Carlingford Community Forum News
Work is progressing on the Ghan Folly and hopefully we will see the results revealed in the near future. (See photos) We now look forward to a positive response to a grant application which would deal with the Holy Trinity cemetery wall and the ultimate removal of the unsightly supports that we have lived with for a number of years.
Louth County Council has updated the signage on the piers to discourage camper vans parking in these locations. They are also liaising with the Gardaí regarding enforcement.
Repucon, researching on behalf of Fáilte Ireland has been in touch with the various organisations represented on the Forum to get their feedback on the creation of a Tourism Master Plan for Carlingford.
Have your say in the Louth County Development Plan
The draft plan, together with all accompanying reports are available for viewing from Wednesday the 14th October 2020 to Wednesday the 23rd of December 2020 (both dates inclusive). All visitors will be required to adhere to Covid protocols.
Draft Louth County Development Plan 2021-2027 is now available to download
Hard copies can be viewed at:
⦁ Louth County Council, County Hall, Millennium Centre, Dundalk, Co. Louth A91 KFW6
⦁ Louth County Council Offices, Town Hall, Crowe Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth A91 W20C
⦁ Louth County Council Offices, Fair Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth A92 P440
⦁ Louth County Council Offices, Fairgreen, Ardee, Co. Louth A92 RYT2
Written submissions or observations with respect to the draft plan and accompanying reports are invited from members of the public, other interests including children’s groups and associations’ representative of the rights of children.
Submissions /observations should be made in writing and sent to The Forward Planning Unit, Development Plan Review, Louth County Council Town Hall, Crowe Street, Dundalk, County Louth or by email to louthcdp@louthcoco.ie.
Closing date is 12 noon on 23rd December 2020.
As we begin another lockdown, please stay safe!
Carlingford Community Development (The Foy Centre)
It was an historic day in Carlingford on Saturday 3rd October as our under 14s played their very first North Leinster league game against Navan RFC.
Rob and Dave Kearney sent the players a special good luck message that seemed to inspire the players to a fantastic performance!
The coaches from Navan were impressed with our superb facilities at the Foy Centre on their first time to play Carlingford Knights.
Carlingford kicked off into the wind but we had to absorb a lot of pressure for most of the first half. Exceptional tackling and defence especially from our centres Eddie McGrath and Pearse Mulrey kept Navan out on a number of occasions. Gradually the Knights grew into the game. On the stroke of half time replacement winger Ben O’Hare made a fantastic break off a lineout, and scored our very first try. Tiranan Hanniffy slotted the conversion to give Carlingford Knights a 7-0 half time lead.
In the 2nd half playing against the wind Navan’s experience showed with 4 trys in a 15 minute period. However Carlingford never gave up and scored two late tries from outhalf Padraig Richardson and number 8 Ciaran O’Hanlon.
With lockdown now upon us we are thankful that we can still train in small pods in each age group from mini rugby right through to our under 14s, Our mini section is thriving with over 20 under 7s, our youngest group having joined the club in September. We have full age groups training right up to under 12s. We may not have any games this side of Christmas, but the sense of community and friendship the club has bought us all in these challenging times has been fantastic.
Carlingford Tidy Towns
BEACH CLEAN
Our beach clean went well in September and we cleaned from Carlingford Oyster farm into Carlingford Harbour and were assisted by 30 volunteers some of whom came from Carlingford Oyster company and Keenan Oysters. Bord Iascaigh Mhara also attended this Big Beach Clean Event. We were blessed with good weather.
CARLINGFORD TOURISM PLAN
We took a call from consultants Repucon who are doing a Preliminary discussion survey re the Carlingford Tourism Mini Master plan for Fáilte Ireland. We highlighted to them the issues identified in the Tidy Towns Community survey in June 2020, which people would like to see improved. These included the Children’s Playground, Public Toilets, Bins, preservation of Village Green as leisure area with more seating and picnic tables and the Tennis Courts.
PLAYGROUND RENEWAL
Our application to Town and Village Renewal for renewal of Carlingford Playground was unsuccessful on this occasion. The Playground Committee have also applied under Peace IV Funding. They should hear back in November, decisions have been delayed for this.
WATER REFILL STATIONS
We have seen Water Refill Stations installed in other parts of the country and think one would fit well in Carlingford, it would reduce single use plastic.
APPLICATIONS FOR FUNDING
We made an application for dual purpose recycling bins, seating and wheelchair accessible picnic tables earlier in the year. This has been put forward to the Department. We should hear in November if the project is accepted. If it is we will require some match funds.
