is Kilkenny becoming cheap?

Bowlardo

Coming down john street can see a large inflatable pint of guinness in the skyline(the one on matts roof)

get to johns bridge and jimmy joe john john is hammering away on some spoons.

Tacky "hop on hop off" tour bus passes.

Rose inn street has woeful music blaring from everywhere and young wans with inflatable cocks outside the póc fada at 2 in the day.

Left bank covering half the building with a crass "best gastro pub in Leinster" poster.

Field hammering ****e music out off it constanly.

Carrolls blaming ****e diddle dee music out of it's shop fronts.

High street with dodgey charity shops.

please fell free to add to this

Help!!!!

Maybe you would prefer to see pubs & shops closed down like there is in a lot of towns around Ireland.

Kirk Van Houten

Maybe Kilkenny is just too full of snobs who don't want certain shops on High St

Graigmanliam

Yes it's delightful to have a member of a dublin hen party rub their snizz up against ya passing by Lanigans.

Graigmanliam

I was in there yesterday and it's clear the town just can't handle the crowds at all. It would be great if you could limit elderly people to use footpaths at certain times of the day so I don't feel the need to push them in front of traffic. The tourists all walk in slow motion totally unaware of anyone around them & last but not least the spanish armada have arrived and still look like they haven't washed since they were here last year.

groucho marx

Down with this sort of thing

kkhornet

groucho marx wrote: »

Down with this sort of thing

Carefull now

gramar

Graigmanliam wrote: »

I was in there yesterday and it's clear the town just can't handle the crowds at all. It would be great if you could limit elderly people to use footpaths at certain times of the day so I don't feel the need to push them in front of traffic. The tourists all walk in slow motion totally unaware of anyone around them & last but not least the spanish armada have arrived and still look like they haven't washed since they were here last year.

I hear you're a racist now Liam!

catbear

gramar wrote: »

I hear you're a racist now Liam!

F all else to do in Graig.

pegasus1

The continental style music played over and over and over and over, on an accordion on or near the parade most days...

Yamanoto

I find the Supermacs store on High St to be a real visual eyesore, usually covered in cheap posters for their 'meal deals' . A combination of that, their nasty lighting and unattractive signage give a tatty appearance to the whole storefront. There are many other offenders, but Supermacs are the most glaringly obvious.

The city itself could be significantly more attractive if there was joined up thinking on how shopfronts could be more sympathetically integrated into the streetscape. If the council actively encouraged and incentiveised good design, be that traditional or contemporary, the city is small enough that such a move would have a profoundly positive impact on the look of the place.

The medieval selling point is often hyped by the tourist board, but medieval cities in Europe would be aghast at some of Kilkenny's cavalier attitude to its own built heritage.

pegasus1

Yamanoto wrote: »

The medieval selling point is often hyped by the tourist board, but medieval cities in Europe would be aghast at some of Kilkenny's cavalier attitude to its own built heritage.

Believe it or not, Kilkenny is the most medieval city/town in Ireland..But a lot of it is hidden behind the facade..
Lots of townhouses, dating back to the 1500's...
There is a motion towards changing the facades (face of the wall) back to what they were...with a lime render..

mick kk

Some buildings look great but its always disappointing to see shops that don't have suitable signage - the spar sign rightbeside the tholsel, the euro shop, the OK house which is now the NCBI charity shop...i do not understand how they are allowed to put up tacky signage, especially on high street. Thats supposed to be the medieval mile and while high street is still a really nice street, the signage does lower the tone.

catbear

mick kk wrote: »

Some buildings look great but its always disappointing to see shops that don't have suitable signage - the spar sign rightbeside the tholsel, the euro shop, the OK house which is now the NCBI charity shop...i do not understand how they are allowed to put up tacky signage, especially on high street. Thats supposed to be the medieval mile and while high street is still a really nice street, the signage does lower the tone.

You do understand that the OK house signage isn't mediaeval.

mick kk

Yes, I am aware of that. The O.K sign is a lot more suitable than the one that is there now.

Spanish Eyes

Kilkenny has so much history it is a wonderful place.

But I do hope it is not overrun with marauders (hens, stags and messers) on a weekend. Just gives the wrong vibe if it is not policed or watched enough.

