Concern at lack of Local Area Plan for Tullamore town

"Tullamore is distinguished by being the only county town in Ireland which has decided not to have an ambitious Local Area Plan to guide its future and uniquely does not consider even one of its beautiful streets and spaces to be of such quality as to deserve special consideration."

That's according to the distinguished town planner and author, Fergal MacCabe, a native of the Offaly county town.

Mr MacCabe has a letter to the Editor published in this week's edition of the Tullamore outlining this concern as well as other musings.

The letter reads as follows:

A Chara

Living in deepest Dun Laoghaire I am both envious and impressed by the first edition of the Tribune in 2026. It abounds with excellent stories and articles. I only wish we had a similar weekly publication here which would cover local events, personalities, politics, planning and sports in such an informative and entertaining way, but we don't.

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Four articles in particular stood out for me.

Camilla McLoughlin’s outline of the life and achievements of Tommy McKeigue is a wonderful overview of a personality who has contributed so much to Tullamore and captured Tommy's character and perseverance to a tee.

The grant of permission by An Coimisiún Pleanála for further housing in the Clara/Arden Road block highlights how this suburb has evolved in the past thirty years and today contains almost two thousand houses. It is well planned and has a remarkable social, ethnic and religious (and non-religious) mix. It has excellent housing and delightful landscaping as well as first class social and educational facilities . There have been problems of course, but the evolution and integration of the neighbourhood has been a lot more successful than many others around the country and the recent approvals for a further three hundred homes will go towards alleviating our housing crisis.

Your review of the year highlighted the unauthorised illuminated moving advertising in O'Connor Square and queried its continued existence, but on my last visit in November it was still merrily blazing away.

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I also noted the unconscious irony of the resolution by the Offaly County Councillors to support a Border Poll. One Councillor stressed that it would be wise to 'engage with Northern Protestant and Unionist opinion about the future of Ireland'. I doubt if the Councillors well intended motion will impress that particular constituency as, despite funding an excellent programme of lectures and publications, so far as I am aware, the sole physical contribution of the Council to the Decade of Centenaries (which was intended to address our contentious national history) was the removal of part of the Memorial to the Dead of the Great War in order to provide two parking spaces.

These last two items highlight the sad fact that Tullamore is distinguished by being the only county town in Ireland which has decided not to have an ambitious Local Area Plan to guide its future and uniquely does not consider even one of its beautiful streets and spaces to be of such quality as to deserve special consideration. No new projects to improve the town centre have been proposed since 2010 - indeed the schedule for making any new Plan at all has been abandoned. The longed for development of the Harbour and the link to it from O'Connor Square are as far away as ever. The finest building in the town, which was probably designed by the architect of Leinster House, is decaying while in its premier public space, garish signage is tolerated and a Protected Structure casually mutilated .

Hopefully 2026 will open a new era for the protection and enhancement of the architectural heritage of Tullamore.

Mise le meas,

Fergal MacCabe,

Sandycove,

Co. Dublin.