This Place Matters
Ireland's Planning Portal For Communities
The This Place Matters Project is part funded by the Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government.
The national spatial strategy — not just the final frontier, but a step too far where the country’s local authorities and planners were concerned. An Taisce’s report into the planning systems in 34 city and county councils found massive flaws in various elements of planning policy and implementation ...
PATSY McGARRY THE PROPERTY bubble followed a “catastrophic and systemic failure” in planning, an An Taisce study has found. The group has called for the establishment of an independent planning regulator “free from political pressure”, and for national development plans to be put on a statutory footing ...
Even though the An Taisce planning report reminds us all of issues we might like to forget, it cannot be ignored. It reminds us of how failure at every level of our planning process — regulators, officials and most especially politicians — let down those who trusted them to make decisions aimed at the common good. Foolish us ...
Cork City Council rezoned almost seven acres of land next to Páirc Uí Chaoimh last night to facilitate the GAA’s €40m revamp of the flagship stadium. They voted 21 to nine in favour of changing the zoning of an almost seven-acre parcel of land next to the stadium from public open space to sports ground ...
By Conall Ó Fátharta The Celtic Tiger property bubble was fuelled by "endemic corruption" in a planning system which zoned enough land at the height of the boom to cater for a doubling of the entire population — up to 8m people. A review of planning across 34 city and county councils by An Taisce found that in 2008, as Ireland stood on the brink of economic collapse, 42,000 hectares were zoned for residential purposes — enough for 4m extra people on top of the 4 ...
GORDON DEEGAN MEMBERS OF Clare County Council are to vote today on a contentious rezoning that will, if passed, pave the way for an €85 million combined heat and power plant (CHP) in Shannon. As part of a new draft of the Shannon Local Area Plan, the council is planning to rezone a large tract of land at Stonehall, north of the Shannon Free Zone ...
By Eoin English Residents fighting a proposal to rezone land next to Páirc Uí Chaoimh have vowed to pack Cork City Hall tonight and "look councillors in the eye" as they vote. They are poised to vote on the rezoning of just under seven acres of land next to the GAA grounds which, if agreed, will pave the way for a €40m redevelopment of the stadium. A simple majority is required. It is expected that the rezoning will get the green light ...
44 minutes ago 473 Views Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Archive/Press Association Images A SUBMISSION TO build the National Paediatric Hospital on a 50-acre site at Lissenhall, Swords, County Dublin, has been made to the review group examining the project The review group was tasked with establishing the options now available to the government in light of An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse planning permission for the hospital on the site of the Mater Hospital in Dublin ...
The Housing Minister wants to see a transformation of the private rental sector. Limerick's Jan O'Sullivan says unfinished estates must be made secure and safe in the short-term but long term plans must be put in place. She says we must rethink the old hierarchy of the past when it comes to housing. ...
6° | €1 - £0.82 | Sunday 15 April 2012 DONEGAL County Council has spent €5M on a planning dispute which may be blocked by the UK government. The High Court in Dublin will this week rule on a challenge to the construction of a sewage treatment plant that will pump sewage into Lough Foyle. The plans actually include a provision to allow raw sewage to be dumped into the estuary during flood warnings ...
New directions for physical planning of the built environment post-Mahon Report, along with the future of the country’s ghost and unfinished estates, will come under a planners’ spotlight at month’s end. They’ll be the strong twin themes at the National Planning Conference in Kilkenny, Apr 26 and 27 ...
ENVIRONMENT Minister Phil Hogan cancelled an inquiry into a local authority -- despite a report from a watchdog which confirmed planning breaches there, the Irish Independent has learned. The Ombudsman found that Cork City Council didn't stick to planning laws when it failed to make details of key meetings between planners and developers publicly available ...
CARL O'BRIEN, Chief Reporter THE GOVERNMENT is planning to introduce sanctions for senior civil servants who fail to manage sub-standard staff after conceding that the system for measuring employees’ performance is not working. A performance-management system for the estimated 33,000 civil servants has been in place for several years, aimed at linking staff members’ performance to pay increments and eligibility for promotion ...
By Simon O’Duffy A newly formed local group has filed an appeal to An Bord Pleanála over Roscrea’s Tesco development, which it claims represents “environmental vandalism on a grand scale”. Built by Tiernan Properties at a cost of around €20 million, Roscrea’s new Tesco was opened amid much fanfare last summer ...
