IFA calls for talks to end row over access to scenic lake

A SENIOR figure within the Irish Farmers’ Association in Waterford is calling for an independent arbitrator to be appointed in an effort to break the deadlock which has resulted in one of the county’s most popular locations becoming inaccessible to the general public.

Six weeks ago picturesque Crotty’s Lake at the foot of the Comeragh Mountains near the village of Rathgormack was declared to be out of bounds by landowner Bernard Cullinane.

Mr Cullinane had become embroiled in a planning dispute with Waterford County Council earlier this year and subsequently decided that access to the lake would no longer be available to the general public and warned that trespassers would be prosecuted.