The general chit-chat thread [READ THE FIRST POST BEFORE POSTING HERE]

dingding

Digiby wrote: »

This is the trail that brings you into Finisklin.

I will warn you though that the green area there is like a swamp this time of year with all the rain. It doesn't take long to walk through there but unless you have some boots on or walk gingerly across the area you can get covered in muddy water. It's generally fine in the Spring and summer when the ground firms up. Some people go through on bikes.

It was closed up when the houses were developed. Originally it was a lane that went down where the road is now and over to the back of Finisklin. It seemed to be blocked off at the time which I was surprised with as I would have thought they were getting rid of a right of way. A pity as it was very handy, connecting the bottom of larkhill road with finisklin.

It was never maintained so it was overgrown with burnt out cars, which was a pity as it was a natural cycle track / walking route. It should IMO have been maintained as part of the design of the housing estate.

worlds goodest teecher

I know this has come up many times before but...

Walked up O'Connell St early this morning while it was closed off to traffic for the drainage system works. I was again amazed at what an improvement having no traffic on the street, made to the street. It's a real shame that this was never done but I also understand the difficulties pedestrianisation of O'Connell St. would cause with regard to traffic. It could be a really nice retail street, it's a shame.

Bebo stunnah

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

I know this has come up many times before but...

Walked up O'Connell St early this morning while it was closed off to traffic for the drainage system works. I was again amazed at what an improvement having no traffic on the street, made to the street. It's a real shame that this was never done but I also understand the difficulties pedestrianisation of O'Connell St. would cause with regard to traffic. It could be a really nice retail street, it's a shame.

But how would the lazy people of Sligo park directly outside the shop they're going in to??

I was always of the opinion that Castle St, Grattan St, O'Connell St & John street should be car free. They're not big enough to accomodate traffic. With the exception of John street which gets wider about 20m after Charles street.

EmptyTree

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

I know this has come up many times before but...

Walked up O'Connell St early this morning while it was closed off to traffic for the drainage system works. I was again amazed at what an improvement having no traffic on the street, made to the street. It's a real shame that this was never done but I also understand the difficulties pedestrianisation of O'Connell St. would cause with regard to traffic. It could be a really nice retail street, it's a shame.

But this was done a number of years ago and it failed miserably. Rather than enhance the town, footfall on the street actually fell and shops in the surround areas did even worse.

Bebo stunnah wrote: »

I was always of the opinion that Castle St, Grattan St, O'Connell St & John street should be car free. They're not big enough to accomodate traffic. With the exception of John street which gets wider about 20m after Charles street.

It would be great if it could but unfortunately IMO Sligo doesn't have the population to support such a large pedestrianized area.

Come to think of it, I can't think of any towns in Ireland that has a large pedestrianized area - Maybe someone can enlighten me?

worlds goodest teecher

EmptyTree wrote: »

But this was done a number of years ago and it failed miserably. Rather than enhance the town, footfall on the street actually fell and shops in the surround areas did even worse.



It would be great if it could but unfortunately IMO Sligo doesn't have the population to support such a large pedestrianized area.

Come to think of it, I can't think of any towns in Ireland that has a large pedestrianized area - Maybe someone can enlighten me?

Yeah I remember when they "pedestrianised" it previously but it really only restricted traffic. There was money there to pave it and make it pedestrian friendly but it wasn't spent on the paving, and as the traffic coming through the town was so bad they reopened the street to traffic, until the planned distributor road was built. That was my understanding of why they reopened it to vehicles, maybe I am wrong.

rizzodun

When they pedestrianised it last time the relief road was open IIRC, but it still caused havoc in the town, there is no alternative to getting across town (the river) if they close O'Connell street, granted, they widened the bridge, but I can't see it working.

The bridge on the other side of town would probably help though.

worlds goodest teecher

rizzodun wrote: »

When they pedestrianised it last time the relief road was open IIRC, but it still caused havoc in the town, there is no alternative to getting across town (the river) if they close O'Connell street, granted, they widened the bridge, but I can't see it working.

The bridge on the other side of town would probably help though.

That was my point. The bridge that was planned a few years back in the cranmore area would most likely give traffic from that side of Town access to somewhere near the hospital and would therefore reduce the bottle neck that is castle st./grattan st./johns st. Getting to the N15 north from that part of town is very difficult at present without going through the town. I don't think it would solve the traffic problem in Town but I definitely think it would reduce it. An affordable multi-storey car park with access from Adelaide St would also help take traffic off Wine St.