By Donal Hickey More than three-quarters of land designated for housing in Dingle town and surrounding areas during the economic boom is to be dezoned. Under a new area plan for most of the Dingle Peninsula, Kerry Co Council is proposing to reduce the amount of already-zoned land from 195 acres to 45 acres. However, there is still some pressure on the council to retain residential zoning in Dingle for parcels of land or to rezone other land as residential ...
By Noel Baker An Bord Pleanála should be allowed review local authority development plans and even veto council decisions on land rezoning, the country’s planning association has said. The Irish Planning Institute accepted such a move would mean power being taken away from elected councillors. IPI chairman Brendan Allen admitted it could mean planners and councillors being on a "collision course" ...
Europe has given its support for the Government to draw up a national plan for raised bogs. It follows talks in Brussels yesterday between the European Commissioner for the Environment along with the Heritage and Environment Ministers. However as part of the negotiations the Government is once again urging turf cutters in the Shannonside region not to cut turf on bogs where the controversial ban is in place ...
By Sean O’Riordan Senior county council officials in Cork are to meet with Leo Varadkar, the transport minister, to impress on him the importance of building ring roads around Mallow to ease traffic gridlock. The proposed roads were to be built as part of a now-mothballed multimillion-euro M20 motorway between Cork and Limerick. Tom Barry, a Mallow-based TD, said he will outline the importance of building the ring roads when he meets Mr Varadkar this week ...
2° | €1 - £0.83 | Wednesday 04 April 2012 A PRELIMINARY inquiry into planning decisions at Donegal County Council is expected to recommend a full investigation, donegaldaily.com has learned. The current internal inquiry, run by the Department of Environment, was initiated by this Government instead of an external audit which was recommended by the last administration under the Green Party and Fianna Fail ...
Recently Monaghan Local Authorities made a variation to the Monaghan County Development Plan 2007-2013 (incorporating the Development Plans for the towns of Monaghan, Carrickmacross, Castleblayney, Clones and Ballybay) to include a Core Strategy which will manage residential development in both urban and rural areas ...
KITTY HOLLAND MORE THAN 30 unused Garda stations may be converted into primary care centres over the next number of years, the Department of Health has confirmed. Some 29 small Garda stations closed last Friday, more than half of them in the western half of the State, including six in west Cork ...
JACKY JONES SECOND OPINION: Corruption revealed in Mahon report has taken its toll THE “RAMPANT” corruption uncovered by the Mahon tribunal is inextricably linked to the health of Irish citizens and the health system. Local authorities and planners are as important to health as the services provided by the HSE. The Institute of Public Health (IPH) published a report in 2006 showing the huge influence of the built environment ...
Cork’s city manager has released an internal planning probe ordered by the ex-environment minister, John Gormley, almost two years ago. It is understood that Tim Lucey is the first head of the six local authorities — Carlow, Meath, Cork and Galway county councils, as well as Dublin and Cork city councils — which were the subject of such planning probes ordered by Mr Gormley, to voluntarily release their internal reports ...
A SUM of €100,000 granted to Fingal County Council by the National Transport Authority for the advancement of a walkway between Donabate and Malahide across the Broadmeadow Estuary will only cover the cost of an Environmental Impact Statement for the project, it has emerged. Answering a question from Cllr ...
A landmark building in Dingle is to be taken off a list of protected structures, despite a warning from a senior planning official that many old buildings in the West Kerry town have already been knocked down. Kerry County Council voted 12-4 to delist Siopa an Dearud on the Milltown roundabout. It was once the last shop in Dingle on the western side of the town. Senior planning engineer Paul Stack said that the council’s primary concern was to retain the façade of the building ...
41 minutes ago 286 Views Phil Hogan Image: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland A HERITAGE GROUP has called for action on the disputed planning inquiries at seven county councils, saying that an internal investigation is not sufficient. An Taisce said that planning irregularities had been crucial in fuelling the property bubble, and that proper independent investigations would help avoid the crash repeating itself ...
The Clare man newly appointed to An Bord Pleanala has expressed his confidence that corruption has not occurred in planning practices in the county. Architect Michael Leahy is one of four new appointees to the planning appeals board, and joins the body as the planning process at several local authorities including Galway County Council comes under close scrutiny in light of the Mahon report ...
