Talk:Athlone

message: Is there anybody out there?
Hi Athlone fans.  I have a context question:  What are the 'visible ruins' mentioned in the Athlone page?  
:::>Probably the town wall , they are visible and preserved. Walk to St. Francis Terrace. Also try the Civic Centre.< — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.42.12.202 (talk) 23:04, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Named for Brigadier George Adamson of the National Army, shot dead in Athlone on 25th April 1922.  Check the article April_1922_in_the_United_Kingdom Sean O'Casaidhe 14:37, 4 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Background Info Requests 

message: The large blank space looked strange; I moved the photo of the Abbey to the middle of the history block and the text now fills up to the top of the History section.  A few literature citations would not go amiss in here.  Also, It would be nice to have some confirmed history of the Abbey in there (photo is fine, but not referenced in the text; OK, I admit I added the photo, but I was hoping somone would plop in some Abbey history) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dmccabe (talk • contribs) 01:58, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Format glich 

message: While the climate statistics have been correctly taken from the 'Yahoo Weather' site they cannot possibly be correct!
(Sarah777 22:41, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Strange Weather 

message: For a more accurate picture check met eireann (The National Meteorological Service) at www.met.ie Mullingar is the nearest place there are figures for and it is completly different to the info on the page.
P — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.125.223.185 (talk) 12:29, 2 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Weather 

message: Figures for population are higher if the total rural populations are included bring the rural population to over 30,000 as per census information 2006. Figures look skewed as actual town boundary is tiny proportionate to the size of the area the town has expanded into.
p — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.125.223.185 (talk) 12:32, 2 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  population 

message: Am I wrong to believe that broadcasting in Moydrum, Athlone started several years before the stated 1931?
I have an account (just that an account) that the concrete piles that do (verified) exist there was for a BBC Service to the American colonies. Civil War and Independence put short shrift to that. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.42.12.202 (talk) 23:00, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Broadcasting

message: removed one post from above which was unduly offensive.  An honest inquiry is not disgusting ignorance.
Sean O'Casaidhe 12:10, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Removed offensive post 

message: The piece begining "the idea was mooted..." did at one point refer to a passage describing an historic plan to make Athlone the capital of Ireland.  The passage was deleted at some point and the remaining piece makes no sense as written.  I dont know if the deletion was part of the serial editing war that waged here for a while, but it might be worth resurrecting, or rewriting the remaining piece.  Any thoughts?Dmccabe 04:10, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Included by another contributor Sean O'Casaidhe 10:46, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Mooted idea

message: I took out an article that was injected at the top of the page referring to the idea of a midlands airport near Horseleap and listing a shedload of local VIPs.  This article is also present in the entry for Horseleap. Sean O'Casaidhe 17:12, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I removed it from the Horseleap article per WP:CRYSTAL. Bastun 17:17, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Midlands Aiport

message: Don't have much problem with them. If only our elected officials were so responsive :-)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.42.40.226 (talk) 23:35, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  The Edits 

message: I think this is more suited to the Midlands Gateway page than the Athlone page? I don't think duplication is necessary. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 1-555-confide (talk • contribs) 19:04, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Midlands gateway map 

message: Does anyone know how the name of Athlone came to be applied to an area in Cape Town, South Africa (during the apartheid years)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Londondee (talk • contribs) 09:35, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Athlone in Cape Town, South Africa 

message: Removed Unreferenced tag, simply because the article is in commendable shape in terms of being easily verifiable elsewhere on Wikipedia through links. Nothing that a few fact tags would not mend, if such be the case that it is in need of more references. C.J. 19:27, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tag removed 

