Lighting continues to be the bane of Carlow councillors’ lives

LIGHTING, and the lack thereof, continues to be the bane of all councillors’ existence. At the January meeting of Carlow Co Council, cllr Daniel Pender said a constituent had described the lighting at the Fair Green in Bagenalstown as “akin to the black hole of Calcutta, it was so dark there”.

“It’s the centre of the third biggest town in the county. It is bleak at night. You cannot see from one end of the street to the other. All of the lights have been reported for the guts of a month and yet nothing has been done about it,” said cllr Pender.

However, just five days after the county council meeting, cllr Pender confirmed that the lighting issue at the Fair Green had been resolved.

Cllr Fintan Phelan also noted that while lampposts had been erected in Burrin Manor on the Tullow Road, they have not yet been turned on. There were 1,318 repairs made to public lights in 2025 and 48 are awaiting repairs by the ESB.

“Councillors, I feel your frustration,” said Coilín O’Reilly. “It just seems to be impossible to get the ESB to do it. I apologise, but I am confident in saying there’s nothing more Carlow Co Council can do. Yet again, we will make contact. We will write. We will follow up.”