ENVIRONMENT Minister Phil Hogan downplayed allegations of planning irregularities in his constituency despite a damning report outlining a litany of failures, including poor administration, officials exceeding their powers and failure to enforce planning laws. Mr Hogan has refused to order an independent inquiry into Carlow County Council, despite a 2010 report which outlined a lengthy list of problems in its planning department ...
CARLOW An independent review by former Louth county manager John Quinlivan found that several practices in the council were "unacceptable", including allowing its former director of planning to prepare local area plans which are used to decide if planning permission should be approved. Most notably, the council ordered a building company to build a road even though it did not own all of the land, which led to it being dubbed the 'road to nowhere' ...
A new housing index shows that the number of planning applications made during January and February this year has dropped by 23% compared to the same period last year. The study also reveals that the number of houses being built at the start of the year was down by 14% overall since last year. The findings come from an online portal which can track current housing projects in real time, called Link2Plans.com. Managing Director of Link2Plans ...
LORNA SIGGINS, Western Correspondent SHELL EP Ireland has confirmed it has received a copy of a “detailed complaint” compiled by a group of north Mayo residents regarding the impact of the Corrib gas project’s construction and haulage work. The group has submitted 104 letters of complaint to Mayo County Council, with 112 signatures ...
EirGrid has failed to get a court order requiring an anti-pylon group to provide security for the costs of its legal action against the company. The action was aimed at recovering costs incurred by it due to a planning hearing on the proposed North/South electricity interconnector having been abandoned after 23 days. The planning hearing was abandoned at the request of EirGrid due to a mistake over the height of the proposed pylons in newspaper advertisements concerning the project ...
The leader of the Green Party Eamon Ryan is accusing the Government of "arrogance" over its decision to end six planning investigations. The inquiries were set up by Mr Ryan's predecessor John Gormley during his time as Minister for the Environment. The current Environment Minister Phil Hogan has said an external investigation into planning has not been ruled out, but only after the information received from local authorities has been examined internally first ...
THE Green Party last night added to the pressure on Environment Minister Phil Hogan to re-open a series of planning investigations, which they started in government. Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore denied the Government had deliberately killed off the planning inquiries into six councils around the country. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said internal reviews had been carried out into a number of local authorities by former environment minister John Gormley ...
In the aftermath of the Mahon Report our politicians are still seeking to blame the wrong people for their failings. Joe Costello TD was speaking on The Week in Politics Show on Sunday night in relation to taking pensions away from those found guilty of corruption or inappropriate behaviour. In his response he stated that all those who are paid by the public purse, including ministers and senior planners, should suffer such a fate ...
FORMER assistant Dublin city and county manager George Redmond cannot sue the planning tribunal over corruption findings it made against him, the High Court ruled yesterday. However, he can challenge the refusal of the Flood (now Mahon) Tribunal to cover his legal costs of being represented at the tribunal, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan said. The judge ruled a six-year delay by Mr Redmond in pursuing his civil action against the tribunal was inordinate and inexcusable ...
By Juno McEnroe, Political Reporter Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has denied the Government is suppressing planning inquiries into irregularities in seven local authorities and pledged to publish details of the reviews. He rejected suggestions that independent investigations into the authorities across six counties were halted when the Fine Gael-Labour coalition took power last year ...
By Juno McEnroe, Political Reporter Reviews into planning decisions in seven local authorities across six counties were launched by the last government after complaints about alleged irregularities. The Irish Examiner has learnt that a decision to appoint outside experts to oversee inquiries was put on hold by the current Government because of a fear that the costs could amount to a "runaway train" ...
AS you read this, you may be living in a house built because a developer handed over some brown envelopes to councillors -- containing either bribes or money dressed up as political donations. That house could be in a development with inadequate facilities, located miles from anywhere -- and the negative-equity trap may also mean that you can't move away ...
The Mahon Report is a damning indictment of the culture of corruption and entitlement that has poisoned politics in this state for so long. Corruption in Irish political life was both endemic and systemic. It affected every level of government, from some holders of top ministerial offices to some local councillors, and its existence was widely known and widely tolerated ...
