SOME 150 ANTI-WIND FARM and anti-pylon protesters staged a mid-morning protest in Dublin earlier – claiming that An Bord Pleanála are using the threat of huge legal bills to bully campaign groups.
Protesters from Wexford, Wicklow and elsewhere gathered at the Garden of Remembrance, before marching to a platform set up outside the offices of An Bord Pleanála at Marlborough Street where a number of speakers addressed the crowd.
Traffic restrictions were put in place for a time in the area, as the protest took place.
Demonstrators were asked to dress in funeral garb: men came wearing black top hats, coats and tails, and women wore black veils and clutched roses.
Press material from the campaign said the idea was to symbolise the death of citizens’ rights.
Those protesting also carried placards referring to the death of rural Ireland, and the death of tourism.
The protest follows the publication last month of Eirgrid’s new draft strategy for the development of the the country’s electricity transmission grid.
Local groups have been vocal in their opposition to the mooted upgrade to the electricity system in the south-east, north and west of the country since the plans were first suggested.
It was confirmed as part of the announcement last month that Eirgrid believes overhead lines are the most appropriate option for its North-South interconnector.
(TheJournal.ie has contacted An Bord Pleanála for comment.)
- All photos, Daragh Brophy.
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