As I have mentioned before, there are lots of houses in Ireland that are just abandoned. It really does not take long for nature to reclaim anything human has created. Once there is a 12-inch hole in a roof, with in a decade a wood house will be gone, a stone one, well, it lasts much longer. Now, not only are there plenty of abandoned houses in Ireland, but there are miles and miles of canals. Seven are in great working order; with weirs, gates, and gate houses. Not all the gate houses were saved, or lived in. A fair amount has been left to rot, which is a shame. They are on really idyllic locations, with the sound of the weir and nature making it very peaceful.

This gate house is few miles from my house, on the River Barrow, near Milford, in County Carlow. This is near the first hydroelectric plant to generate electricity in Europe for an entire town. I tell you Carlow was rocking that night. The roof is long gone on this house, and I would say it’s used more as a wind block for all the trees growing out of it. Every gate on the river would have a gate house at it. The person living here would be in charge of running the gates for barges coming and going from Dublin. After all, Carlow was a huge supplier for Guinness back in the day.

The Barrow Track

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