FRANK McDONALD OPINION: SOME PEOPLE are living in floodplains as a result of land rezoning decisions made by local councillors at the behest of landowners or property speculators. Others have no option but to get into their cars to travel to a shopping centre because the one that was planned nearer wasn’t built, against planning advice ...
FRANK McDONALD, Environment Editor PLANNING: THE TRIBUNAL’S findings “demonstrate the need for a tightening of procedures for the zoning of development land”, the Irish Planning Institute has said. However, it expressed satisfaction that at no stage in the inquiry had the integrity of professional planners been questioned. “In order to prevent a repetition of mistakes . . ...
The Irish Planning Institute has noted the conclusions of the Mahon Report on irregularities in the planning process and is satisfied that at no stage in the process of the tribunal inquiry, has the integrity of professional planners been questioned. However, the Institute is of the view that the Report's findings demonstrate the need for a tightening of procedures for the zoning of development land ...
Morning Ireland: Planning reform recommendations: IPI's Brendan Allen & ACCC's Michael O'Brien ...
DUBLIN councillors were paid tens of thousands of pounds in bribes because of the pivotal role they played in deciding what lands could be developed. Every six years, local politicians review their county development plans. These plans set out where houses can be built, what sites are suitable for shopping centres and where industrial parks should be sited. The councillors played a key role in adopting those plans, enjoying significant powers ...
By Lloyd Mudiwa. The Minister for Health has heeded recommendations to include people with planning experience on the review group to consider the decision of An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for the National Paediatric Hospital at the Mater site. Town planner Simon Clear and recently-retired senior planner John Martin are among the nine-person group, Chaired by former HSE Board Chairman Dr Frank Dolphin ...
Minister for Housing and Planning Jan O'Sullivan today announced details of housing capital allocations to local authorities worth some E251.5 million for 2012. The allocations will support investment under the national regeneration programme, works to improve the standard and energy efficiency of the national social housing stock as well as meeting commitments under existing contracts for delivering social and voluntary houses ...
IT's not just our health that will suffer if we don't clean up our water. Thousands of jobs in IT, pharmaceuticals and the food and tourist businesses are at risk if we don't improve quality and produce water on a par with the best in Europe. Ireland faces a major challenge over the coming years. Water quality is improving, but hundreds of treatment plants across the State need to be upgraded ...
By Paul Mills The response to the rejection of the planning application for the proposed National Children’s Hospital was more than intriguing. Anybody casting even half an unjaundiced eye on the whole development could have foreseen that there were serious problems with the application. This was to be a very large national hospital bringing people in from all over Ireland to the very centre of Dublin ...
WEXFORD LOCAL DEVELOPMENT has a budget of almost €1.9 million for heritage projects around the county. Groups and individuals who want to find out more about the heritage grants are invited to a seminar in the Ferrycarrig Hotel on Wednesday, March 21 at 7 p.m. The event follows a similar wellattended seminar held recently to inform people about a village development programme for which grants are also available ...
The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has welcomed the announcement that the Government is to spend E1.5 billion on a new schools building programme over the next five years. However it has cautioned that the programme will need to set fair tender guidelines to include most contractors if it is to provide a widespread boost to the construction industry in Ireland ...
TIM O'BRIEN THE INCLUSION of a planner on the expert review group on the National Children’s Hospital has been called for by the Irish Planning Institute. Its president, Brendan Allen, said the body representing professional planners was “very concerned that a professional planner may not be included in this group”. He said the issue arose after reports the review group to be appointed next week would include members who have architectural and clinical expertise ...
There's been a reserved welcome from the Irish Farmers Association to news of a fresh compensation package for Irish turf cutters. Minister for Heritage Jimmy Deenihan announced a 50 per cent increase on the previous compensation offer for turf cutters who must stop cutting on protected habitats ...
Posted on 07/03/2012 by Marie Madden Road projects in Galway received a boost to the tune of over €4 million yesterday, when Minister for Public and Commuter Transport Alan Kelly confirmed a new transport investment for the city. Under the Regional Cities Accessibility Programme, the National Roads Authority has allocated the funding to a series of projects designed to improve traffic flows and remove pinch points ...
By Mary Regan, Political Correspondent A greenfield location will be considered for the new children’s hospital as an alternative to the city centre Mater site, Health Minister James Reilly confirmed. However, such a decision would make it "challenging" to have the hospital completed by 2016, as promised by the Taoiseach in recent weeks ...
