I spent a couple of weeks in Ireland this summer, and was surprised and
saddened by the number of cookie-cutter American-looking suburban houses
going up all over the place-- most right next to the old thatched cottages
that were obviously no longer the primary residence, if occupied at all.

On the other hand, touristy enjoyment of the quaint won't get you very far
through a west coast Irish winter, when a house with cheap central
heating can be had.  It did seem as though the locals I talked were
interested in shedding their image as a pretty backwater, and it seemed a
lot to ask them to continue for our benfit.

All the same, I told my dad (half-Irish, but has never been there) to get
there in the next couple of years, before it's gone.

Plenty to say about the architecture of that trip, but that's the memory
that I have.

Kevin "The kids in Dublin were drinking Budweiser, for pete's sake" Daly


On Thu, 10 Dec 1998, Mary Krugman wrote:

<ker-snip>

> I wonder if
> you could share some thoughts on what's happening to Ireland's buildings as a
> result of the new prosperity there.  How do the Irish feel about historic
> preservation? Are their buildings too much a reminder of a painful past that
> they would like to plow under, or do the Irish feel they are they worthy of
> preserving?
>
> I am "half Irish," but somehow that half seems to dominate my identity. My
> sons are 1/4 Irish, and it seems to dominate their identity, too. When I last
> visited there (many years ago), I was overwhelmed by the presence of ghosts
> and ruins that seem so much a part of Irish heritage. I fear that the new
> economic vitality may result in the loss of this somewhat mystical past, if
> Ireland is not mindful.
>
> Not that I would wish Ireland remain poor -- far from it -- but I would hate
> to see it's history lost to parking lots and O'Wal*Marts.
>
> Mary (fiercely Delaney) Krugman
>