In Ventry, Co Kerry, there’s a man who has lived on the R559 for 25 years. From his livingroom window, he has watched cars fly past at over 100km/h on a road with a speed limit half that. But these cars aren’t just breaking the limit outside his house. They’re passing a primary school and post office with no footpath. Despite writing to gardaí asking for speed bumps and a speed display sign, nothing has happened.

This summer, in a submission to Kerry County Council’s speed limit review, he even offered to pay for the sign and ramps himself. “Please do something now,” he said, sounding weary after watching the problem worsen for a quarter-century.

He is not the only person in Ventry – or Ceann Trá – who has had enough. Twelve of the 47 submissions to the county’s draft special speed limit bylaws came from this village, including the local school, community development committee and a man whose front door opens directly on to the road. I downloaded and analysed all 47 submissions, translating many written in Irish.

What I learned is that the national debate on speed limits has been getting quite a lot wrong.

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