County Carlow
Ireland's second-smallest county between Dublin and Waterford—IT Carlow (now SETU) supplies regional graduates while Browne's Hill Dolmen (Europe's largest capstone) anchors modest heritage tourism.
County Carlow—Ireland's second-smallest county—demonstrates that scale doesn't preclude prosperity. Carlow town hosts IT Carlow (now part of South East Technological University), supplying graduates to regional employers. The county's position between Dublin and Waterford creates some commuter development.
Agriculture remains significant: tillage farming in Barrow valley, beef and dairy elsewhere. Sugar beet processing historically created industrial employment; sector restructuring eliminated this anchor.
Carlow's challenge mirrors many Irish counties: modest scale limiting industrial attraction, Dublin proximity creating both opportunity (accessibility) and challenge (talent drain). The county seeks technology and light manufacturing investment without the FDI concentration that larger counties achieved.
Browne's Hill Dolmen—reputedly Europe's largest capstone—provides archaeological interest. But Carlow lacks the tourism concentration that could substitute for industrial development. The county demonstrates middling Irish regional experience: neither failing nor thriving, adapting to national patterns without distinctive advantages.