message: I had to remove this contribution because it is original research.
"Also the algae levels in the Shannon and Lough Ree is atrocious and is a huge problem."
Yes, there is a place for this in the article, but you have to follow Wikipedia rules. Have a look at this page if you're not sure what O.R. is: Wikipedia:No original research
The other contributions in this paragraph are also O.R.
"The proposed abstraction of water from Lough Ree could lead to an ecological, environmental and economic disaster. There is little by way of forethought on this issue."
It expresses an opinion, without any references or data to back it up. And to say that there is little forethought is of course subjective. If you can find a quote of somebody saying this, then you can reference that, but otherwise it's O.R. and will have to be removed. Have a look for online articles on the subject and quote or reference them; I'll leave it up for the moment, but if it isn't brought into line soon it'll have to be removed. Sorry :-)Warchef 09:13, 29 September 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Firstly, I live on the shore of Lough Ree in Athlone, so I do know that it is a real issue - however, that's not the point- the point is that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a blog, so when you contribute something, you have to back it up with references to newspaper reports, other websites, reference books, etc. and it has to neutral and verifiable. I fully support the issue being raised an addressed in the article, but then you have to structure it properly, with references and quotes. I suggest you check the westmeath independent and athlone voice websites for articles on the issue which you can reference- or maybe waterways ireland have some literature on the subject. If you're still unsure as to why the contribution doesn't fit Wikipedia policy, then have a read through these pages, they should be helpful for you to write your contribution in a way that means they won't be deleted for being against policy: Wikipedia:Verifiability, Wikipedia:No original research, Wikipedia:Neutral point of view. good luck! peace. Warchef 14:22, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

text: I have to agree, Anto, you just need to rephrase what you want to say and include lots of references to newspapers etc (Surely the Westmeath Indo has a lot to say on the subject??) Sean O'Casaidhe 10:44, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Current Issues section - be careful of O.R.!

message: Jeanne dArc, could you please state why you think the neutrality of this article is in question so improvements can be made.....
Fossiliferous 16:45, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Removed "neutrality" tag and replaced with "Wikify" - the article needs some editing, cleaning up. (Sarah777 01:31, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Example of problems: Too many 'external links'; not enough references. Too much "See also". (Sarah777 01:35, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Neutrality 

message: What school goes to Menden?Anto (talk) 16:42, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Twin City 

message: We need to help this article Coosan.
Zu Anto 13:04, 25 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Coosan

message: FYI. I recently changed the pop census numbers to reflect the actual CSO numbers. The previous number (17,544) was inappropriate for two reasons. Firstly it was a "cyclical reference" to a Wikipedia article. (We shouldn't use other articles as references). And secondly, it was wrong. The census numbers for Athlone are as below. No reason this article shouldn't reflect these:
                               '02     '06
 003  Athlone East Rural	6433	6804
 001  Athlone West Rural	2262	3114
 001  Athlone East Urban	4092	4096
 002  Athlone West Urban	3262	2874
This totals just under ~17k in total. Not 17.5k. Cheers. Guliolopez (talk) 11:52, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Good work. But could you also provide a reference for these figures please? As there's something of an edit war going on re: athlone's population in this article, the more references for real stats the better. If referenced I think there's an argument for including these figures in toto. Cheers Warchef (talk) 14:58, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Absolutely. Will add immediately. Guliolopez (talk) 15:13, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I wouldn't call it an "edit war". Some IP is trying to insert the claim that Athlone is more populous than Mullingar when the CSO clearly states that it isn't. I regard the persistent insertion of the claim as simple vandalism at this stage. And I have no interest in either town. Sarah777 (talk) 15:14, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

text: Hi. Actually the CSO figures do cover the areas you mention. Monksland is included in the "Athlone West Rural" numbers. And Coosan in the either the East Rural or East Urban numbers. That said, if you can find a way of reflecting your point objectively and verifiably in the article, then consider doing so. (Without - obviously - stating anything as subjective or POV as "No matter what the population figure say, if drive through X you'll clearly see its larger than Y". Because that wouldn't be terribly encyclopedic). Guliolopez (talk) 15:07, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

