Sir, - As a blow-in who recently bought a bungalow on the bog above Barna it would seem that I merit a place somewhere in Frank McDonald's demonology. Philistine that I am, I must object to his bleeding-heart interpretation of development trends in the west of Ireland as presented in his "Bungalow Blitz" series last week.
The series contained some valid points, particularly about a planning policy void and how it is being filled by political clientelism. It is a pity, however, that it took such a negative view of housing trends in the west of Ireland. Perhaps this was because Frank McDonald himself was openly biased in favour of a development model very different to that which has been unfolding along our western seaboard.
I'm not sure exactly what is Frank McDonald's idyllic vision for the west of Ireland, but it seems to consist of some combination of compact Disneyesque villages and a de Valeraesque countryside with thatched cottages inhabited exclusively by farmers. I fail to see how such a fantasy world is either possible or desirable. By the way, if thatched roofs are so great, why are they so little used for urban dwellings?
Frank McDonald states that "a clear distinction ought to exist between town and country". But why? What is so wrong with the slow fade between the two if it means that people can enjoy the best of both worlds? It is a sensitive soul indeed who is offended by the bad taste of a manicured lawn in a rural setting. Is this any worse than an unkempt lawn in an urban setting? Is it really offensive at all?
The first two articles in the series quoted complaints about rising land values. This is a problem associated with success. Would people seriously prefer land values to be falling? The second article laments how a worker earning Pounds 3 an hour during the summer season would never be able to afford a site. But such an income wouldn't buy a place to live anywhere in Ireland. Rural depopulation can be sad, but it is not new, it is not unique to the west of Ireland, and summer visitors have arguably decelerated the trend as much as they have spurred it.
The reality is that the west of Ireland has probably never looked so well or been so prosperous. This fact is grudgingly acknowledged in the "Bungalow Blitz" series, but why isn't it celebrated?
To my mind, the real blots on the housing landscape in Ireland are not the super-rural bungalows but the suburban estates of mass-produced semi- Ds. With their cramped dimensions and dreary uniformity they present themselves as little more than ugly human warehousing. Had I bought one of them instead of my bungalow I would truly have sold my soul. - Yours, etc.,
Barna, Co Galway.