Closing the Gate to traffic, but opening it to the future
Dear Sir,
IRELAND’S North-East is home to the unique town of Drogheda, complete with its clear sense of homely character and a rich history.
As one of the biggest Anglo-Norman towns in Ireland, it contains many historic buildings and heritage sites. One of the most well known aspects of this historic town is its surrounding wall, with generous amounts of it still in tact and to be seen today, including Saint Laurences Gate as the most substantial part of the wall still visible.
Dating from the 1200s, this towering Barbican has stood through many attacks and battles, and has had thousands upon thousands of people and other traffic pass under it.During the 1960s, it was decided that the gate would be closed to public visitors, and since then there has been traffic rushing and rumbling under and around the gate, up and down the infamous Constitution Hill to the docks, until the 18th of August this year, when it was decided to close the gate completely.
The decision was met with mixed reactions from the town’s inhabitants, along with a boggling reversed traffic route, but ultimately it can clearly be said that the importance of protecting and preserving one of the most well known Barbicans in the country is indeed the right decision to be making. However, perhaps it should be proposed that the gate be reopened to public visitors and tourists, to allow for proper celebration and appreciation of the gate to thrive in the town.
The tourism organisation in Drogheda is known to be less than satisfactory, perhaps this is the potential spark to reignite this town’s pride and ownership of the impressive sites in further generations.