Ireland's empty towns: Dereliction is hiding in plain sight

Whether it’s the ruins of a military barracks in Nenagh, a collapsed building in Mitchelstown, a ghost estate in Abbeyfeale or the not so ‘Grand Hotel’ in Tramore, vacant and derelict buildings represent a legacy of neglect for our physical environment, writes Chartered Surveyor Gerard O'Toole

Nenagh’s historical military barracks. Covid did leave us with some positives, among them a keener sense of our physical environment and a newfound sense of community. Picture: Caitlín Griffin

Over the last five or so weeks this series has not made for comfortable reading. 

By focusing on a representative number of towns across Munster the series has highlighted the endemic nature of dereliction right across the country and the generally slow and fragmented response to it by both local authorities and central government.