This has gone off my point a bit which was in my opinion a pedestrianised O'Connell St would be a great asset to the the town. I don't disagree that there are number of problems caused by pedesrianising the street. I know that we are not talking about the same numbers of people but early in the mornings, 9-12, during the fleadh, O'Connell St was a lovely social space.

rizzodun

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

That was my point. The bridge that was planned a few years back in the cranmore area would most likely give traffic from that side of Town access to somewhere near the hospital and would therefore reduce the bottle neck that is castle st./grattan st./johns st. Getting to the N15 north from that part of town is very difficult at present without going through the town. I don't think it would solve the traffic problem in Town but I definitely think it would reduce it. An affordable multi-storey car park with access from Adelaide St would also help take traffic off Wine St.

This has gone off my point a bit which was in my opinion a pedestrianised O'Connell St would be a great asset to the the town. I don't disagree that there are number of problems caused by pedesrianising the street. I know that we are not talking about the same numbers of people but early in the mornings, 9-12, during the fleadh, O'Connell St was a lovely social space.

My mistake, I thought when you said distributor road you meant the inner relief road.

In my opinion closing O'Connell street to traffic is a bit of a waste, we already have a large pedestrianised area down along the river and it's not utilised, not sure what benefit adding O'Connell street is, and this is from someone who wouldn't mind the centre of town completely closed off to traffic, I just don't see how Sligo would use the potential at all, we certainly didn't bother last time. Pubs sticking tables out on the streets isn't using it either.

Bebo stunnah

It would be great if it could but unfortunately IMO Sligo doesn't have the population to support such a large pedestrianized area.

Come to think of it, I can't think of any towns in Ireland that has a large pedestrianized area - Maybe someone can enlighten me?[/QUOTE]

Where that's a very good point, I'd like to also use the 'but other towns have/don't have" reasoning.
Most towns around the country, regardless of size, have a town square. Sligo has none. If I'm right in remembering, there was one planned for between teeling street/old market street and high street, which got shelved around 2008. I'm not even sure the town had a square in the past, but I could be wrong. And beside that, any bit of land that could have been one is probably a car park now.

worlds goodest teecher

This is a bit off the point but I think it's amazing the way we can block out things. What I am referring to is the eyesore that is the unfinished apartment block behind the Glasshouse. I am in the town almost every day but thinking back I can't remember the last time that I saw it.

Peintre Celebre

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

This is a bit off the point but I think it's amazing the way we can block out things. What I am referring to is the eyesore that is the unfinished apartment block behind the Glasshouse. I am in the town almost every day but thinking back I can't remember the last time that I saw it.

The apartments on the left leaving Ballisodare must take the biscuit. What a waste

Kettleson

Anyone know the meaning/origin of the area name Finisklin?

And whilst I'm here, also curious about Siberia and Gibraltar?

Mint Sauce

Kettleson wrote: »

Anyone know the meaning/origin of the area name Finisklin?

And whilst I'm here, also curious about Siberia and Gibraltar?

Another thing I am curious about is is the Townland of Ransboro. My understanding is, road signage in Ireland has place names in English in BLOCK CAPITALS, and the Irish in Italics. Unless you are in the Gaeltacht where all of it, is just in Irish.

However, I have only ever seen Ransboro displayed in Italics on signage around town, and on its approach. Is it because there simply is no English translation, or does Sligo have a mini Gaeltacht, that no one knows about, and only consists of the Townland of Ransboro. Even people from Ransboro, have not been able to give me an answer.

Kettleson

From Ransboro National School Website:

"The name Ransboro, by which the general area is also known, is not on any map but owes its original to the era of the Penal Laws when the “Mass Rock” serving the area was located on the side of Knocknarea Mountain adjacent to the former and now demolished Knocknarea N.S. The mass rock site later was chosen for the erection of the local catholic church known as Ransboro church but originally spelled “Wrens Burrow”.

The penal day’s mass rock was overlooked by a mass of rock in which there was a miniature cave, hole or burrow. Tradition has it, that always during the recital of mass a striking feature of the occasion was that the “Wren”, the king of the birds, was perched in that “burrow” hence the name “Wrens Burrow” now spelled Ransboro."

red sean

Kettleson wrote: »

Anyone know the meaning/origin of the area name Finisklin?

And whilst I'm here, also curious about Siberia and Gibraltar?

According to Fiona Gallagher in her excellent book "History of the Streets of Sligo" the area of Finisklin is a bit confusing re: the actual name and it's meaning.
She states that according to PW Joyce it appears to come from the Gaelic "Fionn Uisce" or 'fair water'.
But Wood-Martin in his history of Sligo says it would probably be 'Inisclin' which acquired an 'F' along the way. Not unusual apparently.
In the Downs Survey of the 1660's its known as Finackline.
Fiona also tells us that in 1836, the OS letters of John O'Donovan give us other variations such as 'Fion Asclainn' which he translated as 'Fair corner or nook'. He also says there were over 2 dozen different variants of the name including 'Feniskillen, Fineskel, Finackline and Finishklin' (with the emphasis on Finish)

I'll try and get info on Siberia and Gibralter if possible.

