Go east young man: Architect's vision of a new frontier for Offaly town

In the week before the Easter Rising Padraig Pearse dreamed of an independent Ireland sustaining a population of 20 to 30 million people. In 1928 Eamon de Valera took a more cautious view and thought 16 or 17 million more realistic. Today, national policy sees the population of the island of Ireland reaching a modest 8 to 9 million by 2057.

If Tullamore, which presently has a population of about 16,000, grows in line with national trends, there is probably enough zoned land within the bypass to cater for any expectations of growth up to the end of this century. But, let’s imagine a Tullamore of around 40,000 persons or the size of Drogheda or Dundalk. Who knows how things will work out and it is worth having a look at the consequences of such a blue skies scenario.

There are obvious limitations to expansion beyond the bypass. Growth to the west is out because of the sensitive landscape of Charleville Woods. To the north, the Esker is a barrier as is Ballard Bog to the south. On the east, much of the land lies in the floodplain of the Tullamore River.

But to the east, opportunities as well as constraints present themselves.

A Strip Mall

Following the relocation of Dunnes Stores from its Patrick St site in 1994, the two kilometres long stretch of Church Road eastwards from the bridge began to develop into a continuous retail strip. With the arrival of the bypass in 2003 and the provision of free parking (in contrast to the charges payable in the town centre) a regional car-borne customer base found it more convenient to carry out all their shopping needs in the retail park at Cloncollig and avoid the historic core of Tullamore altogether. The damage caused to the town centre is only now beginning to be reversed.

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Apart from Maunsell’s excellent and lively pub and restaurant, the new district which has emerged is a purely retail destination with no social facilities or night time uses.

Yet, in the longer term and with a considered approach, this situation may be capable of not just remediation but become a desirable step in the evolution of Tullamore.

A Clean Green Tullamore

In 2021 Tullamore was designated as Offaly’s only Decarbonising Zone.

By 2037 it is the County Council’s aim to have reduced emissions in the town by 51% and to achieve net zero by 2050. Getting people out of cars and onto public transport will be the principal way of doing this and the most obvious target must be the exclusively car borne movements along Church Road. While the weekly big shop will always be by car, other trips could be diverted onto public transport, cycling and walking.

But the narrow carriageway of Church Road can only accommodate two lanes of cars. There is presently no room at all for a dedicated bus lane, let alone a cycling lane. In some places there isn’t even a pedestrian path on both sides.

A draft public transport network for Tullamore accompanied the recent Urban Regeneration Framework Study and outlined a visionary new approach. Two intersecting high quality bus routes, with Park and Ride sites on the edge of the town just off the bypass, would serve the Centre, the Regional Hospital and the Railway Station and the outer suburbs, including Cloncollig.

The National Transport Authority is presently in the process of studying this plan and it is not unreasonable to assume that within the next twenty years a high quality bus service will be available along Church Road and that its widening and upgrading to permit a variety of traffic modes will be a key element in any future plan for Tullamore.

A New Charleville

I have used this exciting transport plan to suggest a new approach to the future of Tullamore. Extending the bus route eastwards by a further stop could encourage the creation of a carbon neutral housing development based around two magnificent new natural amenities.

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The central feature of this new neighbourhood would be the damming of the Tullamore River to allow it to form a permanent lake in its extensive flood plain. Between it and the Daingean road a vast bio-diverse Cappancur Woods replicating the quality of Charleville Woods on the western side of the town, would be planted. This would have open space in the middle for parks and playing fields. The lands to the north of the Geashill road could be used for five to six storey apartments overlooking the lake while those to the south up to the railway line could be developed for medium density own door housing.

The residents of these new homes could walk to the retail centre at Cloncollig thus increasing the possibility of it becoming a more mixed use area with night time uses. In the fullness of time an architectural reconfiguration could create a more attractive environment.

Cycling routes would connect to O’Connor Square along the south bank of the river. A loop off the Canal Greenway could pass around the historic town centre, Charleville Castle and the lakes and woodlands.

The lands between the Daingean road and the Canal could be reserved for wind turbines, solar farms and anaerobic digesters supplying clean energy.

Tullamore might even become the greenest town in Ireland and who knows, Pearse and Dev could yet be proved right.