Monday 28 January 2013

The hole at Oranhill Estate, Oranmore, Galway

You have to feel sorry for the people who took on massive mortgages to buy homes - as opposed to "investments" -  during Ireland's world-beating, government-sponsored property bubble.  

Priory Hall, where people are paying mortgages for death-trap properties they cannot even stay in, constructed by ex-IRA property developer Tom McFeely.  I wonder what Connolly would have made of it?

Barnwell, Hansfield, Ongar, where many occupants bought properties on Manor Park and Menolly Homes' promise of a train to Dublin city every 15 minutes.   The road to access Hansfield railway station has never been built, and the few trains that do run on the M3 Parkway-Dublin line go through it without stopping.

Glenn Riada, Longford, where people are in danger of carbon monoxide poisoning and cannot light fires in their fireplaces for fear of explosion.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of other such examples - varying in degrees of severity - in our mad little country, run by gombeens and gobshites for gombeens and gobshites.

Here's another one from Oranhill Estate, Oranmore, Galway.  Posted on You Tube by three young residents.

Big thanks to Conor for bringing this to our attention.






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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

How very educational. The council jobsworths tut and moan in fake sympathy, saying "isn't that dreadful; oh, how disgraceful..." The kids are learning that this is how we say "fuck you" in Irish.

"It's private property" ha! Another Irish version of "fuck you". Private property can be condemned as a threat to public safety, and this hole certainly qualifies. But that would require effort, a sense of responsibility, concern for others, and courage. So, right -- basically impossible in this society.

thomas

The Gombeen Man said...

It certainly seems that way, thomas. Maybe if a kid does end up getting killed on the site, or walking down the dodgy road to the nearest shop, the hand-wringing will start in earnest...

But even then, one imagines, nobody would be held to account.

Anonymous said...

Too true. People here can do anything to each other, GM, without fear. Only when the State is the victim are there any real consequences. A drowned child? Tut, tut, tut. Refuse to pay your TV license? 90 days. You have to love the neurotic authoritarianism with which the State handles the most trivial slights.

There was a toddler drowned on a derelict estate only last year. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105804/Liam-Keogh-2-dead-Irish-ghost-estate-drowning-pool-water.html

I've yet to hear of any heads rolling.

thomas

Unknown said...

This nothing short of a disgrace. If it impacted the rich or our politicians it would be fixed immediately. Now they want you to pay property tax on your house while ignoring problems like these. Keep up the fight.

Tim Duffy
Dublin

Pony-go-brath said...

Honya Tim Duffy, Honya Thomas and the Blessings of the Great Force on you GM. I still can't see the day that I rock up to my travel agent to buy a one way ticket to an Saorstat but comment by comment you guys bring it closer. Now all we need is a hundred yellow ribbons round the old oak tree....

anna said...

well done kids! there IS hope for our nation then!

John said...

To get the council to move on this would mean an expensive trip to the High Court. This method ensures that justice will not be done, who can afford the risk and costs of such an action. The “mob “ of self seeking idiots that founded this State where clever to hold on to this system that means only the wealthy have legal redress.

Unlike our European counterparts we do not have an Administrative Court system. Such a system would mean that the citizen at modest cost could hold the State accountable for it actions against the interests of the citizen/State. However, we have willingly inherited the authoritarian strain of elected government

The Gombeen Man said...

Definitely a case of two laws here in Ireland. One for us and one for them.

And the fact that the worst has happened before, in circumstances like those above, is very depressing indeed.

Trevor Kenny said...

What is more disturbing is parents making videos then attributing them to their children, Oranmore people are a bunch of arrogant stuck up arseholes who would not do anything for anyone else, I say fill the hole with them.