, I was thrilled as I looked out over the breathtaking coast, the rolling hills and thatched-roof cottages. I knew I would not be disappointed. Then I drove towards Bundoran, or ‘Fundoran’ as the many revellers often call it. My heart sank as I bore witness to the destructive spread of ‘cookie-cutter’ housing and saw ominous signs of a town sacrificing its history, culture and sense of community to profit from the seasonal whims of wealthy city dwellers. I saw a similar phenomenon in many spectacular places in the north of Ireland from Bundoran, to Dunfanaghy, PortRush to Newry.

Despite living twenty minutes from the most multicultural city in the world, I was raised in a cultural vacuum. When you are a teenager - old enough to be restless yet too young to drive - the suburbs are suffocating. Most of my friends were ‘mall rats’. They were sent to the mall or the cinema to allow ‘corporate America’ to baby-sit for a few hours after school. From this impressionable age, teens are tempted by the useless junk flashed at them from shop windows and taught to gage their worth by what they wear and what they own. Fortunately, my mother disapproved of this past time and I wasn’t allowed to hang out at the mall. Yet, while my area of the suburbs wasn’t as void as most (we lived close to a lake and until recently, developers had recognized the value of preserving our large trees), in-climate weather meant the alternative was usually hours in front of the T.V.

As a result, I have always clung to the stories of my ancestors about the magic of rolling hills, thatched roof cottages and fairy trees. I grew up desperate to experience the tight knit communities and vibrant culture that every Irish pub and St. Paddy’s Day celebration around the world attempt to emulate. Stronger still, was my fascination with the passion of a people who care so strongly about their history and culture that eighth generation North Americans still claim to be Irish.

I can only hope that you, the residents of arguably the loveliest county in Ireland, recognize that our path of development is culturally toxic. Suburbs that evolve around a city or tourist centre are notoriously alienating, dehumanizing, and disconnected. Rapid development does seem economically advantageous in the short run. However, if Irish citizens abandon their culture and sacrifice coastal towns and rural communities, they risk loosing the most valuable tourist attraction and diminish their quality of life. Suburban houses are built with the intention of maximizing time, money and space. They all look the same, are too close together, and are not sensitive to the environment or the culture of the area. They suppress the complex values involved in the concept of ‘home’ and traditionally expressed in our towns and naturally expanding communities.

Most suburban-Canadians know absolutely nothing about the history of their towns, not to mention their country. Our surroundings reflect nothing about our culture or our past. Without a sense of past, suburbs generate little hope for the future. They are characterised by ‘commuter’ oriented development that embraces offensive motorways, fast food joints and large chain stores owned and operated by people in other cities or other countries. Local shops with local produce will be forced to close and people will lose their ability to create and advance by simply becoming employed by larger corporations.

Aesthetically offensive housing on the waterfront will be largely occupied by city dwellers from Belfast who have no vested interest in the welfare of the community and whose local involvement does not extend beyond the holiday season.






Equally as damaging is when a community allows in big businesses and becomes focused on growth, they sacrifice the quality of local governance. Government ‘representatives’ become accountable only to business leaders who are not even from the community and have little concern for the history or local interests. This has already become a concern in Donegal when residents are powerless to stop construction of the motorway which will destroy their fields and disturb their peaceful homes.

Perhaps, as a foreigner, I have no right to comment on the nature of Ireland’s development. For years I took advantage of the convenience and excess of enormous malls, fast food joints and 24 screen movie cinemas. Maybe it is arrogant to lecture others about striving for the same. However, North Americans are in the unfortunate position of having made the mistakes that the rest of the world can learn from. I write this warning out of a sincere love for the beauty and uniqueness of Ireland.

In the six months that I have lived in Ireland; the people, culture and country have surpassed my expectations. I can only hope that the Irish will pay attention, get involved and continue to value and protect their amazing island.

lib_donegal1.jpg

crane.jpg

author by Declan Gallagherpublication date Fri Mar 19, 2004 18:37author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Donegal is in fact the heartland of the callous developer. If you take the town of letterkenny, it proudly claims that the town is "The fastest growing town in europe" but behind the glamor of the idea that local government are doing the best to serve the poeple of letterkenny and the north-east ward you'll find that development is not building schools, affordable housing or even amenities for the town such as a proper rail or bus system. Instead it is building shopping malls, luxury apartments and motorways, while education, healthcare and the welfare of the native people and children at neglected.

author by Terrypublication date Fri Mar 19, 2004 20:05author address author phone Report this post to the editors

As the onslaught continues on all fronts to destroy our environment and heritage, we should try to document it through digital photographs, so we will have a good record of what is actually destroyed.

This would have been useful for recent things like the road through the Glen of the Downs in Co. Wicklow, the Carrickmines site and now the future destruction of the Hill of Tara area. Likewise for anywhere else and all those other spots that are threatened.

Therefore I wish to draw attention to such an existing idea as above which is up and running and apparently has been a big help in California. And that is the California Coastal Records Project which is at the website given and is a record of the coastline.

This project was recently described in an article entitled: Saving Malibbu from the Stars
which appeared in the Ecologist. You can link to the article here:
http://www.theecologist.org/archive_article.html?article=445&category=81

Related Link: http://www.californiacoastline.org/
 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy