Drogheda was a boom town in my youth, now it is a concrete jungle

Drogheda was a town with work for anyone who wanted it, from Donaghys shoe factory to Becton Dickinson and the Irish Cement plant, though nobody living through it knew they were in a golden era. Six decades on, the factories are memories, the smokestacks with them, and what Niall O’Dowd calls a poorly planned concrete jungle has gone up in place of the town he knew.

Drogheda was a prosperous town in the  60s and 70s, the era I grew up in. Though we didn't know we were in the town’s golden era with plenty of work and opportunity

Hard to imagine, but the town was booming in comparison to later years. Decent working conditions and fair wages were the norm.

There was Donaghys Factory, the largest shoemaker in Ireland; there was Wilson and McBrinn, the largest school uniform maker in Ireland; there was the oddly named Oil and Cake Mills, Usher’s Mills, Becton Dickinson, a top medical supplies company, and the biggest employer, the Irish Cement factory, that went on to become one of the largest employers in Ireland.

The people lived modestly but well. Friday night was for the local pub, or a meal in the White Horse Hotel for a special occasion. There was little attention paid to the smokestack pollution, which sometimes blanketed the town in a grey mist.

I barely witnessed some of the most dramatic changes. Peter Lyons Bread was still delivered by horse and carriage when I was a child. Milk bottles were delivered by the milkman in glass bottles. Perhaps one in five people had cars. The holiday destinations were just a few miles away: Billy Butlin’s holiday resort, a few miles away from Bettystown and Laytown beaches. In the summer, the ice cream shop Somers was packed to the gills.

In summer, the usual day trip. brought relief from the heat. Few went abroad unless they were emigrating. 

The real passion was soccer. Drogheda FC usually languished at the bottom of the table when they finally won the League of Ireland, the old Lourdes stadium shook like the Bernabéu,

The factory leagues, where local factories competed in athletics, often created other magic moments. Up to 500 followers would attend the Factory Final.

 The train to Dublin rushed through the station about once every two hours. The train to Dublin was usually crowded, and there were mystery tours where you traveled 30 miles out, usually on a day off.

Drogheda has changed now, but not for the better. The city planners have done great damage. The charming town has given way to a poorly planned concrete jungle, and the town is overcrowded and lacks a proper town center. Let’s hope creative plans for the town can be revived.