Talking Point: A response

The following was posted as a comment to the Bridging the Community Talking Point webcast earlier this week.

The Diary figures it should be posted on its own, as it may very well be missed in its comment position.

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We are all uncomfortable when change comes into our lives, whether invited or not. Every time I visit Kilcullen, which is only about 4 times a year now. I am not only astonished at the changes but also the rate of change and the general abandon in which the changes have occurred.

I bemoan the vanishing of the old communities, the loss of tradition, the loss of the sense of place ... it is disturbing at the very least. Many people feel threatened and frightened by the fast moving, hugely expanding former village that was Kilcullen.

The positive side to this economic progress has been the improvement in the lives of many ... it is not so long ago, when all the young talented ones left Kilcullen to seek work elsewhere ... not so long age that if you were the subject of gossip that it was all over the town before night ... not so long ago, that the nuns gave out soup in the primary school to many hungry mouths. Not so long ago that money came from America on a regular basis.

Whilst this other life has certainly vanished it is at what cost? Will our children have the same equality of life style that we currently enjoy? Have we robbed them of a future, by simultaneously jumping on the somewhat short-sighted, progress band wagon?

There is a new different type wealth in Kilcullen, and it is not one of monetary value but of vibrant intellectual capital belonging to people new to the community. It will need not only wisdom but also creative and innovative thinking, from the original inhabitants to tap into this endless river of talent. This natural energy just needs to be harnessed much as the original river was harnessed below the bridge in the Kilcullen Mill.

Marella Fyffe.