Bright spots and big plans: how Carlow’s town centre evolving

FROM a burgeoning café culture to digital grants that boost local retailers, new life is emerging in Carlow’s core. Much of this optimism ties back to Project Carlow 2040 and the €20.8 million URDF funding – an ambitious plan that, many believe, could transform the town for the better.

Kieran Comerford, head of economic development and enterprise at Carlow LEO, sees a unique opportunity to combine public funding with community-driven entrepreneurship.

“The Local Enterprise Office, as part of the county council, is funded by Enterprise Ireland and we have a suite of national products that are based around business efficiencies and opportunities. A lot of retailers would engage with us around digital support,” he explains.

“It could be anything from what software they should buy to what approach they should take to digital marketing. Then through the grant, we can support their buying decision.” 

Many Carlow businesses have tapped into the LEO’s Digital for Business voucher scheme. According to Mr Comerford, even a small upgrade – like implementing an online booking system or a stock-management solution – can help an owner to cut costs and attract new customers.

“It could be new software, new digital systems for measurement, efficiencies around data,” says Mr Comerford. “We helped Murphy’s Butchers in Tullow, for example, look at different methods of refrigeration technology and display. The business has since seen significant savings.” 

Coffee, food, and more 

The rising café scene helps to illustrate Carlow’s potential. Waterlilies Café on Tullow Street, co-owned by Cian Waters and David Seitz, is thriving. Once purely a daytime spot, it now experiments with evening hours, including a budding wine bar concept. Friday night is Wine & Vinyl, where customers are encouraged to dust off their record collection and bring some in for a spin.

“I see so much life and vibrancy in Carlow and so much potential,” says Cian. “It’s so nice to have an alternative for people who might not want to go to a pub. We’re finding that people appreciate having a relaxing space in the evenings.” 

Meanwhile, Richard Morrell of Moka Coffee is diving even deeper into the evening crowd:

“I’m opening a very casual little wine bar soon,” he says. “Essentially you come in, there’ll be a choice of wines and you pay a set price, you’ll get presented with a charcuterie board or a vegetarian option. It’s an alternative to pub culture – somewhere people can chat, enjoy a glass of wine and not feel rushed.” 

Such community-focused enterprise aligns well with the council’s plans for ‘placemaking’: designing streets and squares in ways that encourage socialising. The URDF proposals involve reimagining the Potato Market and connecting it more seamlessly with Carlow Shopping Centre, hoping to spur foot traffic toward local cafés and shops.

Coilín O’Reilly, chief executive of Carlow County Council, is leading this charge to transform the town centre.

“One of the things that did come out of a survey is that over 90% of people feel that Carlow town centre needs to change. It can’t stay the same,” says Mr O’Reilly, acknowledging “under-investment in the town centre over a number of years”, while adding that, “in fairness to the businesses, they also recognise that change is needed”.

“It’s very hard to improve things without making a change; the likelihood of something improving if you do nothing is very slim. So I think what we are trying to do is get the balance between providing a vibrant public town centre where people will linger, spend time, take time to enjoy themselves, but while also maintaining a level of on-street parking at the same time,” Mr O’Reilly explains.

One significant development in the URDF programme will be a direct walkway from the train station to Carlow College through the grounds of St Leo’s.

“The first phase of our URDF programme that will be on site this year is the link from the train station to Carlow College. That has planning, that has budget, that’s gone out to tender and the tender has been evaluated,” says Mr O’Reilly.

This means that train passengers will soon be able to reach Carlow College and the Visual arts centre within a hundred yards, rather than taking lengthy detours.

Another proposed change will be the thoroughly modern covered space at Potato Market, with sweeping angles of wood and glass that put one in mind of the frame of an eco-friendly UFO, as visually curious as it is appealing. Mr O’Reilly says he was pleasantly surprised at how much people like the design, adding that, like the fountain sculpture, it will be a unique focal point as well as a meeting place, explaining that the Liberty Tree commemorative sculpture is something that evokes pride among Carlovians.

Embracing the digital age 

Traders will undoubtedly appreciate more direct links from public transport into the town centre, but they’re also savvy to converting social media and online marketing into getting shoppers in the door. Luke Fitzpatrick, manager at JF Sports, highlights the importance of merging a strong digital presence with in-person service.

“Obviously in this day and age, social media is a big thing,” says Mr Fitzpatrick. “We’re working on making our Instagram page visually appealing, easy to use, with direct links to products.” 

Still, the bricks-and-mortar experience remains vital, so it’s about striking a balance: “In terms of the brick-and-mortar shop, people can come in because it helps big time if they can try on the stuff they’re going to get. For team kits, they can see sizes in person – that helps a lot.” 

Kieran Comerford points to how businesses are being “really clever” when it comes to using TikTok and other platforms to get people through the door: “There’s a women’s clothing shop on Tullow Street (Trendy Curves) and they do videos about, oh, we have this in stock and here are some tips about how to match this and this, right? So these retailers are now using social media as educational tools to get people through their door.

“Social media is very much complimentary to your bricks and mortar. The bricks-and-mortar experience has changed over the last number of years, there’s no denying that, but at the same time digital is not the siloed thing it used to be seen as,” he adds.

And real-world networks are just as important as online for local businesses. Waterlilies’ Cian Waters talks about businesses helping one another when they can.

“In terms of casual collaboration, especially with Lambert’s Coffee Shop just down in Dublin Street, and Moka Coffee, if we run out of coffee cups, we know we can run down and they’d give us some and vice-versa. So there’s a good connection there.” 

The sense of camaraderie extends to local shoppers, who seem keen to support independent retailers, even following them to their next venture.

Sarah Louise Quinlan started Blush Beauty in October 2019, just before Covid, and was able to keep the business running as a solo operation during the pandemic to where it now has several employees, full bookings and a loyal clientele. She has found that her clients are very loyal, many following her from previous salons she has worked at, and are willing to support local businesses over larger chains.

“I think it’s very important that everybody supports local,” she adds.

Similarly, Andy Doyle, owner of Andy’s Music on Castle Street, says he “can understand why people would buy stuff online to save money, but at the end of the day they’re not getting the same service at all”.

A lot of Andy’s Music customers still come on the back of word of mouth and return knowing they can get one-to-one attention for their purchase, anything from tuning an instrument to even getting lessons, something you’re not going to get with an online order.

Looking ahead All told, these developments point toward a more prosperous, culturally-rich Carlow town centre, propelled by dedicated entrepreneurs and progressive council-led initiatives. The success stories – cafés bustling with regulars, shops upgrading their tech and loyal customers seeking out local retailers – suggest that Project Carlow 2040’s lofty vision might be within reach.

However, there’s another side to the regeneration story: parking headaches, concerns over how pedestrianisation is handled and debates about vacant units that remain conspicuously unoccupied. We’ll look at those issues next week. 

For now, Carlow stands on the cusp of change – buoyed by fresh energy and real hopes for a brighter future.