An expert group will have less than two months to report back to the Government on alternatives for the long-awaited national children's hospital. Health Minister Dr James Reilly said the team must examine why planners rejected the Mater site and consider different options. He maintained that the Government was still committed to the project and that all options were on the table, including building on a greenfield site ...
By Caroline O’Doherty The Cabinet is to meet to discuss the National Children’s Hospital debacle tomorrow amid growing opposition to downsizing the facility and increasing evidence of the crisis within existing paediatric services. It emerged at the weekend that the heads of three medical schools have added their voices to fears that important features of the hospital could be sacrificed to make it fit the Mater site ...
A POSITIVE gloss has been put on an announcement that the National Assets Management Agency (Nama) will provide some 2,000 houses and apartments to local authorities for social housing purposes. The outcome will please those fortunate people who stand to benefit from the decision ...
FRANK McDONALD, Environment Editor A clear mandate is required to look at other sites and ‘score’ them accordingly THE KEY aspect of any review of plans for a national children’s hospital is whether the terms of reference provided by the Coalition are sufficiently broad to allow the review group to examine alternative locations to the restricted Mater site on Dublin’s northside ...
FIONA GARTLAND A PROPOSAL to locate the new children’s hospital on a 20-acre site near the Coombe and St James’s hospitals was sent to the Minister for Health James Reilly yesterday. The Coombe Women Infants University Hospital, which made the proposal, said the new facility could be completed in 3½ years once approved ...
THE PLAN to build a national children’s hospital on the site of the Mater in Dublin can be put “back on track” within three months, it was claimed last night. Chairman of the children’s hospital development board Harry Crosbie said the Mater remained the best location for the hospital, despite An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse planning permission for the project ...
The draft Planning Scheme for the Cherrywood Strategic Development Zone, put forward by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, proposes three new villages, a town centre and an employment base to potentially accommodate over 17,000 workers. The scheme will be on public display for six weeks at the council’s offices at Dún Laoghaire and Dundrum before it is returned to councillors for consideration ...
The Bridge, designed to link both banks of the River Foyle, took the Overall Award along with the former British Army Ebrington Barracks in a project submitted by the Ilex Regeneration Company ...
Galway County Council is hopeful that the N63 Galway to Roscommon road project will go ahead in future despite the recent withdrawal of funding. 1 point 7 million euro was allocated last year for the project but was not drawn down. Director of Services Frank Gilmore says it followed a delay in the process of appointing consultants which had been taken over by the National Roads Authority. He has told the local authority that funding has been allocated for fencing work on the road this year ...
By Caroline O’Doherty The country’s most senior paediatricians have warned against downsizing the new National Children’s Hospital to make it fit the Mater site, fearing a smaller building would mean sacrificing vital facilities ...
FRANK McDONALD, Environment editor DERRY’S PEACE Bridge and the associated Ebrington Barracks regeneration project have won the top prize in the Irish Planning Institute’s national planning awards. Presented by Minister of State for Housing and Planning Jan O’Sullivan, the awards “aim to highlight the best examples of planning practice and to raise the standard of townscape design and planning awareness both within the public and private sectors” ...
DERRY's iconic Peace Bridge has taken the top prize in the National Planning Awards. The bridge, which spans the River Foyle, took the overall award with the former British army Ebrington Barracks in a project submitted by the Ilex Regeneration Company. Other winners include Grand Canal Square in Dublin and the Julianstown Village Design Statement ...
17/Feb 07:41 Derry’s Peace Bridge has won a top planning award, from the Irish Planning Institute. The Bridge, designed to link both banks of the River Foyle, took the Overall Award along with the former British Army Ebrington Barracks in a project submitted by the Ilex Regeneration Company. The biennial Awards were presented at a ceremony in the Custom House by the Minister for Planning, Jan O Sullivan today ...
Derry’s iconic Peace Bridge and Ebrington Square won two National Planning Awards – the Place Making Award and the Overall Planning Award - at a prestigious ceremony in Dublin ...
PLANNERS have raised concerns that large parts of Dublin's Luas network will have to be taken out of service if an underground railway system goes ahead, writes Paul Melia. Plans to link the capital's two Luas lines could be further delayed after An Bord Pleanala yesterday sought details of how three underground stations could be built without impacting massively on the tram service ...