Was there last year over a weekend. Saw so much awful stuff at about 11 oc. OMG.

Anyway, went back during the week and it was delightful.

So weekends need careful management. There is a tipping point for everyone.

Great city, great spot, so much history.

But I doubt the majority are there for the historical aspects of this great place. Some of us love the place for everything it has to offer.

Needs to be minded big time.

Captain Havoc

Vannes in France. The city centre is full of this type of decor and it looks amazing.

catbear

Seriously Capt Havoc, we start building those here and we'll look like an xmas village at a car boot sale.

Kilkenny's medieval identity is in stone, not wood structures. The Mock Tudor fad of the 70s and 80s was pretty horrible so please let's not repeat that.

There are over 50 tudor era structures in Kilkenny, some like Shee Alms and Rothe house are obvious but most are hidden under later facades but there are clues everywhere as to their whereabouts.

pegasus1

catbear wrote: »

Seriously Capt Havoc, we start building those here and we'll look like an xmas village at a car boot sale.

Kilkenny's medieval identity is in stone, not wood structures. The Mock Tudor fad of the 70s and 80s was pretty horrible so please let's not repeat that.

There are over 50 tudor era structures in Kilkenny, some like Shee Alms and Rothe house are obvious but most are hidden under later facades but there are clues everywhere as to their whereabouts.

Were you at that talk in the tholsel on saturday Catbear?

https://www.facebook.com/events/1437827976242924/

gramar

catbear wrote: »

Seriously Capt Havoc, we start building those here and we'll look like an xmas village at a car boot sale.

Kilkenny's medieval identity is in stone, not wood structures. The Mock Tudor fad of the 70s and 80s was pretty horrible so please let's not repeat that.

There are over 50 tudor era structures in Kilkenny, some like Shee Alms and Rothe house are obvious but most are hidden under later facades but there are clues everywhere as to their whereabouts.

I'd agree. I think the historial buildings need to be accentuated where necessary but not made tacky. Crap shop fronts should be changed and any new ones approved. It sounds like more controlling nanny state rules but any new shop front should be in keeping with the general image in the town.

catbear

pegasus1 wrote: »

Were you at that talk in the tholsel on saturday Catbear?

https://www.facebook.com/events/1437827976242924/

No unfortunately I would have loved to attend but I had read that speakers talk before, very illuminating. I really started taking note of every facade after that.

pegasus1

catbear wrote: »

No unfortunately I would have loved to attend but I had read that speakers talk before, very illuminating. I really started taking note of every facade after that.

The talk is only the start of the project, for the end goal off taking down the more modern facades back to the way it would have looked in the 1500's
There will be a workshop that will be held later in the summer...

pegasus1

Also the finds in St.Marys are amazing...

catbear

pegasus1 wrote: »

Also the finds in St.Marys are amazing...

Yes, I've been following its progress on the Kilkenny Archeaology facebook page.

The whole project will reemphasize how linked to the continent Ireland was before being cut off by britain.

pegasus1

catbear wrote: »

Yes, I've been following its progress on the Kilkenny Archeaology facebook page.

The whole project will reemphasize how linked to the continent Ireland was before being cut off by britain.

Yes but Kilkenny was also very closely tied to Bristol in England..And that the port in New Ross served Kilkenny also Back then the Nore was much deeper..with no weirs..

catbear

Yes, in the pre-tudor era Norman port network did link new Ross with Bristol but also with the French Norman ports from which wine was imported.
That was a golden age of trade.

Auric Goldfinger

It's not just the shop fronts that are tacky. The pig ignorant handrails they stuck into the Butterslip are an utter disgrace. Only for I'd be arrested I'd love to come along and cut the things down with an angle grinder. Why in god's name couldn't they have put in some tasteful wrought iron handrails?

catbear

Auric Goldfinger wrote: »

It's not just the shop fronts that are tacky. The pig ignorant handrails they stuck into the Butterslip are an utter disgrace. Only for I'd be arrested I'd love to come along and cut the things down with an angle grinder. Why in god's name couldn't they have put in some tasteful wrought iron handrails?

Unfortunately that has more to with our compensation culture than design. It would be preferable to do without but the council has to demonstrate it takes mitigating measures.
There's plenty of god ugly mobility access elevators built into heritage buildings but no one argues against them.