As this is being written, history could be being written - and things happening that are unknown at this remove. Everyone should go visit Greensbridge Common. It is inspiring. And very sociable. The young braves who are manning the site pulled off a notable first today. They swam and boated. And in swimming close to the pile-driver, they caused Big Hilda to retire. Big Hilda - in honour of a certain misguided councillor! The protestors accommodate and assist the Travellers who go swimming their ponies via the Common. The site is immaculately clean. And supporters bring ice creams from Lidl. And everyone is getting a great suntan! At 2.30 am 3 young men were there preparing for some shut eye in the company of an inquisitive ambulance team. The vehicle that would have been pleadingly allowed through the Garda lockdown last Friday morning if the thanks for that pulling out of the way of the Cat tracks had not occurred. The paramedics who stand to be key beneficiaries of completion of the Ring Road. Who will SAVE LIVES. Through Primary PCI etc. Exhaustion was admitted to at 2.30 am by the warriors. And resolve. As tea was being offered by the private security guys. The ones tasked with preventing nighttime sabotage. Nice chaps. Who neednt be fussed about how Hilda could so easily become powerless and a heap of scrap. (Is that a reference to the councillor or pile-driver?) This time last week, the convoy was bearing down on the Common. Timing the arrival of the rain storm. Psyching themselves up for the battle. The one that they were briefed about. Envisaging the faces of citizens theyd have to baton charge. Shoot even. Excuses for the Dailys already worked out. Sympathy and condolence cards already stamped - just awaiting an address. (Though not expected in any way to be re their brilliant top man). Everyone is trying to pre-think what the Pro-CAS strategy might be. Will an inflatable be used to stop the swimming? An exclusion zone formed for 500 yards in every direction? Garda checkpoints on all roads? Around the clock until the bridge and access roads are complete? At another €13,500 per day? The amount that it is supposedly costing the project budget in downtime at present. Costs that daily deplete the budget. A budget that is likely to have little leeway and risks being bled by overtime and penalties during the period of the few months ahead. A house of cards. Where the Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce in its wisdom is writing to 700 businesses today requesting support for the CAS. To High St and MacDonagh Junction traders whose commercial cake risks being divided up further as Tesco and the like become predatory tenants of the town. Sorry, city - until some Fianna Failure chose to deny 1609 history during the Celtic Tiger era. Crockett never alerted Cradock to the possibility of dogged protest. Or the Gardaí. Or those whom he bamboozled on showing them the potential for the Guinness site on his personal walkabouts. His vision for retention of the brew house - at a cost of €8 million. (When demolition and clearance would cost buttons relatively. And a beautifully designed building could frame the space in time. Think the Bath crescent or such). It has begun to take on the features of the Somme. Trench warfare. No machine gun fire or missiles being launched. But, a psychological battle where the world gets to watch with increasing curiosity. And the Pro-CAS supporters are having to grudgingly admit that completion of the Ring Road is the best strategy in our time. Now that planning permission is available and the five year window re its execution ticks away daily. In the absence of a large pot of German deutsche mark euros. Theres dem Germans again! The best guys. The 1929 era pals of Ireland (Shannon power scheme) who might help us again? To save our heritage? To save Kilkenny. By buying the Mart Site for the people.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 08:19:56 +0000