TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

SCENARIO 2: Sleeping Beauty (National scenario: WILD CATS OF EQUALITY)
A letter to Mary O’Hanlon, Quebec, Canada
15 th August 2030
Dear Mary,
I hope this letter will find you in a good health and even better mood. It occurred to me only
recently that I must be the only person on this earth, who still sends personal letters by post!! I
really don’t understand why nobody does it anymore?! It is a much more sophisticated form of
communication than these modern technologies. I suppose, old habits die hard…
I sincerely apologise for not writing to you for the past few months. Your video call last week
made me think - you must have been worried sick! I do have a good excuse though. I spent the
last few months travelling. My daughter got me a ticket to Ireland for my 70 th birthday. It has
cost her the earth, with the prices of flights these days… But, she knew how much I wanted to
see the places where we grew up once again. This may have been my last chance…
I know that your family situation and now health has not allowed you to travel back home for
the last 16 years. You wouldn’t believe how the place has changed since we left it in 1987 and
our last visit together, in 2007. All together I spent four months in Ireland, and a month just
visiting people and places closest to my heart in the Midlands. I even managed to track few old
colleagues from our Department at UCD. Did you know that your student, Ronan O’Mahony,
became a Professor at MIT few years ago?
Do you remember, in 2007, the place was booming, new homes and shopping centres
mushrooming around the bigger towns and villages? More cars, more flash and more cash, but
less time to enjoy life. However, I recall you telling me after your last visit that something has
changed and the wind was blowing in already a different direction in 2014. I spoke to many
people trying to understand what has happened and found out fascinating things! I wish you
could see the Midlands now!
The government introduced a new National Spatial Strategy II in 2014, and believe it or not,
Midlands wasn’t on it! Well, that’s what some people say, mainly those who were in favour of
high economic growth, quick urbanisation and modern industry development. Also, the idea of
Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore as a Midlands gateway was abandoned. Two reasons were
given. The first was that the allocation of resources had to be concentrated in the centres that
had the best capacity to develop critical mass. Some people believed that Western Alliance
representatives had much stronger arguments than the Midlands delegates. The second one, and
I am inclined to believe that a bit more, was the lack of sufficient links and flows between the
three towns and no distinct identity for the region ever emerged. Apparently, there was no real
collaboration between the two county councils and a strong, at first, business alliance of the
Midlands Chamber faded away after a while.
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