In an official statement on the current situation regarding the development of Sligo Town Centre by a subsidary company of Treasury Holdings. Callside Developments Ltd and Treasury Holdings was recently taken over by NAMA, the state's National Asset Management Agency - now recognised as one of the largest property companies in the world. The Mayor of Sligo and all Borough councillors were informed on 31st January 2012 by the Assistant Director of Services, Paula R ...
FUNDING TO the tune of € 200,000 is being sought for the Glenmore Waste Water Treatment Plant. Kilkenny County Council are currently seeking this funding from Minister Phil Hogan's Department of Environment, Community and Local Government to address issues pertaining to the current basic scheme. According to local Fine Gael Councillor, Fidelis Doherty, on receipt of approval of funding a design for the scheme will be drawn up ...
SIMON CARSWELL, Finance Correspondent THE NATIONAL Asset Management Agency is planning to set up funds backed by properties acquired from receivers it has appointed, to sell on to investors. The State loans agency has issued a tender seeking proposals from investment managers to set up the property funds, known as qualifying investor funds ...
GORDON DEEGAN THE WESTERN Rail Corridor project has stalled again as Iarnród Éireann continues to negotiate with a third-party developer, it has emerged. Planning permission was granted for the new station at Crusheen along the Ennis to Athenry route last June, but work has yet to commence. Yesterday, Iarnród Éireann said the Crusheen station has contributions from the company’s capital programme, Clare County Council and a third-party developer ...
By Claire O’Sullivan Just two out of the 31 Fine Gael and Labour councillors on Cork County Council are outwardly opposed to the planned septic tank charge and inspection regime, which has generated massive resistance across the county. The 31 councillors were all contacted by the Irish Examiner by telephone this week. Goleen-based county councillor, Dermot Sheehan was the most vociferous in his opposition. "I am not happy with the charge ...
Telecommunications masts dominating the skyline of north Kerry will remain in place. An Bord Pleanála has again reversed a decision by Kerry County Council and allowed Towercom Ltd to retain a 35-metre mast on Knockanore mountain, near Ballybunion. The council has been refusing planning permission for the retention of masts under its policy not to allow such masts within 1km of houses and residential buildings due to health concerns ...
background The former Bank of Ireland headquarters on Baggot Street has been making the news for five decades. The purpose-built offices were constructed between 1968 and 1978 in an uncompromising "modernist" style that was controversial. It can still shock first-time visitors to Dublin's mostly Georgian-era Baggot Street ...
UCC are set a develop a new centre of excellence for sport in the third-level institution on a 100 acre site on the western outskirts of Cork city. The acquisition of the land at Curraheen, to the south of the N25 Ballincollig bypass, is a joint venture with the Munster Agricultural Society. The land will be divided between the two organisations, with UCC planning to use the development to cater for the needs of the university’s 60 sports clubs ...
GORDON DEEGAN PLANS HAVE been announced to extend the famous west Clare railway into the market town of Kilrush within the next two years. Jackie Whelan, originally of the committee for the Restoration of the West Clare Railway, said yesterday that after Kilrush, he was planning to extend the line to Kilkee and to provide a rail-link to the €150 million Doonbeg Golf Club resort on the Clare coast. Some 2 ...
CELEBRITY hotelier John Brennan faces an anxious wait before learning if his dream of developing a luxury holiday complex near Kenmare, Co Kerry, will be allowed to proceed by planning officials. It has emerged that his ambition to redevelop a hotel property he bought last year, for an estimated cut-price €2 million, has been stalled as the project would materially contravene the county development plan ...
By Eoin English A DEVELOPER has been cleared to lodge a planning application for a €41 million supermarket near an ecologically sensitive site on Cork’s northside which straddles the city-county boundary. The developer wants to upgrade the existing Fox & Hound mixed use retail and commercial development in Ballyvolane into a mixed use nine-unit retail district centre. Tesco is expected to be the anchor tenant ...
A FARMER will avoid jail but faces a "substantial" fine for demolishing a ring fort on land belonging to his family. In the first case of its kind in Irish courts, John O'Mahony pleaded guilty to carrying out unauthorised work near a monument on his family's farmland in February 2008. The lands contained a ring fort and a series of underground tunnels, or souterrains, which dated back to between 500AD and 100AD ...
