A Photograph for the ‘Ah Boys’ Category

The semi obliterated school warning road markings on Castleisland’s busy College Road. Photograph: John Reidy

This is a photograph which surely belongs in the ‘Ah Boys’ category for its apparent lack of consultation and planning.

The raft of recent work on College Road’s water supply line here in Castleisland is a credit to those who carried it out not to mention the relief to those who waited for it to be done.

Rusty Old Pipes

A well-timed campaign to rid the houses in the area of rusty old water supply pipes from the old library up to Kilbanivane got underway in the run up to last May’s local elections.

It’s true that the coming on stream of the Windmill Nursing Home put the skids under the planning and execution of the 2019 summer-long project.

Election Hopeful Charlie

The fact that election hopeful, Charlie Farrelly dug his heels in – and made it one of the planks of his subsequently successful Kerry County Council campaign – did progress there no harm either.

The work eventually got under way at the end of June – to coincide with school holidays.

And there were periods of disruption to local traffic which came with the work and had to be endured by the residents. .

Done to Perfection

On completion, there was the further rehabilitation work such as re-tarmacing and making good the line of the trenches and the vital markings on such a busy, three-school road.

The trenching, piping, back-filling and repairing were all done to perfection – and the road marking crew moved in, did their job and left a delightful gallery of work of white and yellow on black along the road.

On the Kilbanivane side of the boys national school, the usual ‘Caution’ ‘Slow’ and ‘School Ahead’ road signage was laid by the crew and it all looked like ‘The End’ stamp could be applied.

Then the tarmac team moved in again. They had to as there was a little more settling of the back-filling along the line of the trench.

But they brought darkness to the scene and rendered the ‘school warning’ road markings illegible and useless from north of the boys national school.

And now it will have to be done all over again.  Ah Boys!