NEW TIDY TOWNS TREASURER AND DONATIONS
We have just this month welcomed a new Treasurer, Stephen Callan, who will be looking after our finances. These are very difficult times and we realise most people will not be in a position to make a donation but if you can, you can do so by making a payment to Carlingford Community and Tidy Towns Association. Please contact a committee member- Gerry Mc Garrity, Stephen Callan, Denise Cregan, Seamus Fee, and Joanne Redpath or email Stephen.callan1@icloud.com
ADDING COLOUR TO OUR DAYS
These are strange times and the recent painting in the town of various shop fronts has really brightened everyone’s spirits. We have also noted several residential properties recently painted along Dundalk St and in Oyster Bay Court. They look fab. We are delighted that several of the flower beds and pots are still in bloom. We recently replanted the window boxes at the Garda Station. The Ghan Folly restoration seems to be making good progress which has been nice to watch.
Carlingford Lough Heritage Trust
Heritage Week Awards – Carlingford Heritage CLG wins the award for Louth!
We were delighted to receive the award for Co. Louth as part of the Heritage Week Awards competition which featured submissions online this year as so few live events could take place. We submitted a short video promoting our future exhibition of photographs of Carlingford taken over the last century. The photos will offer a glimpse of Carlingford’s past through its shop fronts and businesses, showing us the trading life of the town and the importance of these businesses at a time when ‘local’ was the main sphere of influence in people’s lives as they did not travel far. And the irony is that such is life again today when local community has become the dominant place in our lives as we currently face restrictions on travel and activities and are limited by the boundaries of town and county. We would like to thank our DKIT student, Aisling Tennyson for her work in filming and editing the video and Trust members, Patricia Morrissey and Seamus Murphy who contributed content to the filming. We must also thank Michael Heaney for allowing us film in the atmospheric venue of PJ O’Hare’s pub.
We will announce the dates for the exhibition when restrictions permit.
Tourism Mini Master Plan
The Trust also engaged with Repucon Consulting on the survey for the Tourism Mini Master Plan by making a submission and participating in follow up interviews. We hope that this will lead to a renewed focus on our town which will equip us to achieve and enjoy sustainable tourism in the years ahead.
Carlingford Castle
The Castle is now closed for the Season. We were delighted to have it opened this year and all our visitors really enjoyed the daily tours. We hope to re-open on 1st March 2021.
Office space/remote co working hub available soon – Interested??
Interested in remote working in an attractive period building in Carlingford with panoramic views of the lough and the mountains?
Tired of long commuting or working from your kitchen table/box room? Looking for dedicated office/desk space with the opportunity to safely interact with others? Remote hub working is now a common way of having an office option near your home and in a space which offers social interaction with others.
We would like to create a communal remote working hub in the Station House on the seafront where we have a very attractive bright space of 40sqm which would be ideal for 5/6 individuals to work from on a regular basis for several days per week.
It would suit:
⦁ Commuters who want an office base to reduce commuting
⦁ People who want an office outside the home
⦁ Freelancers /small businesses looking for office space
We plan to offer
⦁ High speed Broadband
⦁ A dedicated desk space socially distanced
⦁ A business address
⦁ A communal space for coffee/chat
⦁ Printing facility
Plus, The Heritage Centre as a venue for large meetings/training/ workshop and exhibition events
Interested? Or do you know others who may be? For further information and to discuss options, call Linda Stevens Community Heritage Manager. Tel 086 8242514 email info@carlingfordheritagecentre.com.
Tales from local Heritage
If anyone has a claim to be the founding father of Carlingford it must Hugh de Lacy the younger, a colourful character even by the standards of the Norman-French buccaneers who seized most of Ireland in the years following Strongbow’s first expedition in 1169.
In 1171 King Henry II of England arrived in Ireland to put some control on the buccaneers and possibly grab some of the spoils for himself. With him was Hugh de Lacy senior, who was rewarded for helping the king with the lordship of Meath which included all of Westmeath and Longford and a bit of Offaly.
Life was dangerous for these adventurer knights: in 1186 when Hugh senior was building a castle at Durrow, one of his Irish labourers suddenly cut his head off. His eldest son Walter took over the lordship of Meath, while Hugh the younger soon married into the other big Norman family in the region, the de Verdun’s who later built Roche Castle. Between them these two families now held about a third of all the Norman-held land in Ireland.
As a sort of dowry, young Hugh got the Cooley peninsula from his father-in-law and set about building himself a castle around the year 1200. At first he had a good relationship with the new King John and was named Earl of Ulster after he helped put down a rebellion by other Norman barons, but by 1210 John chased him out of Carlingford and into exile in Scotland. But a decade or so later, John was dead and our hero had bounced back and had possession of his castle in Carlingford. By the 1230s he was on good terms with the authorities and helping them put down other rebellious Normans.
Hugh died in 1242 in his late sixties, not bad going considering his time and his lifestyle. We have no portrait or image of him, just of his coat-or-arms. The monk chronicler Gerald of Wales did a nice little sketch portrait of his father, Hugh senior, but he had little good to say of the son:
“He paid much attention to his own private affairs … he was not a success as a general … he was a womaniser and enslaved by lust, not just for one woman, but for many. He was avaricious and greedy for gold, and more ambitious for his own advancement and pre-eminence.”
Submitted by Séamus Murphy, Trustee.
