Sign of the Times
With a high percentage of their inhabitants commuting long distances to work, rural villages like Connolly in County Clare are especially vulnerable to increases in the price of oil. It looks like some hard-pressed motorist just couldn’t take it any more, hence the need for the sign.
Ironically, the price of petrol in Connolly is among the cheapest in Clare. When this photo was taken it was 112 cents per litre which compares very favourably against the average of 118 cents in Ennis on the same day.
Meanwhile Limerick city centre could soon be without any petrol station. City centre filling stations are usually in prime locations. The property boom means that it makes more sense to sell the land to property developers rather than try to make money selling petrol. Public spaces are also under pressure. Damien Kiberd contemplates the consequences.
Mark Waters marked time at 3:00 pm on May 1st, 2006 .
[…] Down here in the streets, things are interesting. I present one piece of evidence that something is getting out of control. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine what that is exactly, or if it’s just one thing. […]