Kettleson

red sean wrote: »

According to Fiona Gallagher in her excellent book "History of the Streets of Sligo" the area of Finisklin is a bit confusing re: the actual name and it's meaning.
She states that according to PW Joyce it appears to come from the Gaelic "Fionn Uisce" or 'fair water'.
But Wood-Martin in his history of Sligo says it would probably be 'Inisclin' which acquired an 'F' along the way. Not unusual apparently.
In the Downs Survey of the 1660's its known as Finackline.
Fiona also tells us that in 1836, the OS letters of John O'Donovan give us other variations such as 'Fion Asclainn' which he translated as 'Fair corner or nook'. He also says there were over 2 dozen different variants of the name including 'Feniskillen, Fineskel, Finackline and Finishklin' (with the emphasis on Finish)

I'll try and get info on Siberia and Gibralter if possible.

Thanks for that. I'm presuming Siberia and Gibraltar are named after those actual place names?

I was told once, as far as I can remember, that Gibraltar was named after "the rocks" ie: The Rock Of Gibraltar. but that might have been a tall tale.

red sean

I'll see what I can come up with. I,too, often wondered about Siberia in particular, but you've now given me the push I needed. Thanks!

Kettleson

Siberia also comes up as "Slieveroe or Siberia, Knocknarea" in the 1911 census.

And on the "Tithe Applotment Books 1823-1837" it comes up as "Siberia Killaspugbrone". An Anglicisation?

From The Irish Times:

"Still on the subject of exotic place-names, exiled Sligonian Declan Foley tells me that his home county contains townlands called “Siberia”, “Gibraltar”, and “Coney Island”. Whether the first of these in any way resembles the vast area of northern Russia, synonymous with salt-mines and cold weather, he doesn’t say.

Apparently, it (the Sligo townland, not Russian Siberia) is also known as Slieveroe, and other than this being a bad case of corrupted pronunciation, the English name is a bit of a mystery.

Coney Island is much less so. Whether in Irish, English, or New York Dutch, the name derives from the Latin for “rabbit”. And it seems to be every bit as successful at self-multiplication as the species. At any rate, there are at least eight Coney Islands in Ireland alone, including the one immortalised in song by Van Morrison.

Fuuny to say, there are several Irish Gibraltars too. Sligo apart, the name crops up (no geological pun intended, although now that I think about it, it’s a pleasant coincidence) in Dublin, Wicklow, Meath, and even my native Monaghan. The main influence here was not topography, I suspect, but history: especially the Battle of Trafalgar, soon after which the Dublin Gibraltar, for one, first appeared."

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irishman-s-diary-1.449107

Mint Sauce

Revenue office in Sligo, now appointment only. WTF!!

Almost now impossible to do anything face to face anymore.

:mad:

red sean

Works both ways. If they come after you, tell them they have to make an appointment first!

Mint Sauce

I see both Korona on Castle Street, and The Draft House in the Strand are both closed for referbs/renovations.

Little odd considering both have are not that long open following the same. Wondering if simply referbs or is something else happening.

magnumlady

Mint Sauce wrote: »

I see both Korona on Castle Street, and The Draft House in the Strand are both closed for referbs/renovations.

Little odd considering both have are not that long open following the same. Wondering if simply referbs or is something else happening.

Korona has been closed for referbs so many times since it first open. It seems to be closed more than open to be honest.

Mint Sauce

magnumlady wrote: »

Korona has been closed for referbs so many times since it first open. It seems to be closed more than open to be honest.

Korona seemed to take an age to first open as well.

flex_manion

Hi :)
New here, just checking if posting works ok.

red sean

Well done to Derek Fox. First Sligo jockey to win the Aintree Grand National.
What a feat!

shanec1928

red sean wrote: »

Well done to Derek Fox. First Sligo jockey to win the Aintree Grand National.
What a feat!

FYI the second;) Leo McMorrow won it in 1949

Mint Sauce

red sean wrote: »

Well done to Derek Fox. First Sligo jockey to win the Aintree Grand National.
What a feat!

Amazing stuff. Just after collecting the winnings.

red sean

Irrespective of whether he was the first or the hundred and first it was a great feat.
Well done to the lad.

Mint Sauce

Noticed last night that they are resurfacing Carroroe Hill. Now if only they could resurface the junction of Pearse Road and Carins Road/Hill. Surprised more alloys not damaged, and wheels put out of alinement there.

johnire

Couldn't agree more. It's a nightmare turning right there onto the Cairns Road.

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Noticed last night that they are resurfacing Carroroe Hill. Now if only they could resurface the junction of Pearse Road and Carins Road/Hill. Surprised more alloys not damaged, and wheels put out of alinement there.