Carlow will not be the same without the smoke stacks and the smell from its sugar factory, the chief executive of the local Chamber of Commerce, Ms Jacqui McNabb, observed yesterday.
For nearly 80 years, the State's oldest sugar beet-processing plant has been an integral feature of Carlow's economic life.
It began operating in 1926 with 250 workers who, within four months of start-up, had made 13,400 tonnes of sugar from beet supplied by 4,000 farmers.
The facility was acquired by the State in 1933 and Irish Sugar was launched, establishing three more factories - at Mallow, Thurles and Tuam - over the following 12 months.
For decades to follow, the company was considered a jewel in the crown of State enterprises, a thriving example of commercial activity supporting social need.
When Ireland joined the EEC in 1973, however, the State became subject to sugar-production quotas, while the Irish market was opened up to competition from abroad.
Pressure on the plants began to grow and a decision was taken in 1981 to close the Tuam plant.
The Fine Gael-Labour coalition of the day, however, was forced to reverse that decision after an intensive campaign to keep the factory open.
Fianna Fáil, under the leadership of Mr Charles Haughey, tabled a Dáil motion condemning the closure and highlighting the "deeply serious social and economic repercussions".
The factory eventually closed in 1987. When the Thurles plant was shut under a Fianna Fáil administration two years later, it was the turn of Fine Gael and Labour deputies to strenuously object.
The same scenes were being played out again yesterday as Irish Sugar, now in private ownership, wielded the axe for a third time.
