Locals unite to oppose bog wind farm proposals

A large group of local people gathered last weekend in the shadow of the historic St Manchan’s Monastery and Well in Lemanaghan to protest at plans by Bord na Móna to build a wind farm in Lemanaghan bog.

The group was joined by local Independent TD Carol Nolan, who has pledged her support to the campaign, and they carried placards with the word “No” emblazoned across the front and a drawing of a wind turbine.

The placards are being made locally, and according to local resident and campaigner, Aoife Phelan, there has been “a very encouraging uptake” from residents in the Lemanaghan area, many of whom have already placed the opposition placards outside their houses. “They have also been placed along the route of the proposed wind farm,” she adds.

Bord na Móna has confirmed that they hope to be in a position to submit a planning application for the proposed wind farm in Lemanagahan bog “in mid-2022” but say that the exact location and height of the wind turbines “have not yet been determined.”

The company is planning to engage in the second round of public consultation with local residents in the affected areas “in the coming months” where more detailed information “including a draft layout with details on the proposed number and height of turbines” will be available. This consultation will be subject to Covid-19 restrictions.

“We are receiving a lot of support, not just locally, but from right across the country, for our campaign of opposition to the wind farm proposal,” says Aoife Phelan, and people are “beginning to realise the huge historical and archaeological significance” of the Lemanaghan area and are “totally opposed” to any plans for “an industrial-sized wind farm” in the locality.