h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Portlaoise - an Irish Midlands Town - A39768583
Author: Plotinlaois - U7843825

An introduction to the place that has been my home town since October 2006.

Hi Plotinlaois ,

This is an interestng Entry that will eventually find its way into the EG .

I can tell from its structure that you've taken a look at some other Entries of a similar type .

A few comments/observations:

Miss out the first use of the name Portlaois (that isn't in the title) i.e. the Entry commences directlty weith the text. (Hope that makes sense )

'Founded 560 years ago, Portlaoise owes its existence....'

Just here I would insert a phrase to indicatewhere PL is situated e.g. something like,

'Founded 560 years ago some blah km south west of blah, Portlaoise owes its existence....'



'Famous people associated with Portlaoise include James Fintan Lawler, Colonel James Fitzmaurice and Dr Bartholomew Mosse...'

I would expand this section a bit to explain what these people are famous for

'Nearby Towns:' Make this a Header.

Break up the text and create more white space by using Headers.

I see you've worked out how to make external)links. Read through your script and check it against other Entries in the Edited Guide, to create some links to other hootoo Entries.

with this

A

Fasinating thanks for writing about your home town

Thanks Al. I shall make some edits based on your suggestions, and those of others, tomorrow.

It seems like a good entry - can you put some extra line breaks in between the paragraphs, so it's a bit easier to read on the screen?

... as I suggested in Post 2

I didn't read your bit.

It would be worth pointing out that Portlaoise is pronounced (I hope I'm right) Port-leesh, although some would have it with an 'a' on the end: Port-leesh-a

I must admit I read it in my head as Port-la-weez.

Nice start, look forward to seeing it coming along

Nice entry - well written

And welcome to h2g2!

You probably should mention that the Irish name for Portlaoise is Port Laoise (with the /e/ at the end pronounced as /uh/), and that for some reason the National Roads Authority puts only the Irish names on the signs.

And if you really want a listing of religious establishments, you could make mention of the Kingdom Hall.

Good Entry!

TRiG.

Should be "... puts only the Irish NAME on the signs."

Hi Trig,
I must admit I spotted the NRA thing just last Sunday morning when out on my bike. The green sign on the N7 says Port Laoise and a bit further along the local black and white sign says Portlaoise. But I've also seen Phortlaoighse (Portlaoise College has it's sign bi-lingual, the Gaelic version being "Collaiste Phortlaoighse").
The pronunciation "Portleasha" seems to be mostly used by Irish people who don't live there.

Hadn't realised there's a Kingdom Hall, although having been canvassed by JWs I should have guessed. Can you tell me where it is? There is also the original Church, on Church Street, which has little mmore than the graveyard visibe now. And I believe that there is a place where Muslims meet although their recent application to establish a more permanent base has met with some opposition.

How is this coming along, Plotinlaois? Anything more to add?

GB

Hi Galaxy,
The answer to your question is "I don't think so". But I will have another look - and do a bit more research - when I get back from a mini break which I'm taking to celebrate my 45th wedding aniversary (I lsated longer than the chap in your story)

Hi Plotinlaois
Wow, congratulations on your anniversary to you and your wife.
There's no rush, if you want more time to add some more that's OK, or you can liaise with the sub-ed before it goes live, or you can "update" it after it's gone live; there are quite a few options, entries are being updated all the time as some were written in 1999

My story, you must mean Dear Josie in this week's Post.

The spelling of Irish was reformed a while ago to eliminate some silent letters. Is the college an old one, whose name might predate that?

Road signage is often inconsistent around towns. Many times I've seen signs which say "Town Centre" in English and the name of the town in Irish. And Tullamore (Tulach Mhór) is spelled Tulagh Mhór on one sign in Clara.

TRiG.

Is the college an old one, whose name might predate that? No, it's brand new - opened 2006. I think I may have overdone the spelling a bit in my earlier post though!

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