Colm O'Regan: Why Old Town areas in Europe make me mad at Ireland

Street in the old town of Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain

As Phil Lynott might say, “I’ve been spending my money in the old Old Town”, and dammit Continental city, you’ve done it to me again. You’ve made me cross at Ireland.

It’s been seven years since I was last in a continental city’s Old Town. You know the vibe. Pretty much any southern European city has an Old Town. Narrow streets, cobbley-pavey surfaces that are there a good while and not trying to evoke anything, architecturally speaking.