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GARDAÍ SUSPECT TWO large telecommunications masts were set on fire deliberately in Donegal.
The 5G masts, which are due to be put into operation soon, went on fire at Long Lane and Dr McGinley Road in Letterkenny last night.
Gardaí say that an examination of the scene found pieces of coal at the scene of the fires.
Both the gardaí and the fire service rushed to the scene of both blazes last night.
A full forensic examination of both scenes was carried out by officers this morning and the results of those tests are awaited.
However, a garda source said: “We do suspect the fires were started deliberately. Traces of coal were found near the control boxes beside the masts.
“We are awaiting the results from our forensic boys but we do suspect this was a deliberate act.”
The controversial masts, which are approximately 50 feet in height, did have work carried out on them earlier this week.
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Local county councillor, Gerry McMonagle, who lives near the scene, condemned the attacks.
He said “We all have our concerns about 5G and we are all awaiting the results of various reports.
“But the reality is that we simply cannot take the law into our own hands and do something like this. It is vandalism at the end of the day no matter what anyone thinks.
“I would appeal to people to desist from engaging in this type of behaviour. The gardaí have enough to be doing without attending scenes like this.”
A number of similar incidents have been recorded in the UK in recent weeks as a completely unproven conspiracy theory linked these masts to the spread of the coronavirus.
An expert involved in the fight against the virus has described conspiracy theories linking 5G technology to the pandemic as “utter rubbish” after videos showing masts on fire were posted on social media.
Condemning the theories as “the worst kind of fake news” at a Downing Street press conference earlier this month, national medical director of NHS England Professor Steve Powis said: “I’m absolutely outraged, absolutely disgusted, that people would be taking action against the very infrastructure that we need to respond to this health emergency.
“It is absolute and utter rubbish.”
With additioanl reporting by PA
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@Ronnie Mhelan: I have a physical disability and can’t walk very far. Councils don’t seem to be taking the likes of myself or some elderly frail people into account.
Terrible decision to pedestrianise. It works well in on some streets but not on one of the main streets in a small village where there is no real alternative for traffic. Serious congestion now. Double decker bus now routed down a narrow one way residential street onto another narrow two way street close to outdoor diners. Only one south bound road vs two north bound roads and theres no traffic lights on James Terrace for right turns…… As well as the increase in anti social behaviour.
@Paul Hedderman: There’s plenty of alternatives, cars can go down Old Street or Gas Yard Lane and up by the Tennis club and they can still drive through the village, just not down 1 street.
@larry bird: Ha, plenty?!?!….. they took away a main two way street, the one that directly connects to the marina. The alternatives are narrow one way streets. 2 northbound (old st, townyard lane) and 1 southbound (james terrace). Gas yard lane is a cul de sac….. Safety issue with busses and delivery trucks being routed down a narrow residential one way street with outdoor diners. The only southbound road for all traffic is James terrace which leads to main st. There is no traffic lights at this junction….. Theres a fairly obvious problem with that.
It’s ruined malahide, the traffic this causes at weekends is not worth the hassle. However if your not from the area and just visiting for a few pints at the weekend it’s probably great!
@Rebecca BarrettNp: I think that’s part of the issue. Smaller streets originally planned for pedestrianisation are now taking large volumes of traffic. There is no point pedestrianising the main street if you have to risk your life on narrow roads with cars to walk there.
@Rebecca BarrettNp: they’ve already po8nted out the issues, cycling and walking are not going to sort all the problems mentioned. Pretending that it will is silly. Constant anti-traffic. Why is chaos better?
@Pirates of Ireland: Malahide has always had traffic and its gotten worse, blocking a street won’t make much difference to the traffic jam that begins way outside Malahide.
@Ronnie Mhelan: Also residents of the village, and those living in the marina who found a new traffic jam outside their doors. Also pretty much anyone with cause to drive through the place. The implementation last year was an absolute mess, and was unpopular with far more than local business. It was sudden, poorly thought out, and looked like a drunken student prank. This year it has seen improvement, and it might actually stick.
