Author: Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS

Narrow Water Bridge: a major cross-border link taking shape The Narrow Water Bridge is one of the most significant infrastructure projects under construction on the island of Ireland. It will link Omeath in County Louth with Warrenpoint in County Down across Carlingford Lough, creating a new road, walking and cycling connection that is also expected […]

Witnessing the A5 debacle, where frustration, through using the legal processes is prioritized over the greater good of saving lives. Below is our viewpoint if necessary infrastructure works are to be progressed, whether roads, bridges, water, sewers or utilities. In China, it is a family honour to make way for a key infrastructure project, where […]

The Road Where People Die While Money Disappears Since 2006, at least 57 people have been killed on the A5, with more than 1,200 people injured in crashes along its 58‑mile length. BBC analysis shows that, between 2012 and 2024, the A5 had the highest death rate per kilometre of any major road in Northern […]

When the Evidence Comes to You: What a New Climate Report Means for the Strangford Lough Crossing 1 April 2026 There are moments in any long campaign when the external world catches up with arguments you have been making quietly for years. This is one of those moments. Our climate knows no borders. On 1 […]

Music entitled ‘Why not?’ War, Oil and a Ferry: Why a Constrained Budget Makes the Case for a Strangford Crossing Stronger, Not Weaker. . Ards and North Down has said yes. Newry, Mourne and Down is next. The Department for Infrastructure has still not commissioned a single independent study. “If they don’t find a way […]

Why the Strangford Lough Crossing Is Now a Matter of Public Resilience After sixty years of proposals, rejections and inaction, the case for a permanent fixed crossing at Strangford has never been stronger — or more urgent. Most of the public conversation about the Strangford Lough Crossing has focused on economics, healthcare access, and community […]

England’s New Road Plan: What It Means For Northern Ireland (Status: Neutral–Slightly Positive) What RIS3 Is – And Why NI Should Care The UK Government’s Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3) sets out over £27 billion of spending on England’s motorways and major A‑roads from 2026–2031. It does not fund roads in Northern Ireland (those are […]

Northern Ireland’s planning system is widely viewed as underperforming, with statutory consultees a major pinch‑point, but delays and “crisis” symptoms arise from several interacting structural and cultural problems rather than one villain. 1. What “crisis” looks like Key symptoms repeatedly flagged in formal reviews and political debate include: That “crisis” narrative is reinforced by the […]

Northern Ireland has spent more than a century shovelling public money into “saving” individual industrial names – from shipyards to shiny new tech funds – while leaving some of its most hard‑pressed communities stuck with 19th‑century connectivity. The Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) offers a completely different kind of investment: not another bailout, but a piece […]

Sixty-Six Years of Excuses: A Letter to Those Who Had Their Chance For sixty-six years, every proposal for a permanent crossing at Strangford Lough has met the same answer: too costly, no demand, not now. Twelve schemes. Twelve rejections. The reasons shifted with each decade. The conclusion never did. The record is now documented. Freedom […]