text: That's probably a conversation worth having. But I'd recommend having it at the template page and announcing it at the WP:IWNB page. (So that it's not confined to just this article). Personally I think it's OK to split them. The CSO splits them because (for larger towns and cities) the population within the legally defined borough boundaries may bely a larger "area" population. IE: If the Govt is setting planning strategy guidelines for a town, they need to understand the difference between "town proper" and "environs/catchment". (Not unlike the age old "Limerick City has a lower pop than Galway City - But that doesn't take environs into account" debate. Which we get here from time to time. Etc.) Guliolopez (talk) 18:29, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I think the CSO solution, which is based on the contiguous urban area (more or less), is a more accurate reflection of town size. As regards the template, the option to leave the split out is contained within it, if you only  put in the urban population it simply reports population = the figure you put in. Sarah777 (talk) 19:19, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: In the current example to say the population of Athlone (the town) is only 9,000 is manifest nonsense. And I'm not trying to include Moate in the total as our IP friend is doing! Sarah777 (talk) 19:22, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Census numbers 

message: Do we really need to split the population into "town" and "environs"; it is a pretty meaningless distinction and removes clarity. The CSO table defines the total population of the urban areas. We should stick to that. Sarah777 (talk) 16:14, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: That's probably a conversation worth having. But I'd recommend having it at the template page and announcing it at the WP:IWNB page. (So that it's not confined to just this article). Personally I think it's OK to split them. The CSO splits them because (for larger towns and cities) the population within the legally defined borough boundaries may bely a larger "area" population. IE: If the Govt is setting planning strategy guidelines for a town, they need to understand the difference between "town proper" and "environs/catchment". (Not unlike the age old "Limerick City has a lower pop than Galway City - But that doesn't take environs into account" debate. Which we get here from time to time. Etc.) Guliolopez (talk) 18:29, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I think the CSO solution, which is based on the contiguous urban area (more or less), is a more accurate reflection of town size. As regards the template, the option to leave the split out is contained within it, if you only  put in the urban population it simply reports population = the figure you put in. Sarah777 (talk) 19:19, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: In the current example to say the population of Athlone (the town) is only 9,000 is manifest nonsense. And I'm not trying to include Moate in the total as our IP friend is doing! Sarah777 (talk) 19:22, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Style thing

message: The link used to state that Seans Pub is in fact not the oldest bar in Ireland is an april fools joke and cannot be used to verify anything. For reference http://www.irelandlogue.com/craic/seans-bar-not-actually-the-oldest-pub-in-ireland.html Mremeralddragon (Talk) 10:42, 18 September 2009 (GMT)
The article is actually the spoof....look at the date of publication!  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.3.2.240 (talk) 01:41, 15 September 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Not the oldest?

message: How tall are the masts of Athlone transmitter? Are these still the masts from 1933? Is the antenna a T-antenna?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.46.163.68 (talk) 22:46, 8 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Broadcasting 

message: There is no official capital of the midlands. For any town to claim such is disingenuous and it is a disservice to an encyclopedic article. Any individual issues as who's town is better should be left out of wikipedia.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.233.148.8 (talk) 00:13, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: there are regional capitals for all the regions in ROI.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ohyeaohyeaohyea (talk • contribs) 06:32, 21 May 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: One opinion is not a source. That particular organisation may designate regional capitals for their own use but again there is no official capital. To say so is just lies.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.255.73.17 (talk) 18:07, 31 May 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Inclined to agree; I can find no legal basis for establishing that the Regions have official "capitals". The usage of a Brussels-based office is neither here nor there. In 2007 the then Taoiseach referred to Athlone as having "come to be regarded as the commercial and retail capital of the Irish Midlands", but that wording strongly implies that it had no such official status. Brocach (talk) 21:12, 31 May 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Understandable i suppose, just going on what it's stated to be, Must consult the town council. it's the largest town in the midlands anyway.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.45.251.226 (talk) 04:04, 1 June 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree with you that it is the largest town because it is based on fact. The capital of the Midlands, however, is not. I think the statement as largest town serves the article more. Why consult the town council? That again would be THEIR opinion. I am sure Portlaoise, Mullingar and Longford town councils would also claim such. Yes it is the largest by about 100 people give or take. This is an encyclopaedia not an athlone residents vanity project.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.233.148.4 (talk) 22:58, 4 June 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: In all fairness, Athlone is clearly the most important town in the midlands. Forgetting about population for a second; educationally and commercially, the town is unrivalled by Mullingar, Tullamore, Portlaoise and Longford. This is opinion based on fact and to claim otherwise is just semanticism. Population means little in those terms, especially considering Mullingar and Portlaoise's not inconsiderable growth as a result of Dublin's expanding commuter belt.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.178.95.4 (talk) 17:06, 6 December 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  ''Capital of the midlands'' 

