Re: Re: Revamp of King John’s Castle

Hello All,

Great to see that there is some debate active on the revamp of King John’s castle.

I was born within the courtyard of that castle. I believe that my late grandmother and grandfather were the first to make a home in the Castle Barracks.

The privileged experience of being part of that close knit village within a city made me what I am. It nearly lasted until I finished secondary school; not quite, alas no easy milestone, no counterbalanced finality.

A neighbour and friend, Noel Troy catalogued the destruction of my community with each house that was torn down. He photographed in vivid black and white the slow cleansing of our physical and social history. One photograph of our homes as they were up until the late 80’s is all that is displayed in the castle’s glass and steel addition.

In 1991 I went to see what our cleansing had made way for. Not much.

King John’s Castle is a testament to people and stone as a building material. Just looking at the castle and its relationship with the mighty Shannon tells a story.

The glass, steel, multimedia all have such a short lifespan; all rapidly wear and become outdated, are expensive to maintain and to my belief serve to reduce the impact of a might castle nearly eight hundred years young.

So what do I propose?

People, castle, stone, river. Keep it authentic, pure and respect the value of ‘local’.

Best Regards,

Simon Spratt