@Ronnie Mhelan: The majority of businesses and residents on the street and on neighbouring streets had protest posters in their windows against the it…… This was brought in under the guise of social distancing. When it was a one way street for the winter period pedestrians could only use the path as normal as the seating took up all the reclaimed road. So no extra space for pedestrians.
It is fantastic for Malahide Village! There are only a tiny handful of businesses against as many have retracted their signs in opposition(which they were pressured to put in their windows) whe they realised the revenue its bringing.
Anyone who has said it is causing traffic congestion and a downturn for businesses is living on another planet. Businesses not being open during earlier lockdowns had caused that downturn, and the traffic through Malahide has ALWAYS been mental. I would argue that it has lessened now because the only option is straight through.
Ridiculous carry on from a small minority of people shouting loud against it.
@Paul Williams: Living in the marina is a pain having to drive up James Terrace all the time. Its the only way to get out unless I drive a few kms out of the way along the estuary to Texas lane. Traffic is always backed up there with no traffic lights for right turns. Not just businesses effected, residents also. Did you see the results of the FCC survey on it? Majority were against it. It looks terrible, theres more anti social behaviour. Was there a proper public consultation for this before putting it in? Last year was supposed to be a trial. All the protests from local businesses and residents were ignored as well as their survey results. How do you know this is bringing in more revenue to businesses? Maybe just gibneys?!?!
@Paul Hedderman: I’ve friends and family that live in the marina and they all love it. Its 714m from the marina to texas Lane so hardly ‘.. a few kms’. I did indeed see the survey results, I also noted over 1000 unverified votes…. Very very easy to skew a poll like that if you’re determined enough to do so. Its clear as day with the footfall on the road, cafes, shops, restaurants, and bars are all benefitting from it.
@Paul Williams: I know someone who lives in Ross Cottages and every time she tried to drive in and out to get to her house, she had people blocking the road and path and banging on the window telling her she couldn’t be driving on New St as it was pedestrianized.
There is a great potential to do something with New St. The original plans from 2013 had it all paved but only pedestrianized at the weekend, for a market but instead FCC made an absolute bags of it and has changed the layout 3 times in less than a year. When it was first done, they had failed to inform Dublin Bus that the 32 would need to be re-routed.
I think there would be a lot more support if they had a proper well thought out plan and informed the residents on the effected streets rather than slapdash temporary solutions.
@Paul Williams: Where are you getting unverified votes from? There was 1023 digital surveys taken and a number of paper surveys, they’re not going to publish names and addresses for you to verify….. your friends mustn’t mind sitting in traffic, some of us do…… Of course some are benefiting from it but theres more people to consider than just the handful of businesses on that street that can avail of the outdoor seating. What about the residents on new street and old street? And what about the increase in anti social behaviour?!?! ……. There wasnt a proper and fair public consultation on it and the protests and surveys are being ignored.
@Paul Hedderman: I can’t say I feel that sorry for you Paul living in the marina at malahide. Enjoy your live you seem to be doing well for yourself. Please think of those with real issues
I think it’s the worse thing that has happened,
It was much better before they did that .
It’s deemed to be a problem at night too .
It takes the whole look of the area in my opinion.
Pedestrianization is good – we realize quickly how toxic our car culture is. However councils need to be smart that they dont end up with lots of quaint village centres and carmageddon outside of that …. looking at you Shop-St galway.. It needs to be part of an overall strategy to lessen everyones car usage.
Malahide is a bottleneck already. Pedestrianised it will put all the traffic down the narrow lanes to get around it. I’m all for pedestrianising parts of towns but get the infrastructure in place first for the traffic.
Its an effort for some people with nothing better to be doing to have an objective in their lives. Residents suffering more traffic or difficulty finding parking, Jesus wept they have it very hard. I’m not sure there would even be enough data to suggest that it effected business since business would have been effected during the pandemic anyway.
Well, somebody should put a dent in this asInine trend called “pedestrianize everything”.
What’s next, pedestrianize half the country? Nothing spells progress like going 100 years, in terms of transportation at least…
I was out at Portmarnock the other day with friends. We decided to stop for a walk around Malahide, spotted the lovely pedestrianised street and ended up stopping there for drinks and then a meal. All unplanned and all revenue for small local businesses.
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