message: I'm not sure that the "social issues" section really needs to be here.  It fails under Weight and Relevance in my opinion.  Most other town articles don't have this section.  --HighKing (talk) 14:37, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  The "Social Issues" section 

message: The pic in the infobox shows "Athlone Cathedral" which look a pretty substantial building, but it isn't mentioned in the article, or anywhere else on WP. Any explanation? Tigerboy1966  05:59, 9 September 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: Well spotted. It's not a cathedral. I've changed the caption. 1-555-confide (talk) 09:23, 9 September 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cathedral? 

message: I see the statement "Irish: Baile Átha Luain, meaning "town of Luan's ford" ", but does not "Luan" mean "moon" in Irish? Was there someone named "Luan" for which the castle/town was named? It seems that there either must be more of a story behind the name, or there is an incomplete translation (or possibly both). Kibi78704 (talk) 15:01, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Etymology of Athlone 

message: I have inserted a picture of the "St Peter and Paul Catholic Church" in the article approximately 2 or 3 years ago. I realised only recently that a user had changed "St" to SS" in the description and I reverted to "St" recently. 2 users are insisting for "SS" to be used instead of "St" as an abbreviation for "Saint". 
I personally dislike the use of "SS" but this is not the point here. If the users insisting to replace the "St" by "SS" under my photo, so they should insist for the same throughout the article. Why are they insisting for the abbreviation "SS" to be used under my photo only?? Vandalism? personal attack? 
Please give your motive here prior to edit the article. Thank you --Christophe Krief (talk) 12:00, 26 September 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: No personal attack involved. The proper abbreviation for a plurality of saints is "Ss". All instances in the article now use "Ss". You should request your picture's name to be changed. Laurel Lodged (talk) 22:57, 26 September 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  "St" versus "SS" for saint  

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to  on Athlone. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20101126062423/http://insideireland.ie/index.cfm/section/News/ext/eurochinaathlone001/category/1084 to http://www.insideireland.ie/index.cfm/section/news/ext/eurochinaathlone001/category/1084
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.
Cheers. —cyberbot IITalk to my owner:Online 02:18, 17 October 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified  on Athlone. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120217095720/http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census/ to http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121202230355/http://www.athloneartandheritage.ie:80/artists-studios/ to http://www.athloneartandheritage.ie/artists-studios
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090430182838/http://www.goldenislandsc.com:80/ to http://www.goldenislandsc.com
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121201080555/http://www.athloneartandheritage.ie:80/luan-gallery to http://www.athloneartandheritage.ie/luan-gallery
*Added  tag to http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2012101183045/dubarry-park-announced-as-the-home-of-the-connacht-eagles
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 19:13, 20 October 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 4 external links on Athlone. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.histpop.org/
*Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.goldenislandsc.com/
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20141106234551/http://www.shannonside.ie/index.php to http://www.shannonside.ie/index.php
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100402092214/http://www.bci.ie/licensing/radio/temporary_services_apps.html to http://www.bci.ie/licensing/radio/temporary_services_apps.html
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 15:59, 4 May 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified one external link on Athlone. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20160507023856/http://www.histpop.org/ to http://www.histpop.org/
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 09:09, 11 July 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: It's translated as "A city stands by its laws".  But the Latin is plural, so it should really be "Cities stand by their laws".  I hesitate to change it, though, since the current translation may be the official one.  Does anyone know? Markcymru (talk) 07:02, 19 February 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  City motto 

message: AIT-LIT Consortium will need a better title at some point. Bogger (talk) 11:37, 5 May 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Technological University

message: The redirect Athlone(Ireland) has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached.  Steel1943 (talk) 06:18, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  "[[:Athlone(Ireland)]]" listed at [[Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion|Redirects for discussion]]