And one place to avoid…
Was in Galway last weekend for the first time in over a year, and couldn’t get over how shabby - bordering on crappy - Eyre Square looks.
It’s only a couple of years since its revamp, which itself caused major disruption to the city. And what’s the result? Balding grass. Wilting, brown shrubbery. An ugly zig-zag of paths. And a terrible, rusty-looking sculpture in a fountain at the top end, which is supposed to be based on the Galway hooker, but from ground level it looks pointless and aged and redolent of the problems of public sculptures which are inoffensive to the point of being bland.
Maybe it’ll look better as the summer brings out its colour, but right now it’s drab and uninviting and soulless.
It doesn’t get better in the summer. Just more full of drunks and Supermacs packaging.
“An ugly zig-zag of paths.” - this is the worst part. How stupid are the people who were in charge of this? How long did it take them to create a manky slabbed park?
Waste.
Comment by UnaRocks | April 23, 2008 at 11:18 amUna, a sculpture made of Supermac wrappers, discarded packets of skins, and some busker bones - THAT would represent Galway.
By the way, I love the city. But it really has become Irish capital of “people holding signs pointing you in the direction of a clothes shop”.
Comment by Shane | April 23, 2008 at 11:49 amShane, Una: the history of the Eyre Square redevelpoment is Mahonesque and went on for years, it cost local businesses millions and it’s still rattling on. There was a huge effort to save the park as it was, this was ignored by city officials and disaster ensued. I just checked the wikipedia page but it’s shabby on detail, but the entire episode is one of the most ham-fisted public projects ever.
Comment by Green Ink | April 23, 2008 at 11:51 amEyre Square looks horrible: flat, grubby, and drained of colour. This, the development that won the Irish Landscape Institute Design Award in 2007. According to the Galway City Council website at the time:
Comment by Ally | April 23, 2008 at 12:46 pm“The enhanced design of Eyre Square is based on best modern European practice providing a balanced solution to City Centre recreational requirements and a wide diversity of activities for a range of interests, both to its citizens and visitors alike. The enhanced Eyre Square and Kennedy Park acts as the primary civic space in Galway and creates a setting for sculpture pieces and a place for performance and civic events.
Um, quite. The “wide diversity of activities” the new Eyre Square provides for its citizens? Sorry, it’s still nothing more than a platform for the general code of swilling, spewing and urinating that is still widely practised in these parts. Meanwhile, genuinely interesting developments outside of the city - like GMIT - are ignored.
And try sitting out on the balding grass without getting kicked in the face by a football!
Comment by Ave | April 23, 2008 at 12:58 pmDrop down to Limerick and visit the People’s Park which is a very nice city centre park. Small but perfectly formed. That said while there may be the odd dodge character wandering about there are enough people around that they don’t generally do anything out of turn.
Comment by Dan Sullivan | April 23, 2008 at 1:53 pmJust posted my thoughts and a few pictures of the old old Eyre Square for those who’d like to see how things were before the 60’s redevelopement at:
Comment by Major Alfonso | April 23, 2008 at 4:32 pmhttp://delexical.tumblr.com/post/32641536
Ah Eyre Square has always been kinda crappy. A great place to meet cute tourists when you’re a teenager though.
Comment by Conor | April 23, 2008 at 5:48 pmShane, glad to see someone else has noticed all the people holding advertising signs. Halfway down Shop Street, they’re all over the place. I can’t think of a more mundane and depressing job, than being a walking billboard.
Comment by good_son | April 23, 2008 at 9:30 pmBest part of the whole sorry mess was the Supermacs sign
Comment by Ro Ro | April 24, 2008 at 10:51 amhttp://photos22.flickr.com/27532633_3c66b1360e_o.jpg
Don’t be too hard on the Square - it will be a bit worn until the weather gets better, when it fills up with tourists.
Mass outdoor drinking seems to be a problem everywhere in Galway - it’s worse down at the Spanish Arch.
as for the sculpture - it doesn’t look great on an overcast day but it looks good under lights at night (or even sunlight - http://www.monasette.com/archive/000901.html)
Comment by John | April 24, 2008 at 1:15 pm