Denis Lehane: Time to 'reclaim' the Conor Pass

The government is weighing up buying the 1,400-acre lands at Conor Pass - Farm Exam columnist Denis Lehane reckons he's just the man for the job to manage it all.

Conor Pass

I hear the Government is interested in buying the Conor Pass.

Well, I'm all for it. Fair play. About time.

It's high time those who run the country got their hands dirty.

The asking price is €10m.

€10m for 1,400 acres of lake, rock, sticks and furze.

Sure, 'tis a bargain.

A relation of mine bought a similar parcel of scrub back in the late 1970s; it's now one of the finest bits of grazing ground in the whole parish.

Granted, he broke his back reclaiming it. But sure, who didn't in those days? Backs are overrated.

They all worked like slaves in the '70s and transformed the nation. We will be forever in their debt.

Anyhow, the first thing I would say to courageous Leo and his hardworking gang is this: before you bid on the property, keep the head, and have a few bob in reserve.

Don't spend it all on the land. We will need money to purchase a handy tractor plus a good second-hand transport box. A few rolls of sheep wire and a sledge wouldn't go astray either.

I believe we have the manpower and, indeed, the woman power up there in the Dáil to take on the project; all we need now is the motivation to get cracking.

If I might be so bold as to suggest that I take over the reins with regards to the work, once the deal is made. I'm someone who has a knowledge of reclaiming and someone who knows how to crack the whip if needs be.

Stone picking, I believe, will be the first order of business.

The Conor Pass is riddled with stones and boulders. But Leo surely knows this. He's no fool. He's not buying a pig in a poke.

There will be no shortage of work, and that's an understatement.

Backbenchers could do a morning shift on the tricky slopes. Present Ministers and the Ceann Comhairle could work on a stoney outcrop for the remainder of the day.

I foresee a lot of the stones picked before the Dáil resumes at the end of September.

And with the tractor and transport box working flat out, my hope is that all the stones will be picked, the lakes drained, and a few ditches torn down by December.

We could have the place looking mighty in no time.

We can use the Christmas break to recharge before pushing on in early 2024 with some reseeding of higher ground.

Now it won't be easy to make good land from what the man above dished out back there, but sure, it wasn't easy to go to the moon either, and yet after a few false starts, the Americans did exactly that in 1969. And we can do it too.

There will be days, of course, when the tractor might slide off a cliff, and we will wonder if it's all worth the trouble.

Well, I'm telling you now, the blisters will heal the agony will end.

The cuts and scrapes will soon be forgotten when the first calves of 2025 taste the fine grass that we will have in store back at the Conor Pass.

The pain in your lower back will ease considerably when you see a silage mower swing in to mow a meadow where once there was a lake.

With the Conor Pass greener than the Golden Vale, with cattle enjoying a graze where once a rabbit would struggle, I think the question of time well spent will be easily answered.

Of course, it will be worth the trouble.

The tractor can be salvaged just like the ground of the famous Conor Pass can be reclaimed into mighty land.

Just give us the elbow room and watch the likes of me and Leo go.

With the government itching to buy ground and me itching to provide a helping hand, the only thing stopping us will be the limits of our imagination.