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Monday, March 16, 2009

Open Spaces: Ireland




Not to burst your St. Patrick's Day bubble, but this is alarming.






Photograph: The Irish Image Collection/Corbis

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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's sad. he need to chnage, as we do. But Happy St. Patrick's Day anyway!

Mark said...

Not sure what is alarming, I must not be seeing something here. Hmm. Picture looks beautiful. Is there something else embedded that I am missing?

Lydia said...

@citizen of the world- Happy St. Patrick's Day to you too!

@Mark- I fixed the link. Let me know if you aren't directed to an article about a Lonely Planet book concerning Ireland......
and Happy St. Pat's to you!

Wayfaring Wanderer said...

That was an alarming article! I had no idea. This is the second interesting tidbit I have learned today.

I have dreamed of going to Ireland one day, but now it might have fallen to the bottom of my list!

Lily said...

It still looks beautiful, though and we can all help to make a difference. it's bnot too late!

Lydia said...

@Sarah Sofia- Yes, exactly true! I in no way intended for anyone to think I don't believe Ireland to be a beautiful country. I think I perhaps shouldn't have given this particular link on St. Pat's Day, as it was a downer on the special day.

Batteson.Ind said...

Thing is, the whole world has some romantic notion of the isle, the reality is it is just as corrupt as anywhere else!.. Fair enough, plastic bags were banned, which went a long way to tidy up the ditches, but the reality is, unless you live in a town (which a huge percent of the population doesn't) there is no refuse collection. It costs about €30 euros for a boot load of bags to be processed by the dumps, so... a hell of a lot of people (the old irish feck them attitude) will rather burn, bury or fly tip. Until the irish government makes the disposal of waste a more appealing, and affordable option, Ireland will struggle with it's forty shades! As for everyone having a car!.. there are no buses! In my town, you can get to Cork on a Friday, but not get back until saturday evening. Then there's getting to catch the bus in the first place, about seven miles to town. Not having a car, is just, not an option! Sorry so long!..lol!

Lydia said...

@the watercats- What interesting first-hand information! You know, it reminds me of a post I read at the blog of a woman in Scotland who also had complaints about the waste disposal situation there. Along that line, I must find out what "fly tip" means! Your bus situation is disheartening, and I also find it so amazing that a huge part of your population still lives outside towns. That countryside is definitely much of the appeal for the rest of the world who really do have a romanticized view of Ireland. But when you look at a picture like this one it's really difficult not to!

Batteson.Ind said...

lol..! pictures are brilliant propaganda aren't they! Don't get me wrong, the isle is stunning and the majority, (I hope) are completely dedicated to the love of this land. Fly tipping is a phenomina whereby an 'i don't want to pay the dumpage fees' drives a few miles out to the country, finds a quiet and usually beautiful location and tips their rubbish out, then drives home. The rubbish is normally large household objects such as refridgerators, matresses etc, as these have an even higher dumping charge. Some parts of the country have a really bad problem with fly tippers, sadly. Glad I could give a bit more insight into the article, which I felt was a bit harsh in it's approach. I hope people don't stop visiting eire, she is still the most beautiful land.. cheers! (sorry for the length again..lol)

Lydia said...

@the watercats- Lengthy comments about people/places/things that are inspired by or that inspire passion are never a problem! Lack of passion is.......and you certainly have no lack of it for your home. Fly tipping in the country aside, it seems the most special of lands to me and I love learning more about it. :)