This is not a particularly good photo but it won out from the admittedly small
selection of alternatives for two reasons:
1 It shows that winter is not ready to give way to spring just yet and we've had
more snow after a night of strong north winds.
2 This is where it's planned to build a 300million Euro dry ski-slope and
leisure centre. They developers say it will be the largest of its kind in Europe,
will create 1500 jobs and be a significant boost to tourism in the region.
An artist's impression of the site at night looks like the space ship from
'Close Encounters'.
I have, of course, written stories about many developments which were in
the pipeline but which never came to pass, from schools to designer outlets,
from private hospitals to arenas.
Personally, I quite like that bit of marsh land as it is. It's close to the river and
Dundalk Bay, both of which are important habitats for birds, and I've always
regarded it as a buffer zone between the north side of town and the countryside.